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Successful Launch of 50 year-old B14
Yesterday I launched rockets with Ed Mitton (YORF member Blastfromthepast). Ed and I had never met, we had just gotten to know each other via his rocketry blog, and here on YORF.
We flew in the Denver area on a large, grassy field, which I had not done in years. Several friends of Ed’s, and mine, attended. This was the perfect opportunity to fly one of my B14s. I chose to fly a 2-stage rocket, using a B14-0, manufactured in 1969, staging to a B6-6, from 1993 (I chose to use a relatively new upper stage motor ...) I did no enhancements, other than using a new Estes starter with a NC lacquer/BP dip. I did not do anything else, like scraping the BP. The ignition was instantaneous, and the rocket just leapt off the pad. I had not flown any B14s since I was a kid, in the mid-60s. I had forgotten just how dramatic the liftoffs were. The staging was successful, and the upper stage climbed very fast. I was about 15 feet from the pad, and was lucky to see the entire flight. But things looked bad at apogee — the upper stage appeared to have no ejection, and was coming in ballistic. (GH, this is about as close to your definition of perfection as you can get!) The rocket stuck in the ground about 100 yards away. As “my photographer” and I walked toward it, we realized it had landed in a volley ball sand pit. The streamer was out, but was draped over a fin. The nose cone was laying next to the rocket. It looks like the streamer just did not have the drag, once it deployed, to invert the rocket for a typical descent, like a parachute would. The tube was buried about 2”, and removing it, I tapped out the core sample. No tube damage, other than some scuffed paint along the top 1/16” or so. I should have some pictures today that I’ll add.
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Lee Reep NAR 55948 Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold! Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp Last edited by LeeR : 01-27-2020 at 12:17 PM. |
#2
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Another vote for bringing back the real B14.
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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!! Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't ! Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY. ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC ! |
#3
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Here is the liftoff picture, and the core sample.
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Lee Reep NAR 55948 Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold! Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp |
#4
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Wow, a dry field! I've heard stories about them, but never believed that they really existed.
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Bill Eichelberger NAR 79563 http://wallyum.blogspot.com/ I miss being SAM 0058 Build floor: Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc - Starfighter Scorpion Centuri - Mini Dactyl Estes - F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II, Xarconian Cruiser Semroc - Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark |
#5
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You have great rocket karma! Glad there was minimal damage.
You can sorta simulate a B14 launch with a clustered pair of A8's, but it is heavier. Also, a minimum diameter rocket would probably need to be at least a BT-58 so the acceleration won't be as drastic as a BT-20 or BT-50 model. If they ever produce them again, I want to build a Ranger for a triple B14 cluster. A pair of A8's have nearly 20 newtons peak thrust, which is nearly 4.4 lbs.
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I love sanding. |
#6
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So great you got a pic of a B14 liftoff, that flame is huge! |
#7
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Bill, this field is over 50 acres. When I saw it, I started feeling light-headed! I usually fly on field with cactus and rocks.
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Lee Reep NAR 55948 Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold! Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp |
#8
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Tim, I’ve got an Astron Cobra just waiting for them. I only have one B14-6, so I can’t do a cluster, but I’ll pair that with another B14-0 sometime. I have 4 more Estes B14-0 from 1969, and 6 Centuri B14-0 from 1979.
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Lee Reep NAR 55948 Projects: Semroc Saturn 1B, Ken Foss Designs Mini Satellite Interceptor In the Paint Shop: Nothing! Too cold! Launch-Ready: Farside-X, Maxi Honest John, Super Scamp |
#9
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I'll bet the 1979 Centuri motors do NOT have the deep stepped centerbore like the older motors.
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-Fred Shecter NAR 20117 (L2) Southern California Rocket Association, NAR Section 430 |
#10
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I have flown an Astron Scrambler and Ranger on 3xB14-5 clusters.
Warp-Speed liftoffs.
__________________
When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!! Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't ! Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY. ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC ! |
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