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#1
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B6-4 Field dusk launch
Because I didn't think Dad would mind.
It took forever for the field to clear tonight. I made my third trip up to check a little after 8pm and found the crowds leaving. By the time I rounded the block all but a few stragglers were in the lower parking lot, and B6-4 Field was mine. First flight of the night was my recently completed Estes Alpha III, a ten year project at least. A8-3 first flight, just to give me an idea what to expect. As you can see, it was not a great night for photography. Flight couldn't have been better, though. Straight up, ejection just as it tipped over, and a gentle recovery drift on the reefed 12" chute. Calm night, so it would be a good idea to push the limits of B6-4 Field, right? Uh, yeah, right.
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Bill Eichelberger NAR 79563 http://wallyum.blogspot.com/ I miss being SAM 0058 Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2 |
#2
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Next up was Sky Writer #2 on a C6-5.
WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE STOP ME? Oh, yeah. I fly alone. Well, I didn't have any B6-4s with me, but I did find a stray C6-5 rolling around the range box, and with no dissenting opinions, I WENT FOR IT!!! Boy HOWDY did I go for it. Sometimes you forget just how long those C6-5s burn. At least I did. I followed it as far as I could, but once the flame disappeared I found myself looking at the spot where I last saw it, listening for a pop. No pop. Nothing at all, so I turned my attention to scouring the field looking for a chute. After a while that obviously became a losing battle. Things might look different in the morning.
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Bill Eichelberger NAR 79563 http://wallyum.blogspot.com/ I miss being SAM 0058 Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2 |
#3
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Next on the pad was the FRW Moderately Deep Space Transport, a downscale that I started building several years back when Estes introduced the Mini HoJo. This would be the first flight, but all things considered, I was pretty confident of success.
First flight would be on a C6-5. HA! PSYCHE! Okay, first flight would be on an A8-3. I don't chew my cabbage twice. Virtually the same flight path as the Alpha III. Ejection just as it tipped, and altitude topped out around the 200 foot mark. Recovery drift was slightly more as the chute from the Alpha left with the Sky Writer.
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Bill Eichelberger NAR 79563 http://wallyum.blogspot.com/ I miss being SAM 0058 Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2 |
#4
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The final flight of the night became the fourth flight of the night when I missed the liftoff shot. This was the first flight of the FRW Night Stalker, one of the designs I came up with for the light up Night Bobby fishing bobbers.
I used the yellow one for this flight on an A8-3. Billy-Doug oughta like the color scheme. The flight was as hoped, around the 250 foot mark with the light up cone visible the whole flight.
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Bill Eichelberger NAR 79563 http://wallyum.blogspot.com/ I miss being SAM 0058 Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2 |
#5
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Good flight report. I hope it was a good eve for you after what has been, understatedly, a difficult few days.
Dad had the best seat in the house for the flights and no doubt approved, but maybe in echos from a younger day, might have had you 'home before dark' (a chastisement I heard many times in my younger years from my Dad). Earl
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Earl L. Cagle, Jr. NAR# 29523 TRA# 962 SAM# 73 Owner/Producer Point 39 Productions Rocket-Brained Since 1970 |
#6
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Since I missed the launch shot on flight #4, there had to be a flight #5 so I could miss that launch shot, too.
This gives a pretty good idea what it looks like on the pad with darkness all around. And believe me, it was dark. My camera picks up light that isn't there. It was REAL dark at this point. Carbon copy of the first flight, with the light visible the whole time. I had to leave the nose cone lit while I was packing up so I didn't forget anything on the field.
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Bill Eichelberger NAR 79563 http://wallyum.blogspot.com/ I miss being SAM 0058 Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2 |
#7
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Quote:
Today was pretty great all around. Good turnout for the funeral despite the hour and got to see a lot of old friends. Funerals are good for one thing. Flying tonight? Just gravy.
__________________
Bill Eichelberger NAR 79563 http://wallyum.blogspot.com/ I miss being SAM 0058 Build floor: Centuri Mini Dactyl Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2 |
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