Well, headed back out tonight for my 4th round of launches since falling back in to the hobby (3rd time falling back in, originally in hobby mid 70's to mid 80's...fell back in for a bit in the 90's, again in the mid 2000's and again a few weeks ago :-) ).

Launches were again at the local park within my subdivision (a nice size field that's roughly 800' by 600' ). First up was the Oracle with the C11-3. The flight was true but sadly broke a fin (easily repaired) on landing. Attempted to retrieve the video with my laptop, but alas Windows 8 seems to need the camera driver first (it doesn't need to be installed first on my desktop which runs Linux). I decided to leave the camera on in the hopes of retrieving it later.

Next up was the Astrovision. I decided to go for a bit more altitude so loaded a C6-5. The rocket arced a bit into the light wind with deployment near the end of the field and upwind. That turned out to be a good thing as the shock cord broke and the camera was the only thing being carried by the parachute (a 16" nylon). The camera descended slowly and landed gently well within the field about 150' from the launch pad. Decided to attempt video recovery later. After a brief search, the booster was recovered and had sustained only light damage. Thank goodness for a mowed, lawn like launch field!

Next came the MaxTrax. There were 3 launches, all on B6-4's. All flew true with proper deployment. However, I have to wonder about the accuracy of the data. The three launches showed altitudes of 235', 122' and 184'. Open Rocket predicted 400'. My eyeball guess is that it was at least 300' (though hard to judge from nearly directly beneath the rocket).

Next up was a home brew rocket I made on the 3D printer. It's a short, 6 finned rocket with a ring at the base (image attached). OpenRocket shows it be a bit draggy with an estimated altitude of 280' on a C6. I had an old C5-3 motor in my box, so I decided to use that instead. I'm kinda glad I did...as the engine CATO'd! (It was of the same vintage as my first CATO many years ago...a D11). I would have been saddened if it had happened to another model, but the rugged 3D model survived without a scratch (it did kick out the engine, so that's likely why). It was impressive...a loud firecracker like bang accompanied by a flash. It made me kinda glad the rocket was translucent :-) .CATO occurred at about 10 feet.

I decided to play it safe for the next round. I loaded a 1/2A3-4 into an Apogee Blue Streak (though more like orange streak with the way it's painted....I felt orange would aid recovery for such a small and fast rocket). The rocket sailed straight and true to what I guess to be 200' (I could track it's entire flight, but it was just a tiny dot at apogee). Sadly, it kicked the motor and lawn darted back....but without damage! :-) I decided to repeat the flight, but added a bit more tape to the motor. The flight was identical but with a perfect deployment of the streamer and a landing about 20' from the pad.

With that I was beginning to lose my light so I decided to call it a day. Upon returning home, I was disappointed that I was unable to retrieve the video...both rockets showed no files when plugged into the desktop. Perhaps they sat too long? I'll have to give the video another go next time.

Over all, it was a fine evening. Oh, almost forgot to mention. The replacement engine lock rings I made on the 3D printer (replacing lost ones) worked flawlessly on both the MaxTrax and the Astrovision.

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