BlueSkies 39 Report
March 20, 2010

Launch weather was not quite ideal today but we managed to put up some excellent birds in the cloudy skies which tried to clear out by the end of the launch day.
The winds started out strange where the ground winds were blowing opposite of the upper winds. That made for some interesting flinghts. Around noon the ground wind direction caught up with the upper winds and we were positioned correctly for the recovery area.
Temperatures started out in the upper 40's but topped out in the low 70's. Even warm enough for Darryl to shed his coveralls.

A group of students came from Vanderbilt University to certify several L1 individuals, fly several HPR rockets and test fly their class project with dual deployment and a scientific aft payload on a CTI L610.

We had 10 fliers with 26 flights and 32 motors burned. The total impulse was 9034 ns.(Loki M3000) .

Motor breakdown:

  • 1/8A - 0
  • 1/4A - 0
  • 1/2A - 0
  • A - 3
  • B - 6
  • C - 1
  • D - 1
  • E - 3
  • F - 2
  • G - 5
  • H - 4
  • I - 3
  • J - 2
  • K - 1
  • L - 1

    Flyers and their Birds.
    Name Flights Comments
    Joe Magginnis 9
    1. Big Betty (E9-6) Nice Flight.
    2. Big Betty (E9-6) Nice Flight.
    3. Small Endeavour (F50) First igniter fell out of motor and ignited on the ground. Had better luck the second time with a little more tape.
    4. Small Endeavour (G80-7) Good Flight.
    5. Goliath (A8-3 x 3) Nice Flight.
    6. Goliath (B4-4 x 3) A little higher but still in sight.
    7. Goliath (B6-4 x 3) Even higher but still in sight. I was gonna shoot it one more time with 3 C's but chickened out as the wind was getting stronger as the day ebbed into evening.
    8. 4" Goblin (I215-M) Great Flight that was brought back near the launch pad. During decent the rocket body was engulfed in the parachute which did not allow it to fully deploy. When it landed there was no damage to the main body section but it landed on the nose cone creating damage that requires extensive repair, if possible.
    9. Big Rage (D10-7W) Nice straight powerful Flight that applied so much force on body that the tube coupler was partially crimped but is repairable.
    Dennis Stevens 7
    1. Nighthawk (G80-10) Nice Flight.
    2. Neon (H128) Great Flight.
    3. Calisto (H128) Great Flight.
    4. Big Daddy (E30-7W) Great Flight. It stood up to some G forces.
    5. Softball (G80-7) Great Flight.
    6. Tall-One (F39-6) Model folded at small tube connected to the middle reducer. Model continued under power to summersault as pieces flew from the model. All pieces were found close to the model. This one can be repaired.
    7. Excel (I357) Great Flight.
      Note: one of Dennis's rockets landed in a tree and later extracted with minor damage.
    Matt Magginnis 3
    1. 3" Raven (I195J) Great Flight. Chute separated causing the model to land hard and knocking loose one of the fins. Easy Fix.
    2. Batray (G77-7R) Motor shot up out of model. model recovered by chute.
    3. Batray (G77-7R) Motor taped into model land when fired fire came out of both ends. Model recovered by chute but was burning inside. Later examination showed the casing was cracked from top to bottom. Repair is extensive. A new body tube will be required.
    James Board 1
    1. Size Doesn't Matter (J99). Great Flight.
    Ben Chociej 1
    1. Vanderbilt USLI 2010 #2 (L610) Great Flight. The highlight of the day. The rocket contained an aft payload with main deployment set at 700'. The launch was successful. Congrats.
    Darryl Hankes 1
    1. G3 (K555GT) First Igniter failed to light motor but the second one did. It was a Great Flight. Altitude was higher than planned.
    Ira Magginnis 1
    1. Sonic Boom (C6-5) Great Flight. Not too bad of a trip to recover.
    Benjamin McKnight 1
    1. Quasar (H153) Great Flight. Qualified for the 1st of 2 L1 Certifications.
    Ed Seward 1
    1. Tethys (J350) Great Flight. Main parachute set to deploy at 500 feet.
    Zachariah Smith 1
    1. 1/4 Scale Patriot (H255-M) Great Flight. Qualified for the 2nd of 2 L1 Certifications.

    At the end of the day everyone helped me tear down the mid and low pads along with my prep area and had it next to the car for loading.
    We left the launch area around 5 pm with a day filled with rocket memories and some new friends.

    Congratulations for achieving certification level 1 goes to:

    1. Benjamin McKnight for successfully flying his Quasar on an H153

    2. Zachariah Smith for successfully flying his 1/4 scale Patriot on an H255-M.

    Our next Sport launch is scheduled for April 3, 2010 at Sims Farm between 9 - 5 if weather permits.

    Stay tuned to the Bluegrass Rocketry Society web site for launch schedule updates.

    See you there.

    Joe Magginnis

    END 3/21/2010 END