Launch Report, August 24, '97

This was a private launch at a friend of a friend's. It was a beautiful day, with a slight breeze that changed direction after we set up the pads (naturally).

Flights (of my rockets):

• Tartar [B6-4]
  Good flight, ejection before apogee, no damage.
• Screamer (4.8x scaleup "MegaBrute") [D12-3]
  Straight flight, ejection way before apogee at high speed. Body tube edge slightly stressed by shock cord whip, 3 of the 6 shroud lines stripped from the paracute. The resulting fast descent and hard impact caused the outer layer of the body tube to rip along one of the fins' root edge (the basswood fin and epoxy joint held fine, it was the tube itself that delaminated). The rip stopped when it reached a massive epoxy rivet. This rocket needs a 5 or 7 second delay.
• Shuttle [C5-3]
  Good boost, shuttle glide was a bit wobbly (roll) but acceptable. Upon landing of the external tank, one of the stabilizer fins broke off the tube and the tube was slightly bent.
• Screamer (2stage) [A10-0T, A3-4T]
  First stage lit and it hauled outta there! Then it staged and the second motor lit on cue, the first stage engine was jettisoned, only one problem.... the first stage fin assembly decided it preferred the company of the second stage motor. The exhaust vaporized the first stage tube, but left the fins intact (except for some crud deposits) so I guess I'll be rebuilding it.
• Klingon K'vort Cruiser [AT D21-4T]
  Grain slot??? They couldn't possibly mean that tiny little crack that's only half the size of the ignitor and is so far off center that it can barely be seen from the nozzle..... or could they. Well, the ignitor only "easily" slid in to the bottom end of the grain, and with no cutaway to show how it's SUPPOSED to work (like I later found in the reloadable motor packages), I shrugged and gave it a try. Fizzle, fizzle, sputter, wheeze, cough. So much for that $7 motor. No delay or ejection, so how to I destroy it for disposal? I can't ignite it by the normal method like Aerotech says to do (hell, I couldn't do it when I wanted to the first time!).
• Gabriel III/AS [D12-5]
  Excellent flight, absolutely no roll, just a slight arch which gave better visiblity from the pad, nice throaty roar from the Estes D, ejection very near apogee. Landed in a tree but recovered with very minor damage.
• LTV Scout [C6-3]
  Good flight if a bit wobbly (a normal flight for it, as it's a slow, heavy rocket with tiny fins).