ROCStock V
June 1997
/ Lucerne Dry Lake
2 flights, 197 N-sec burned
ROCStock usually happens on the second weekend in June and November, but this one happened on the last weekend of June. (I can't recall why; these are the dates in my paper flight log.) The wind howled all weekend, so I only put up three flights. The highlight of the launch was picking up our shiny new LOC Bruiser from Ken Finwall at CHPMR - time to get building!
This was the first flight for my "secret project" Lil' Nuke, and I was determined to get it in the air despite the wind. The flight was good with a bit of weathercocking. I upped the chute from the stock 14" to an 18" red nylon chute from my Estes Impulse, which resulted in a nice descent rate, albeit at the price of a bit of a walk. Success!
Though it was still windy on Sunday morning, seeing Hulan Matthies fly his Mini Magg on a K550 inspired me to put up a rocket, too. We loaded the Arcas with a G64 for an awesome high flight; even with the wind, it still managed to go nearly straight up on a big, bright flame. The chute appeared at apogee, but it broke a fin again on landing, and with the wind dragging the airframe along the lakebed, we lost the fin piece to the desert. RIP Small Arcas v1.
