Tripoli Indiana December 2011
December 2011
/ Ash Grove Site
1 flight, 6000 N-sec burned
December's flying weather was GORGEOUS both days, and Indiana Rocketry flyers took advantage of it! Highlights of the weekend included David Fox's Level 3 certification with an Extreme Darkstar, Gus Piepenburg's breathtaking N10,000 minimum diameter flight, and Vic Barlow making a perfect third N-powered flight in his Ultimate Wildman in as many months. Click through for all the photos!
Flight 1: Dark Energy, PPL M4500
In anticipation of the December research launch, I mixed up a big batch of Ultra Violet with Tom and Brittany. And what better way to show it off to the Indiana Rocketry crowd for the first time than in a 6000 case? The M4500 is one of my favorite motors to fly, and it didn't disappoint in Dark Energy. The flight rocked to close to 12,000'. However, for some puzzling reason (bad e-match is the leading contender), apogee came and went without an event. The rocket came in hot to 700', where the main fired in a futile attempt to slow the rocket down; DE landed hard, trashing the avionics and breaking all sorts of things. Parts for the rebuild are already on the way -- it'll be back soon!
others: liftoff
