LDRS 35
June 2016
/ Lucerne Dry Lake
1 flight, 1633 N-sec burned
LDRS returned to Lucerne for 2016! As per usual for a June launch, it was hot, dusty, and windy. But Tim was there with his motorhome, so it meant I got to take advantage of his air conditioning all weekend in exchange for thermite igniters and shenanigans :)
Flight 1: Punisher 3, CTI K940
I wanted an easy-to-prep flight that was still punchy. Tim had a few of my favorite 4 grain reloads in stock (white thunder!) so I figured that would fit the bill. Skippy was on the mic and the rocket took off like a bat out of hell. It disappeared against the haze, but it became apparent that something had gone wrong shortly after burnout when the unmistakable sound of a shredding rocket echoed down from above. I picked up the pieces from out on the range; the avionics bay was in good shape, but everything else was garbage. Notably, there was a chunk missing out of the exit cone of the motor nozzle--I wonder if it broke just before/at burnout, flipping the rocket? I'll never know. Oh well, time to rebuild!
