October Skies 2018
October 2018
/ Helm, CA
2 flights, 14469 N-sec burned
After all the fun I had at LDRS, I couldn't NOT return to Helm for their fall event. The weather was gorgeous all three days and I had brought two big rockets to fly. The crowd was very friendly and welcoming, and I had another great time. This might become a tradition!
Flight 1: Drago 4, AT M1315
James had promised I could use all of their high waiver, so I figured it was a great opportunity to let the Drago stretch its legs again. I had pre-prepped as much as possible, and even though I didn't arrive until late on Friday afternoon, the weather was so beautiful I went ahead and added the tracker and headed to the pads. The 5 grain 75mm motor did not disappoint, vaulting the rocket from the pad on an arrow-straight trajectory to just north of 15,000 feet. The tracker signal jumped at apogee and I started scanning for it on the way down. Eventually, we heard a pop right behind us, and the rocket touched down under main next to the stop sign at the entrance to the site. It doesn't get any better than that!
others: chonky pad | pastoral recovery
video
Flight 2: Competitor 5, AT M1419
After pulling some LCO duty on Saturday, I finished buttoning up the Competitor 5 for its maiden M voyage. The big pad at TCC's away cell is a little tough to load by yourself, but I was eventually successful by putting the rail on the rocket first and then levering the whole thing into the pad like some sort of weird christmas tree. After locating and pinching myself on a ladder, I finally was all set to go. James pushed the button, the motor pressurized, and the bird steamed off the pad at a leisurely clip, arcing slightly to the north as it continued on its long burn. Drogue and main were both visible, and the rocket landed under full R14 canopy just off the road one field over. Nice flight!
others: on the pad | landing site
