Perchlorathon May 2006
May 2006
/ Lucerne Dry Lake
2 flights, 5320 N-sec burned
With the end of the year looming, we wanted to show Dr. Erwin that we could actually fly some rockets. So the group loaded up and headed off to Lucerne to put a few in the air. The wind stayed calm until the afternoon, as usual, and we managed to get two prepped and flown with no problem.
Flight 1: Arcas, Kosdon K410
The slow load for the 76/2500 case is *really* slow, but it turned out to be perfect for the paper Arcas on this calm day. After a quick prep, including a discussion of the functional parts of the motor with the lab, she was on the pad and ready. I called out the count, Chris snapped photos, my dad videotaped, and the Arcas picked up off the rail nicely and headed into the light breeze. At apogee, the drogue appeared, and the main a short while later for a nice recovery near the access rut.
Altitude: 8,346 ft
Flight 2: Nike Smoke, AMW L700
The Arcas did well on the 2-grain, so I figured the Nike would be perfect for a 3-grain Skid. Though it's not the best performing propellant (which you'd expect to want to show off to your professor), it does put on an awesome show, and that was my primary concern at this launch. The rocket was quickly prepped, and on the pad just as the 2 PM winds were beginning to come up. I called out the 5-count and the rocket lit right up, weathercocked into the wind, and headed skyward trailing fire, smoke, and brimstone. The drogue appeared at apogee, like it was supposed to, and the main stayed in place until the proper deployment altitude of 1000 feet. It had weathercocked far enough upwind and the main ejected low enough that we actually had to walk *upwind* to recover the vehicle; that was weird. But it was an awesome flight!
Altitude: 5,384 ft
others: group shot | climbing
video
