Legacy

The previous hybrid flight was so great that I had to do it again. The rocket had been prepped since September of 2002, but never flown due to weather and other projects. Finally, I got the chance to fly it at ROCStock 17. We loaded it on the pad early, about 8:30 AM, and it filled fine. The rocket lifted right off and cocked a little to the right, then proceeded on a straight course to apogee. It fired the charge, but decided to come down in two pieces after it burnt through the shock cord. A man was nice enough to pick up both pieces for me, since I lost track of them on the way down and he saw where they were. Close to a success -- it's getting a Kevlar shock cord next time :)

The Legacy was a natural fit for my new RATT H70 hybrid motor, since it just barely fit in the booster tube, and it has a large payload for avionics. Upon arrival at the site, we found no wind (score!) and warm temperatures. After asking hybrid guru Wayne Mrazek about a million questions, I finally had the motor prepped and ready. I came up with a motor retention scheme of 2 washers, a 10-32 bolt, and some Kevlar attached to the shock cord mount. It would all fit, but very tightly. I packed the booster with chutes and motor, and then began work on the altimeter. This rocket has holes for an ALTACC in the payload. Murphy struck when I realized that I left the ALTACC at home. OK, rig up a mount for the RRC2. I stuffed some electronics-safe foam in the coupler, and more foam in the payload. It worked, kinda. The altimeter already was a pretty tight fit in the section, so no board was required. To arm it, I would take apart the payload at the pad and twist some wires. Everything was ready to go and I proudly marched up the flight line. I got 1/2 way to the pad when I realized that I forgot to drill a vent hole. Back to camp, take out the motor, measure and drill, repack booster. 30 minutes later we were ready again. By this time, there was a line for the hybrid pads. I was second in line, after a freaky 2-stage thing. Then I loaded my rocket on Joe Mullin's awesome rail. I armed the altimeter, and we raised it. The fill began, but it wasn't working too well. We tried everything- switch the solenoids, check the connections, everything seemed fine. It was no use. Then Wayne had one last thought. I pulled the vent tube out, and just let the motor vent directly to the outside. It worked. We filled the tank and off she went. Beautiful straight up flight. We lost track of it at burnout (grey rocket, blue sky), but one person had a track on it. We were watching it come down and it landed less than 50 feet from where I was standing. The perfect flight. I'm gonna do that again next month!

After the disappointment of the Arcas earlier in the day, I needed something to cheer up my spirits. Besides, my English teacher was there and I had to fly something! The I-ROC was cool on the I300T, but to redeem myself, I flew the Legacy on a G64. I planned to fly an H238T for the first flight, but we'll save that one for later. After check-in and torture from Brother John, I made the walk out to the pad. Slide on the rail... stuck. What's wrong? Slide it on again. Tried to take it off but picked up the pad instead. OK, that can't be good. Look at the rail from the side, well that's not gonna work. The rail was bent about 5 degrees off vertical. That's the problem with blacksky rails- the couplers can allow the rail to bend. Bent it back, slides on no problem. An igniter and back a few feet to enjoy the flight close up.