Red Glare IX and Recent Rocket Activities

Star Spangled Eagle ready to launch.

Darkstar Lite on the launch pad.

I haven't posted in a while, so any of my readers may be surprised with this really long post. I plan to post much more often, so check every month or so. First, I'd like to say that one of my most anticipated projects for Red Glare IX was a Wildman Darkstar Lite fiberglass rocket , which I constructed last minute for it's first flight at Red Glare. I will concentrate on the larger flights, but I'll go in the order they were flown. First, I "flew" an Estes D-Region Tomahawk on a E18, but due to a tight rod, the rocket didn't clear the launch pad. The weather was great on Saturday, so we decided to launch the Darkstar Lite on a Aerotech G71 redline, to an expected altitude of 2,000 feet. The boost was fast and straight with a huge red flame nearly a foot long. Unfortunately, the parachute deployed early so the maximum altitude was about 1,400 feet. A fairly successful flight, but it's begging for more. The next flight should be on another G motor of some sort. My last flight on Saturday was my Estes CC Express on 2 D12s. That was a successful flight to maybe 1,500 feet. After a good night's sleep, I was ready to roll the next morning with a personal altitude record attempt. The rocket was a LOC/Precision Weasel dubbed the Star Spangled Eagle , and it would fly on a Aerotech G64 white lightning, which would hit an altitude of up to 3,500 feet and a maximum speed of up to 500 mph, about 0.65 times the speed of sound, velocities and accelerations that I have never before experienced with a model rocket. I was obviously nervous, especially with a few family members observing the flight. The rocket took off very fast with a nearly 18 inch flame and a loud roar, until about 1,200 feet where the payload (blue) section and nosecone came off, but the booster section continued upwards for about three seconds until the parachute was forced out. It turns out that the shock cord untied instantly from the payload section, so the two sections weren't together the whole flight. So, what happened? Well, we know a few things from the results. There was certainly no motor failure of any sort, the parachute did not deploy the same moment the payload fell off, and the flight was nominal before the separation. So, I deduced that the two sections separated by either one of two theories, but possibly both. The first theory is that the pressure change in altitude caused high pressure inside the rocket pushing the upper section away from the lower section, and that is fixed by drilling two small holes for equalizing any major pressure differences, which I did. The other explanation is that the rocket started "corkscrewing", which is caused by fin misalignment and increases the angle of attack and drag on the rocket. Although I didn't see it doing this, it could have occurred and put extra force on the rocket in a different direction. I flew it later on a F35 white with vent holes and a onboard camera and it had a slight corkscrew, which might have just been the camera, but that makes me think that the second possibility could have happened. Continuing on with the launch, I flew my Semroc Astronautics 50% scale Arcas research rocket on an Aerotech F35, with a beautiful, fast boost to about 1,500 feet. My last flight at Red Glare IX was my Big Daddy on a E9 for a low, cool flight.

Arcas on a F35. Photo by Nick DeBrita

The only launches I went to after Red Glare were a launch at Culpeper, that was probably the worst launch in my life, due to very windy and cold weather along with me having a very sore throat, and a launch at NOVAAR which I flew my Barracuda on a F39 blue and the Star Spangled Eagle test flight that I mentioned earlier. I haven't done much rocket construction lately, but I am planning on getting a Casio high speed camera by February, so I'm planning a few flights that would be cool to see in slow-motion. I hope to get a YouTube account in the near future to show my videos of rocketry.

Please comment and have a happy and safe holiday season!