A better photo of the Nike-Apache

For one national scholarship, I had to write an essay about something or someone that meant a lot to me. I chose to write about the Nike-Apache and the Level One certification process.

Here is the picture I had to submit with the essay, in so-big-you-have-to-scroll-down-unless-you're-a-Mac-weenie-with-no-scroll-wheel-O-Rama:

Rocketry Todo

I've got quite a long build / repairs list.

REPAIR:

• Repair the broken fin on the Sudden Mach. It needs to be done perfectly to prevent the fin from rebreaking at speed, but it shouldn't be too difficult.
• Rebalance the 29mm Pyramid. This will be tricky; there needs to be enough forward mass to keep it stable on a baby H, while not making it too heavy.
• Repair or replace numerous old decals on the ARV Condor gliders

REPAINT:

• Primer and repaint the new forward section on the Orbital Transport
• Use steel wool to shine the primer, then fully paint the rebuilt Nell

BUILD:

• Estes Patriot: definite upgrade from original kit: definitely a baffle or payload section, possibly a motor upgrade or dual-deploy
• MLAS - build, stock except for a few picky things on the motor mount
• Buffalo: order extra BT-80 tubing, build for dual deploy

OTHER:

• Openrocket: simulate a number of rockets, including Nell, MLAS, and Patriot
• Rama: I need to decide what to do with Rama. Everything is falling apart - tube, motor mount, and fins. I could scrap it, or I rebuilt it, replacing almost every component.

FUTURE: My big project this year will be to get my Level 2 certification after I turn 18. I may use a 4" diameter Madcow kit, or Polecat Aerospace's 5.5" Mosquito. It'll be a lot of work, but a lot of fun, and it'll allow me to start (safely) working with experimental motors. A slightly smaller project will be Serenity. I intend to build a largish scale model of the spacecraft - an Firefly mid-bulk transport, class 03K64 - from the TV series Firefly and the movie Serenity. It'll be around two feet long, built from a jumbo Easter egg (for the ovoid trace compression block engine) with a 29mm mount and probably clear plastic fins.

NAR membership renewed

I just renewed my NAR membership. This means that I will officially reach L1 certification - no junior about it - on my birthday in March. That means I can buy my own high-power loads, use electronic-controlled charges, and a few other privileges.

The NAR also recently implemented a neat user database system. Members can log on to see their membership status, renew it, stuff like that. Apparently a huge upgrade over the old system, which was only accessible on one aging computer.

Unfortunately, when I went on to renew, I didn't notice that the credit card expiration default date wasn't correct, and the transaction failed. Fortunately, Marie Stumpe contacted me and the issue is all worked out.

Big 29/40-120 reloads

From the Aerotech Facebook page (the only thing I still legitimately like about that site anymore):

Today, they tested a new 29/40-120 reload. It generated 150 Ns of total impulse. That's a whole lot more than the current G loads for the case, which top out at 120 Newton-seconds (G64). (G76G is 115, G71R is 107, G53FJ is 91).

That means it must have been a high-impulse Blue Thunder blend (the only more efficient propellant, Warp Nine, isn;t used in such small cases), with an Isp (efficiency) of 245 (assuming 62.5g of propellant, the max that usually fits in the case). That's very high; most blends top out at about 200. See previous post.

The burn time is apparently 1.17 seconds, for what is about a G128T. That's an awesome motor, and would kick some major ass if it's released as a commercial load.

But it gets better. Oh yes.

They're looking to put an H load in it. Obviously a baby H - just over the limit at 161 Ns or so. Average thrust between 100 and 120. That's pushing 263 for the Isp for 62.5g of propellant. Even if they've got 72.2 grams - the amount in the old G33J, and the maximum that'll fit in the casing - that's still a nice high 228.

I thoroughly approve of this, and I really hope they get a motor to market. I have several rockets - the Mozzie chief among them - that could rock on a big G or baby H, but can't quite fit a 29/180 casing.

Also, since it's a small amount of propellant, it'll be cheap. And everybody, it seems, has the hobby casing (29/40-120) for mid-power stuff; it'd be cheaper to certify with that than by buying the larger casing.

Other Flights at NERRF

There were a lot of great flights at NERRF, too many to talk about all of them. Some highlights:

• Somebody launched an M flight while a number of us were out at the high-power pads. We were still a safe distance away, but it was sudden and unexpected and awesomely loud.
• Rick Comshaw of CATO launched his 5.5" LDRS-28 rocket on a K skidmark. It was a beautiful flight, but that was before it was realized that the dirt on the left side of the range was too dry. This is no ordinary dirt, however; this is the famed METRA Moondust. Flammable dirt. The sparks started a 50-foot string of grass fires. They were quickly put out because this was a contingency that had been thoroughly prepared for, but I got an incurable urge to whistle 'Light my Fire' by the Doors.
• There were a number of impressive altitude flights, some to 11,000 feet or more.
• Right as we pulled in the parking lot, there was a very impressive M flight that went off the away cell. It was a great flight, but the main tangled and there was a collective groan from the crowd. Turn out that was Al Gloer going for Level 3 certification. Fortunately, the "Que$tionable Inve$tment" wasn't damaged. He loaded it up again, got it up on the pad, and... one of the altimeters blinked out an error message.
               Then, later, as I was out searching for the Sudden Mach, I saw a beautiful M flight lift off. When the main deployed, I could hear the clapping from the flight line - 3000 feet away! He'd gotten a new altimeter and it was a perfect flight, landing right near the pads. My folks got a picture:
  
  
  
  He later recalled on TRF how he'd accidentally connected the middle of the parachute, instead of the lines, to the shock cord. When prepping the second flight, he noticed a piece of tape where he'd connected it the previous time. Written on the tape in his wife's (Karen Gloer of CATO Chutes) handwriting was "Not here, stupid"

NERRF today

NERRF was absolutely great today. Four sucessful flights, and lots of fun. Lots more info, and some pictures tomorrow.

For now, a big hearty CONGRATULATIONS to Al Gloer, CATO president, for his sucessful Level 3 certification flight today.

Aerotech Spacers Out!

Aerotech has officially released a spacer system for their 38mm RMS system. It's a bit different from the Cesaroni system, though.

The Cesaroni system simply uses metal spacer tubes that fit inside the motor, taking up the space of one grain. The AT system is a bit more complicated. It uses 3 parts: metal spacer tubes like in the Cesaroni system, a floating forward closure that can go anywhere inside the motor tube, and a choice of forward closures. One allows the case to be used with its normal-sized reloads as well as smaller one and has a large hole in the center; the other only allows use with spacers (ie, use of a 360Ns case with 240 loads but not 360 loads) but provides an eyebolt attachment for your recovery system.

Aerotech recommends using no more than 2 spacers per case, but theoretically 5 can turn a 38/1080 motor into a 38/120 motor. Imagine being able to use G and J loads in the same casing! The only penalty is 1.9" of case length (over the usual case) and about 50g (1.8 oz) per spacer used. In other words, a 360Ns case with one spacer is 1.9" longer and 1.8oz heavier than the 240Ns case alone.

Currently, the system is not yet certified, but this is expected to come by mid-October. The standard new closure, which allows use of the nominal load for the case plus smaller loads, comes with 2 spacers and the floating forward closure for $29.99. The anchored forward closure, alone, is $19.99.

29mm and 54mm systems will likely join the 38mm system soon. I will certainly buy the 29mm system so I can use 60Ns and 120Ns loads with my 180Ns case. (The 100Ns case uses non-standard-size grains and thus wouldn't work with the spacer.) Aerotech is not sure whether they'll make 75mm and 98mm versions only because they would carry significant weight and length penalties versus the nominal size casing.

Like other Aerotech stuff, this isn't necessarily as simple to use as the Cesaroni version, but it's not too hard, and I personally like assembling my own motor from individual parts. Using a Cesaroni load, which is preassembled, seems like no different from using a single-use motor.

The announcement on TRF, Rocketry Planet, and Aerotech's website.

And now, for your enjoyment, my first embedded Youtube video, which shows the assmbly of the new spacer system and 2 test firings.

Labels

I'm currently in the process of changing my labeling system for posts. HPR and MPR have their own categories now, only stuff actually relating to certification goes in Certification, and Model Rocketry only deals with LPR stuff now. Changing the labels will take a few days, but it'll be easier to work with in the end.

Thoughts on new reloadable motors

I've been thinking recently about getting a bit more hardware. There's a rather large gap in my arsenal between the 45Ns F motors I can fly in my 24/40 case, and the 155Ns G75J in my 29/180 case. There's a number of reload options in that range, but they're all either Aerotech loads (in Rouse-tech cases) or the Cesaroni Pro29 series.

Since I'm not looking for 60Ns F motors only, that eliminates the 24/60 and 29/60 cases and the Cesaroni Pro29-1G case (approxiamtely a 60Ns case). This narrows it down to a few options: The Aerotech 29/40-120, 29/100, and 29/120 cases, and the Cesaroni Pro29 2-grain and 3-grain motors.

I can eliminate the 29/100 case as well. It's very similar to the 29/120 case, but with a few differences. The 100Ns case has the G54W and G104T loads; the 120Ns case has the G77R and G79W. The G104T, because its average thrust is over 80N, cannot be flown at places like Salem without a waiver; I'm also not a big fan of Blue Thunder motors cause they don't produce any spectacular flame or smoke. For only about a dollar more per flight, I'd rather have the option of two different motors, one red and one white, which have a higher impulse and can lift even 3.3lb 4" rockets.

I can also eliminate the Cesaroni system. Although I like the simple assembly, adjustable delays, and variety of motors, it's just not practical for me. Although the cases themselves are cheap - slightly less than single AT / Rouse-tech cases of the same impulse range - it requires buying an aft closure - about 20 bucks - in order to use the cases, and a 15-buck delay adjustment tool in order to have the range of delays. That means for even a 2-grain (120Ns) case, I'm looking at about 60 bucks for the case, and then G reloads are around 20 bucks - not a substantial savings over SU motors.

That said, however, I will keep Cesaroni reloads in mind for the future. Once I'm 18, going for my L2 cert, and hopefully able to fly high-thrust Gs and H and I motors at Salem, the Pro38 series starts to look a lot more attractive. At that range, they start to get to about the same price as AT reloads, and the greater variety of reloads per case is a big plus. Plus, Cesaroni has one thing that Aerotech has never expressed any interest in: SKIDMARKS!

That leave the Aerotech 29/120 and 29/40-120 cases. The hobby case (40-120Ns) is between 40 and 50 bucks; the 120Ns case is between 25 and 35. I don't need to buy closures, as I already have a pair from my 29/180-240 system. However, the 15-dollar difference in initial cost is quickly offset - G loads for the hobby case cost about $2.50 less, and there's even more of a difference with E and F loads. Although I like the G77 and G79, I think the variety of cheap reloads for the hobby case wins out. It also has several other advantages: per-motor delays, instead of a medium delay for each motor; a better ejection charge holding system, different propellants, including Black Max and Mojave Green, and of course the ability to fly F motors. I likely won't fly E motors, though, as 24/40 E loads are cheaper than 29mm E loads.

Along with the case, I'll definitely buy a 3-pack of E18-4T reloads. I like the loud and smoky White Lightning propellant, and the -4 delay is good for the Mozzie, Nantucket Sound, 24mm saucer, and even possibly the Nike-Apache, although since my Nike-Apache turned out heavy I think F motors are a better choice. I'll also get an F reload or two, plus a G load.

I'm also looking into getting another MPR rocket. Currently I'm leaning towards the Madcow Scooter.

Nike-Apache Review finished!

2425 words, and about 4 hours total of work. Now I just gotta choose what pictures to send...

I also got a bit of building done.

I've coated the tops on the wings and the nose cone of the Orbital Transport glider with wood glue in preparation for painting. It'll take a while, but I think it'll look best once painted.

I removed most of the old beat-up motor mount from the Transwing and replaced it with a better mount with new tubing and no pesky motor hook. It'll fly on a C6-3 at the next CATO I attend, probably either October or November.

Finally, the new 18mm booster for the Comanche-3 is almost complete. I put 3 coats of red paint, which almost matches the original, and the green stripe is drying.

I found the ejection charge canister, with some extra BP remaining that I didn't load into the motor, from one of my cert reloads. Why I put it into my 29/240 case I don't know, but added to the leftovers from two 24mm charges, I now have about a gram - over a full 24mm charge - to use to replace a lost charge or augment a charge, or to place in small nozzles to facilitate staging.

HPR at a local field?

According to a few threads on the CATO forums, pending the results of a waiver filed, small and low HPR flights (i.e, high-thurst Gs and baby Hs) may be allowed at times at the new Salem launch site. This means that stuff like the 29/60 G104T and 38/120 G339N, plus hybrids, would be usuable at the site, plus low-altitude flights on smaller H motors like the 29/180 cases.

This would be a lot of fun for me. I could fly 29mm saucers on H loads, plus do flight testing for a L2 rocket, which I plan to build over the next 18 months then launch as soon as I turn 18.

Other Stuff at NERRF

Just a NERRF directional sign. No idea why my dad took this one.
 

A nice gathering of rockets:
 
On the left is a pretty big AMRAAM, probably a 4" rocket. The saucer in the middle was very impressive and loud; it flew several times including on one of the new Aerotech long burn motors, which actually resulted in it hitting one of the trailers in the lot on the way down. The guy on the right setting up a rocket is Al Gloer, CATO Prez and Lord High Executioner, who helped me repair the Nike-Apache and do my cert flight.

Mark Hanna's EssoScout:
 
According to the info on the NERRF projects page, which is the only info I can find, It was a complex L, with a central Aerotech L850W (75/3840 case) ground-started and two AT I195J motors (38/600 case) airstarted 3 seconds into the flight. There was a bit of worry of danger if only one of the twin motors lit, but aparently the LCO was not concerned, as he stated that it was 'only a pair of 'I's." (I'm not sure if the pun was intentional or not). It had a beautful flight to around 4500 feet. I was just beginning my pad manager stint at the time, so I got to take his flight card and look over the rocket briefly but not actually set it up.

A L3 cert flight on the pad:
 
I'm not sure who this was, but it was the second L3 cert attempt on the day and was sucessful. It was a beautiful flight on a large White Lightning motor then went high and recovered sucessfully on the other side of the river, with the nose cone separating as designed. I assume they got their cert.

There were only a few other notable flights that I remember. Al Gloer flew his Warloc to about 2000 feet on a Loki J800; I went with him to recover it. It actually landed no more than 150 yards from the launch site, but it took half a mile of driving as it landed just across the river.

There was another L3 cert earlier that was a beautiful flight, but unsucessful as the motor casing came out and fell separately. Better luck next time.

There were at least 2 other sucessful Jr. L1 certs as well; I talked a bit with Matt Vetere who certified on a LOC Fantom. An adult L1 cert thatI helped put on the pad was unsucessful due to motor ejection; I'm glad the Nike-Apache came with a threaded rod retention system. I plan to add it on any future MPR / HPR rockets I build.

There was a 38mm minimum-diameter carbon-fiber rocket that I helped place on the pad. It flew beautifully to something like 8000 feet and Mach 1.8.

There were about 20% LPR flights; C6s, D12s, and E9s were very popular. Two rice-paper rockets flew; one had a sucessful rear ejection and the other did not and conveniently flattened itself for disposal.

Certification

I brought my Nike-Apache all nice and shiny new to the field. I found a CATO member willing to sponsor me, and I assembled the motor and got it ready for flight. Hangar 11 was out of H128s, so I used an H165-M Redline with a deliciously loud roar. I got it RSO approved, on the pad, and ready to go:












Unfortunately, the first flight was a failure. The following is my best forensic explanation of the observed events. The motor ignited and burned fine, bringing the rocket up to speed and producing a loud roar. Due to the loose fit of the transition section, the lead weight and its high momentum pulled the Apache and transition right up off the high-drag Nike body at burnout - approxiamtely 600 feet and 600 fps. The chute, well built and packed to open quickly, did. The thin elastic shock cord snapped on both sides of the parachute loop, leaving the parachute, Nike body, chute protector, and Apache / transition coming down in 4 separate pieces. Oh snap.

I walked out to inspect the damage. Despite the high-speed deployment, the 28" nylon chute was in perfect condition, as of course was the Kevlar chute protector. I found the Nike body next. As do many rocket bodies (like the Bullpup) with large fins and a motor in back, it had glided down and came back undamaged. This meant at worst, I could buy a new 2.6" nose cone and try again sometime with a non-scale rocket, or perhaps a Nike Smoke.

Finally, I found the Apache, or part of it anyway. The heavy nose weight and fins and transition in back had made it perfectly stable coming in. Absolutely perfectly stable. It was buried so that only half was sticking out, and I could not pull it out with my bare hands. Fortunately, Bob from Hangar 11 was kind enough to lend a shovel. After loostening the sod around it, I first pulled up the body, sans nose cone. After a bit more digging, I found the cone. Except for flattened antennae and the covering of dirt they looked... remarkably undamaged. Thank goodness for the soft dirt of the sod farm.

After conferring with the ridiculously helpful Al Gloer, I set to work. He mixed some 5-minute epoxy and I scraped off the nose cone, then glued it back on and set it out to dry. He gave me a 5-foot piece of 1/4" kevlar, with loops sewed on both ends and for the chute. The kevlar would withstand more forces, he said, and could have survived the premature separation. I straightened the antennae and bought a pair of quick-links (one for attaching the other end of the kevlar to the rocket, and one because they were $2.50 and ridiculously useful), and made a small vent hole to prevent air pressure differences from contributing to another premature separation, located based on the advice of a flier I picked out at random in the RSO line who was more than happy to explain to me what to do.

Finally, I entrusted my 29/180 case to Carson's Motor Cleaning, a NERRF / METRA institution. Carson is a maybe 13-year-old kid who cleans your motor cases for you - 2 bucks for a 29mm case, 3 for a 38mm case, and up to 6 bucks for a whole 98mm case - and does it well. In ten minutes, I had a conveniently clean case.

Under Mr. Gloer's guidance, I assembled another H165R-M load, including Gary Tortora's handy tape trick which keeps all the ejection charge in. He then showed me how to put lots of tape on the transition so it wouldn't drag-separate. Patrick McConnell managed to dredge up another set of Jr. Cert forms and I was ready to go.












This time, it leaped off the pad after a single igniter chuff, and held together all through ascent. It arced over at a simmed 1700 feet, then ejected about 3 seconds past apogee due to the slightly long delay. A moment of smoke, then this glorious sight:












After about a 2-minute descent, which was very slow - about 15 fps due to the large chute - it finally landed. The cone stuck on landing, but amazingly, for the second time that day, did not break. I picked it up very carefully and carried it back for post-flight inspection.












Al Gloer and another flyer checked the rocket for damage - none - and signed off on the forms. I was offically Jr. L1 certified! Now all I need to do is photocopy the documents and send them off to the NAR HQ for offical filing and a new NAR member card with my new cert level.

I'd like to thank a few people:
My dad, for taking a whole day to be bored while I drove, bored while I prepped rockets, taking awesome pictures, bored while I was the pad manager, bored looking for my rocket, and bored driving home again, all for my benefit.
Al Gloer, for being a huge help with repairing the Nike-Apache, for witnessing my cert flight, and for getting me going again after my embarrassing failure.
Gary Tortora, for various help during motor assembly.
Pat McConnell for the form.
Several other CATO members, for various help along the way.
Bob from Hangar 11, who helpfully had all the parts I needed.
And last but not least Carson, for the very helpful service of motor cleaning.

Certified!

Second attempt of the day was sucessful. NERRF was awesome. Details and many pictures coming soon.

Certification Next!

I leave tomorrow morning by 8 to go off to Pine Island, NY for my certification flight. The car is packed and I am off to bed. With any luck, my next post will be saying that I am certified!

Nike-Apache Stability

Part of the readiness of a cert flight is being able to prove stability. The CG of the Nike-Apache, loaded with an 29/180 motor, is about 37.4" aft of the nose. The CP, calculated on my calculator, including all 3 transitions and 2 fin sets, is at 41.8" aft of the nose. This provides an ample 4.4" stability margin, equal to 1.7 calibers.

My coming week

It's gonna be pretty busy, but fun stuff mostly.

Non-rocketry:

• Driving
  • Take my last 3 state-mandated classes
  • Get back into driving after not driving for over a week in Kauai
  • Work on freeway driving
• Working. Mostly fun and hey, it's money to support my hobbies and eventually pay for stuff like college, a car, gas, etc. Ya know, the important stuff.
• Listen to music:
  • Neon Bible by the Arcade Fire
  • The Wall, Pink Floyd
  • Who's Next, The Who
• Unpack

Preparations for NERRF:

• Print out directions to Pine Island
• Decide on my line-up
• Run sims for the estimated altitude for all the rockets
• Print out (on cardstock) and fill out flight cards
Prep all my rockets
• chutes, wadding, motor retention, and making sure the motors fit
• Prep motors
  • Assemble the E18-4T reload for the Nantucket Sound
  • Bring the 29/180 hardware for my cert flight
  • Make sure I have igniters for every motor, plus spares
• Prepare my range box(es)
  • Buy a new tackle box for my MPR / HPR stuff
  • MASKING TAPE, clothespins, tools, CA for minor field repairs
• Bring money for:
  • A G80 for the Machnum Force, an H128 load for the Nike-Apache, and maybe another motor or two
  • Lunch and dinner
  • Any motor hardware (29/40-120 maybe) or kits I decide to buy
• Make sure all the motors fit - the Mozzie in particular has a lot of grimy residue in the mount from the ejection charges form BP motors.
• Pack the car
  • A bean bag to rest the long and odd-shaped Nike-Apache, with its transition, pointy nose, and antennae on.
  • Sufficient padding for other rockets. The Machnum Force can withstand pretty much anything, but stuff like the Nantucket Sound and Deltie Thunder are a bit fragile.

Other Rocketry Stuff not for NERRF:

• Repair the Rokit
• Repair my broken Estes Porta-Pad with a dap of epoxy clay
• sand my launch rods to remove corrosion, then spray on some thin clear-coat to protect them
• Make a MMX rocket from my pen from NARCON
• Work on my plans for a new larger payload rocket

Yup. This week will be busy but fun. Just like my hugoid interlocking bulleted lists.

Okay, already

I hate how bad my HTML looked for the last post, so I removed every carriage return (enter) in the code, because each of those moves the table down one row. I might do it for the older one as well.

I also replaced the manually typed fractions with neater, html-based fractions. the code for ½ is [ampersand]frac12; and for ¼ is [ampersand]frac14; where [ampersand] is the & symbol.

Also, changed the more recent table to have a column for Hs so I can easily grab the code sometime later when I want it without having to fumble to add another row.

The big thing, though, is that I added a gadget to the sidebar, a bit down (just below the hit counter and map), that I'll update showing my current motor tallies for the current year. It's got only room for Hs, but by the time I start flying is (next year at the minimum) or Js and above (2011 when i turn 18 and can go for L2 cert) I except to have much better HTML-fu and thus better formatting. This one is pretty simple and uses no coloring, span tags, or even bolding - just a real basic table.

Also, random thing but so far, despite being in Hawaii, I have still done a post every day (local time) since I decided to start going for that goal.

In Hawaii!

So yeah, I'm in Hawaii. Poipu in Kauai, to be exact.

A few random notes:

• Somewhere about over St. Louis, give or take 300 miles, I happened to be looking out the window at just the right time to see another jetliner pass no more than a mile, probably less, off out left wingtip - this seemed to be a very close pass.


• After running a few sims on the plane: Estimated altitude for the Nike-Apache on an H128W-M is 1800 feet.


• We have only one wired internet collection in our room, but 4 people wanting to use 2 computers. Fortunately, we happen to be in an area that, though not insanely crowded or uber-urban, has the critical mass required to have a few people too careless to secure their wireless networks in the area. Quoth xkcd: We need a special holiday to honor the countless kind fools with unsecured networks named 'linksys'.


• Twice today I saw the distinctive bright, twisted smoke trails that can only be created by the smoke plume of a large rocket. I think they must have been test flights out of the PMRF.


• Although I'm 6 hours behind the East Coast where I usually blog from, I'll be using the local time for my posts, so you'll see posts appear 6 hours or so after their timestamp, usually around 3pm or 4am EST.

Actual updates on what I'm doing here start soon.

NERRF lineup Mk. 1

• Nike-Apache on an H128W-M or H165R-M, with the possibility of an H97J-M if neither of the previous two are available. This will be my Junior Level One Certification flight. Estimated altitude 2400 feet.


• Machnum Force on a G80-13. Estimated altitude 5600ft; speed Mach 1.14 (868 mph / 1273 fps / 388 mps). It'll recover on a smallish streamer at about 40 fps, but even at that high speed it'll take over 2 minutes to reach the ground!


• Deltie Thunder on a D12-3. Estimated altitude 250 feet; if it comes out gliding at 200 feet AGL then it could easily glide for well over a minute; if it repeats the previous two flights then it may becomes scrap balsa.


• Mozzie on an F23-4FJ. Estimated altitude 943 feet, estimated speed 266 fps. Time aloft approximately 30 seconds.


• Nantucket Sound on an E18-4W. Estimated altitude 300 feet. I'll make sure to tape the motor case in this time.


• Comanche-3 on D12-0 / B6-0 / A8-5. Estimated altitude 2000 feet, estimated speed 400 fps. Hopefully my first stable three stage flight.

List subject to change.