There was a club launch scheduled for this particular Saturday, but it was changed from the football field to the cornfield due to a surprise bonus from the landowner. Planting had yet to begin, so the decision was made to take advantage of the last high power launch day, a decision I found disappointing, but understandable. I could have gone to fly my small field stuff, but I had no interest in making the three hour drive with a ten hour flight staring me in the face later in the week. My wife had plans to meet her sisters for breakfast, so I halfheartedly drove up to B6-4 Field to see if there was a chance to fly before the softball/baseball games started. To my great shock this perfect Saturday seemed to have been forgotten, and I found the field empty. I set up knowing that the chance of me setting down were more than good, but I figured I'd get a few off before I got chased.
I'll save you the suspense. It never happened. I did have four families stop to watch, but no one showed up to play ball. I was grateful for the opportunity to fly, but I found it depressing that no one was taking advantage of this perfect spring day to play. That feeling passed quickly.
Since I was trying to maximize my flying time, I didn't pick a dedicated wind test rocket as I normally do. I grabbed the rocket that was on top of the pile in my tote, which happened to be the More Rockets Colonial Forces Viper from the disco-era sci-fi hair series, Battlestar Galactica. It hadn't flown in a while, a while being since 2012. On that day, it flew well enough, but came back missing one of the gun mounts and I never got around to cutting out a new one. It's still missing, but 13 years is punishment enough for misplacing your gun mounts, and it got the call today.
The idea after the first flight was to mount the launch lug guns and get it primed. As you can see, that never happened. This would be an A8-3 flight, like many others on the day. There's a lot sticking out into the breeze for this bird, so I was expecting a fairly low-level flight. I got what I expected. It left the pad with a slight lean to the right, topped out at 216' and descended on a perfect chute, amazing in itself after being in the body tube for 13 years. Watching it descend I was struck by the length of the shock cord. I was clearly overcompensating for something when I rigged this one up. It rode the light breeze back to the outfield, just over the outstretched glove of the shortstop for a clean single. All parts were accounted for this time, and I resolved to cut the new piece and finally finish the job.
Next up would be my recently repaired Estes Nova Payloader which last flew in 2018 at a WSR launch in Dayton. That day I flew it on a B6-4 Field load despite the big field and wound up with a broken fin. The mighty A8-3 must have been too much for it. I found the missing fin while cleaning in the shop last month and it fit perfectly, so I decided to delay the new fin and try it with the repaired one.
This would be another A8-3 flight on a field better suited for it. Happily, the repaired fin withstood the rigors of the launch and performed flawlessly. It followed the same flight path as the Viper, but was quite a bit higher at ejection. The chute, like the one in the Viper, had been wrapped up in the body tube for the past seven years, but performed flawlessly, bringing the NP down in left center field after a 274' flight.
The Quest Flash (or is it the Quest The Flash?) would be the third rocket on the pad. I had picked up several Quest kits back in the 2010's and all were damaged by overly tight packaging. Irked, I sent a message to Quest and was asked to send them a sample so they could evaluate the issue. They replaced the kit and sent several others, one being the Flash. It took a while for my interest in building Quest kits to return, but when I did, the Flash was among the first finished. I scanned the decal and made a waterslide copy, but other than that it was built as Quest envisioned it. Nothing fancy, but a decent looking bird and a great small field flyer.
For this flight I chose an A8-3, although a B4-4 would have been tempting because of the lack of wind. The A8-3 was enough, easily the highest of the first three rockets I launched, topping out at 313' while following the same path off the pad as the first two flights. The streamer recovery streamed perfectly and brought it down in the hole between short and second. No man's land.
Flight #4 would be the Estes A.S.P., an eBay rescue that I had been prepping for repaint. It had been a part of a lot back before everyone figured the dusty old rockets in the mildewed cellar were actually the equivalent of spun gold. This one had a non-stock paint job with Russian markings and hadn't flown since 2018 because of the aforementioned prepping. It was a new kit in the 1981 catalog, which is right in my vintage wheelhouse.
The A.S.P. flight was on a 1/2A3-4T and almost dead straight off the pad. Even with the mini motor power the altitude was decent to 297'. At apogee there was a fairly clear "THUNK" that should have tipped me off to the eventual damage. The streamer took a while to stream but eventually did and it all landed in the hole behind shortstop. Upon reaching the landing site it became obvious that there had been impact between the nose cone and the top of the body tube. The top of the tube was split and crushed about 1/2'. There would be no salvaging the damaged tubing, so it will be shorter in the future, even more semi-scale than before.
It's no secret that I have a Max obsession. I'm about due for another Max family photo, but I believe I'm approaching 30, several which I've never flown, but most I flew on a self-proclaimed Max Saturday back in 2020. Most of my collection were Mini Max kits that I'd pick up on each Hobby Lobby trip, each painted in a different color, just because. Cheap thrills. This would be the first flight for this particular Mini Max since that day in 2020.
The Mini Max was loaded with an A10-3 because on a day like this it's a perfect combination. The flight almost exactly followed the flight path of the A.S.P., mostly straight and slightly to the right. Ejection occurred over the infield and after a delay for the chute to unfold, it landed deep at second base.
I built the clone of the Estes Goonybird Missile Toe one night during Covid after finding the nose cone and body tubes in my shop. The only part I was missing was a mini engine hook which I don't care for anyway. That first flight in 2020 made me realize that BT-60 mini powered rockets need to be flown here on either an A10-3 or A3-4 motor. On this day I found the A10-3 first, so it got the call to duty.
The flight was.......interesting. First of all, I hadn't bothered to load it with barf when I was barfing in all the other rockets, so I pulled a handful of grass from the left field area and went natural instead. When it left the pad, it did so heading right, but EXTREME right. At first it looked like it would be in trouble as it was heading for the softball field, US 27 and the power lines, if not the buildings across the road, but the motor burned out earlier than expected. It was out over the infield near home plate when it "ejected". Unfortunately, the ejection charge didn't clear the grass so the chute came out late, but it filled enough to keep the rocket from being damaged on the hard infield when it landed on the first base line.
I purchased the ASP Corporal several years ago because I hadn't built anything by ASP and it seemed like a good kit to start with. The build was smooth, and the finished product came out very nice. This would be the third flight and the first since last year. To be honest, I just picked it off the rack because it looked good. Sometimes that's all you need.
The flight was an oddity, not in the flight path or anything, but in the sound of the A8-3 motor. It sounded lethargic and the performance seemed off. The Corporal is a sleek rocket and a normal A8-3 flight would seem to be impressive from an altitude standpoint. The flight arced out toward right center field, topping out at 241' before popping the chute and recovering in short center.
The next flight would be the Custom Serval and my first B6-4 flight of the day. This is one of the old school Custom kits, not the currently available Level 1 kits. It's one of my favorite tube-finned rockets along with its brother kit the Custom Razor. The Serval is a fairly bulky bird and the B6-4 is a perfect motor for it on this field.
The flight was perfectly unremarkable, straight off the pad with a gentle arc out toward center field, topping out at 253'. It ejected at apogee and the chute filled immediately, the Serval recovering with a side to side pendulum motion. This really needs to fly here more often.
One successful B6-4 flight under my belt, I decided to get back on the horse and picked the PDR Space Station Aquarius to be next in line. PDR was a short-lived company that offered an impressive selection of cloned Estes kits. In the short time they existed, I was trying to divide my meager hobby funds between them and Semroc, constantly on the lookout for new releases and eagerly awaiting the next order. Definitely another golden age that unfortunately ended too quickly.
This seemed like another typical B6-4 flight, arcing out away from the pad and topping out at 227' 9.25". It ejected over center field and something immediately seemed off. Like the whole body tube. The ejection charge was too much for the 18-year-old elastic shock cord and the body began a free-fall to the outfield grass. Usually when this occurs, the nose cone and parachute drift off for parts unknown, but in this case the chute was reefed and allowed them to drop almost as fast as the body tube, which hit the field hard enough to bounce and became two pieces on the rebound. One of the tube fin sections broke off, but it's a clean break that will be easily fixed with some glue. The chute and nose cone drifted down a few feet away. Another length of elastic and we'll be back in business.
The Lambda 8 left the pad leaning toward right field and cruised to a cool 311'. It was out over second base when it ejected and recovered in straightaway center. Well, part of it did. Yep, another elastic failure, #2 on the day. The lower section came down more toward left center, while the nose cone and payload dropped dead straight in dead center, sticking the landing. Other than the elastic, there was no damage, and it should fly again. Someday.
I picked up several Quest Commanders when I found them online at a decent price a few years back. I always liked the Estes Star Blazer vibe, and the price was right. It's a great pick for an A8-3 flight here, and I can see building one of the other ones as a mini-engine bird if the time comes. The original decals were stickers and had long lost any stickiness, so I scanned them and printed off waterslides. Not perfect, but I don't think it suffers from them.
The flight was perfectly unremarkable, which is just how I like them. It left the pad heading toward right field and was never in trouble, but it did get the dogs barking. Streamer recovery out in the right field grass ended the flight.
Now for the most anticipated flight of the day, the Apogee Centrix. I bought this among with the low-power motor collection of an old flying buddy and immediately started construction. Part of the motor stash was a number of Apogee Medalist motors that I had never had the opportunity to fly, and I was fired up to give them a try. The Centrix had been to the pads on at least two previous occasions, but neither had resulted in a flight. One was a taping error on my part, while the other was an igniter issue. Apparently I don't have the knack. I worried about this until an oracle appeared from the internet and told me to just use Estes igniters because the Apogee toothpick method is fussy and fiddly. This would be the test of that theory.
The good news is that the igniter worked perfectly. The bad news is that it flew. The motor was a 1/4A2-4 and it may have been a long burner. I couldn't tell because it was upside down as soon as it cleared the rod. Total altitude was 47' and it whomped to the ground near shortstop undamaged. Scott McCrate, the original owner of the motors, told a story about one landsharking at my second ever QUARK launch back in 2001. It's the only story he ever told about flying anything Medalist powered. Now I've got a story to tell as well.
I got back in the win column with the Semroc Squire on an A8-3. I've got a soft spot for this one because it was one of Carl's original designs for the first iteration of Semroc back in the late 60's. If anyone has any of the original Semroc stuff, consider posting pics in the Facebook group. I'm sure they'd be a hit.
Not much to say about this flight other than perfection. Straight flight with a slight arc away from the pad, ejected at apogee at 252' and a perfect parachute recovery straight out from the pad in left center field. Carl, thanks for a great ten years.
Nex flight would be the Estes Vagabond. No, not the Estes Vagabond, the Estes Vagabond. Yeah, I hate it when they recycle names. I had an issue here. Over the course of the day, I had four groups of people stop to see a launch. Two passed and turned around specifically to watch. Of those families, one had a thoroughly unimpressed teenager who turned out to be the most excited when all was said and done. He expected a bottle rocket that exploded and couldn't believe that the rocket returned on a parachute. Another family heard a launch from the front yard the next street over and came over to see what was going on. They were the audience for the Vagabond launch. I was rushing to get things squared away and apparently fat fingered the button on my phone. Nothing exists of a perfect flight except the glamour shot. It landed in deep center. Did I mention perfectly?
In my 2300+ flights I've flown one egg, and the Quest Courier was my lofter. I had the Semroc Scrambler and Egg Crate partially finished at home, and would eventually acquire an Estes Eggspress, but in 2015 the Courier was the only one I had flying. It flew egg #35 to a mid-field finish, which was all I was after because I was just there as a body. I think I flew every competition and made successful flights in all of them. The Courier earned an egg-lofting decal from one of the old Estes sheets, and wears it proudly.
The Courier left the pad leaning to the right, travelled to 264' and popped the chute without the slightest trace of drama. Recovery occurred in the grass behind shortstop. The last B6-4 flight of the day would be the best of the bunch.
The only thing about the Estes Echo that is vintage is the decal, which is why I felt not the slightest shred of guilt in converting it to mini-engine power. 18mm motors routinely overflew B6-4 Field and I don't like suicide missions, no matter the rocket. Converting to 13mm opens the options below the 18mm 1/2A, and the 13mm 1/2As are far easier to find.
The Echo flight was likely the straightest of the day. Completely unfazed by the switch to mini power, the Echo topped out at 236'. Recovery was on a streamer and took place to the left of the pad, which was not at all expected.
It took me a couple of years to clone an Estes Rogue after I got back into the hobby, but only because I hadn't found a suitable nose cone for the project. I made due with a BT-55 upscale for a couple of years until I finally discovered BMS and sourced the proper cone. I never flew one as a kid, but my neighbor did, and only because they ate dinner before we did and got the JC Penney Toyland first.
The Rogue flight was as usual, a straight boost with next to nothing in the way of windcocking, then a streamer recovery in which the fins led the way in a rapid descent back near the pad. Altitude on the 1/2A3-4T was 243'. Occasionally the rapid descent causes a fin to break off, but this was one of the lucky flights in which no damage was sustained.
Some rockets I just don't get. The 220 Swift comes to mind because of the fire and forget nature. The Dude remains at the top of my list. The Tornado has a spot on there as well. It's not a bad looking rocket, but anything that goes up and crashes down is going to run the risk of picking up significant glue weight due to repairs. That's where I'm standing with the Tornado after this flight. The A8-3 flight was fairly lethargic, reaching only 186'. The two parts separated, then dropped to the ground in the grass to my left, breaking off the three fins at impact. Nope, don't get it. Also don't see any flights in the future.
Speaking of don't get, the final flight of the day, and only because the rocket tote was empty, would be the Semroc Baby Orion. I picked this one up several years ago when Mom came to me upset because she didn't have enough for me for a Christmas gift. I contacted Santa Carl and picked up a selection of new Semroc offerings, one of which was the Baby O. It's mini powered, but not really mini sized, and would probably be seen as a tweener. It's of decent size and has lots of stuff sticking out in the wind, both of which combine to suck away anything related to performance.
The Baby Orion flight left the pad slowly and followed a somewhat lethargic path to the right. The flight topped out at 187' and it ejected after tipping over. The chute filled quickly and recovery took place behind shortstop in short left center.
And then it was over. I'd made 19 flights, entertained four groups who stopped by, and never got chased off the field for a baseball or softball practice. The tote was completely empty, something I'd not done in a number of years. It had been a great day and would be my last chance to fly for almost a month due to the cruise my wife had planned. We have a club launch scheduled for June 21st, which should give me just enough time to get my grass cut so that I can enjoy it without guilt. Yeah, I can't even write that with a straight face.
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