First post during winter haitus

Long time no post.  Well, I live in the Chicago area, which currently has snow on the ground and more expected tonight.  I almost went to my club's "Polar Bear" launch in January but was concerned the air temperature (the high was 19 F) would prevent my rocket's parachutes from opening.  Estes recommends launching above 40 F when using their plastic parachutes.

Rocket-wise, I've been busy updating my blog with pictures from my launches in 1999~2004.  The site I used to host on geocities.com was shut down and all my pictures were pre-digital so I had to find the original prints and scan them to rebuild these memories.  They're linked at the top of my main page under "LARRY'S FLEET".  I've also added flight pictures from our earlier and pictures and videos from my more recent launches under LAUNCH REPORTS on the main page.

I've also done some minor repair work on some of my fleet.  First, the "escape tower" broke off my Mercury Redstone rocket.  

I was able to find most of the pieces and glue it back on.  The other rocket needing repair was my Space Shuttle.  The hook on the main booster that holds the Shuttle (circled below) had cracked.  I was able to glue this with some wood glue to reconnect the split balsa support.

Separately, two connectors on the bottom of the Shuttle had come off.  I found one original, painted black, and was able to reconnect it with plastic adhesive.  The other I cut from a spare launch lug and glued in place with plastic adhesive.  These two small tubes create tubes for the two protruding dowel pieces (arrows above) to hold the shuttle to the booster.

I'll need to repaint this area with black paint but now at least my fleet is restored.  I recently ordered some Estes display stands to reduce the risk of these rockets tipping over while on display.

Another winter activity is ordering parts and building new rockets!  I've started on an old Estes Super Big Bertha,  #2165.  It's 36" X 2.6” and was designed to fly on 24 mm D-12 engines only.  I paid $26.24 on 7/6/2000 from Commonwealth Displays (25% discount off 34.99 list).  This version was introduced in 1989-1993 then brought back in 2000 (https://estesrockets.com/wp-content/uploads/Catalogs/Estes_1989_Catalog.pdf).

Of course, the current version of the Super Big Bertha is designated a Pro Series II model and designed to fly with bigger 29 mm engines, projected to fly to 1200 feet on an Estes  F15-6. (https://estesrockets.com/product/009719-pro-series-ii-super-big-bertha/).  Not wanting to be embarrassed flying a "wimpy" Super Big Bertha on D engines, I ordered 29 mm engine tubes from Estes and plywood engine mounts from Apogee, due to arrive today.  Here are the modifications I'm planning to upscale my 2000 vintage Super Big Bertha:

1. Use 29 mm engine tube
2. Use Estes Pro 29 mm motor retainer set instead of hook & engine block
3. Hand cut engine mount for 29 mm from extra 2.6X 18 mm cardboard mount.  —><— Decided to buy pre-cut plywood engine mounts from Apogee instead!
4. Cut 24 mm stuffer/engine tube to remove 29 mm length (8 of 18”) THEN mate end to end w/ mounts glued together.
5. Make an ejection baffle of the last pair of mounts (as suggested by https://www.rocketreviews.com/estes-super-big-bertha-lpr-mike-goss.html) to cut down on having to use so much flame retardant wadding and prevent damage to the parachute.
6. Make Kevlar no zipper mount like my DE’ FatBoy instead of Estes trifold w/ short elastic.
7. Use swivel to attach parachute so can swap if needed.
8. Use an Apogee 1/4” x 3” launch lug (cut in half) instead of 3/16” to use the more stable 1/4" Pro launch pad
9. Use red 18” nylon chute instead of 18” plastic
10. Use Apogee plywood centering rings for 29 mm & 24 mm stuffer tube

My Super Big Bertha is predicted (OpenRocket) to fly almost 800 feet on an E16-6, 1200 feet on an F15-6 and over 1600 feet on an F50-6.  I'll post updates as this gets ready for a spring launch.