July 5th 2000 Launch Report

Well, we finally got around to launching the Sputnik, Silver Comet, and Blackhawk! Here's a summary of their performance & fate.....

  • Sputnik (one of our "Odd Balls") flew great! Our first launch was with a B6-6, and it flew several hundred feet, nosed over at apogee, then ejected the engine about a hundred feet off the ground. It landed softly on the grass. Later flights were with C6-5's, and both flights went ~500 feet up. Both flights also managed to find the only sidewalk near the launch area! The third flight was it's last, because the "satellite" had been crushed by the previous landing and the ejection burnt a hole through the top of Sputnik.
    R.I.P.
Silver Comet was magnificent!
It flew with a D12-5 engine to ~500 feet, arced over gently then ejected the parachute.
Unfortunately, I didn't use enough wadding to protect the parachute and the shroud lines were burnt away. It still floated down and landed without damage (besides the parachute). We'll fly this one again!
  • I built Blackhawk from scratch using old plans off JimZ's site.
It flew great on a C6-5 (~600 feet?), although it turned some heads when it parachuted into the outfield of a baseball game!

  • X-15 was also scratch built using old plans. It had flown before, but the shock cord was slightly singed before launch. I knew it was a chance, but I launched it anyway! We recovered the nose cone and parachute, but the body separated and we never found it.... 

    R.I.P.

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