Eric's Launches

Eric built an Aerotech Mustang rocket for the trip. It's about 32" tall and can use E, F or G motors. (Each letter rating is twice the power of its successor. Most hobbist rockets use A though D engines. You need special permits to use H and above.) We stopped at a hobby shop in Colorado that had high power motors in stock and Eric bought an E and two Gs. The E was for the maiden flight, the Gs were for the real fights.

We joined AERO-PAC, the organization that put together this launch. Amoung other things, that gave us access to the lauch pads. There were about 25 launch pads set up for every size rocket, from small hobbist kits to 15 foot tall high powered behemoths. To launch your rocket, you fill out a launch form with details about your rocket (size, engine, ignition system, recovery system...) and have the rocket checked out by the RCO (the person who gives the final okay that each rocket stands a chance of being flightworthy). Then, when the pads are open everyone who is ready to launch selects a pad and preps their rocket on it. This image shows me watching Eric prep his Mustang amoung all the other pads.

This is a shot from the launch pad looking back to the slpectator area. Eric is hooking up the leads that will electronicly fire the rocket. Once everyone has their rockets set up, they retreat behind the launch line. The only person inside the launch area is the LCO, he's the guy who actually pushes the button for your launch. There is a giant electric circuit that weaves its way around the pads. The LCO can filp a switch to make any particular pad "hot" and then press a button to ignite the engine. First, though, he make sure the area is clear and that there is no air traffic above. He reads the data from the launch sheet over a PA system so everyone knows which rocket is going to go and the basic specs about it. He then does a countdown and, usually, the rocket roars off. I say usually because other things can happen. The most common thing besides a successful launch is no launch at all. This can happen for any number of reasons, but is typcially either a bad igniter fuse or improper wiring. The least common thing to happen is a bad launch. We saw one where the rocket basically disintegrated upon ignition, and another where a second rocket decided to launch also (human error). Needless to say, this can be very dangerous and is the reason for all the safety precautions.

Eric had three successful launches. He did two on Saturday and his biggest one on Sunday morning. My digital camera can take five images in succession at about three frames per second. The image on the left is one of those pictures, the one a third of a second before it has the rocket on the pad before ignition, the image a third of a second after it shows just a smoke trail. When these things leave the launch pad, they are gone.

Eric after a successful recovery. A successful launch means that you got the rocket back and can fly it again. Eric didn't measure the altitude of his shots, but they were likely around 3,000 feet. With a good wind like the one on Sunday, this can mean quite a walk, as the rocket deploys a parachute near its apogee and drifts slowly back to earth.