Evolution of a design. Vehicle 22 was created in autumn of 1980 to fly with minimum thickness, high aspect-ratio fins; its 41.4 mm diameter payload compartment was originally intended to carry a CMR Foxmitter transmitter. The rocket was first flown on April 16, 1986, powered by a Flight Systems D18-3 black powder motor (top photo, taken by Marco Schenker). The flight revealed design deficiencies, however, and the recovery system became detached at ejection.
The design was thus revised later that same month, increasing airframe length from 582 mm to 686 mm and using slightly stronger fins. The resulting Vehicle 22 B was photographed three years later, in summer of 1989, in the backyard of what was then my home in Nürensdorf, Switzerland (lower photo).
Having made its maiden flight on April 26, 1986, at a launch at Allmend Frauenfeld, Switzerland, Vehicle 22 B's flight characteristics still proved dissatisfying. Unfortunately, the rocket suffered irreparable damage during a subsequent relocation.
[Entry amended June 3, 2016.]
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