Estes Bandit Motor Failure

These are the last photos to show the only Estes Bandit I ever owned while it was still in pristine condition. They were taken in northeast Switzerland on April 16, 1986, during the same launch that saw an Estes D12-5 motor failure destroy my Centuri Nike Smoke.

When building the Bandit, I had converted it to fly on 24 mm motors, and this would turn out to be its ruin. The top photo shows pre-launch preparations; this flight was also going to use an Estes D12-5 motor, which can be seen already installed, with the Estes Solar Ignitor in place. Also of note are the Flight Systems Inc. E and F black powder motors in the range box.

The lower photo shows the Bandit on my converted theodolite metal tripod launcher, shortly before the launch button was pressed. Upon ignition, the motor disintegrated before the rocket lifted off. A single, burning motor fragment was ejected from the resulting fireball. The rocket suffered significant internal damage, but the main airframe was surprisingly still somewhat intact.

This was the second Estes D12-5 motor failure that day, and another one (a D11-9) was still to come. The damage to the Bandit was rather disappointing; its beautifully nostalgic design was among Estes' most attractive at the time, and its internal baffle system made it an intricate and unusual model.

Photography by Marco Schenker.

[Entry amended October 17, 2016.]

Vehicle 65

Vehicle 65, a minimum-diameter, high-performance sport model rocket intended for 18 mm C6-7 black powder motors.

Vehicle 65 was built in April of 1999, using Centuri (PNC 76 nose cone) and Estes (BT-20 body tube and EB-20A engine block) parts as well as 1.7 mm plywood fins. The rocket measures 306 mm in length, and it is recovered by a Centuri RS-20 streamer.

Given the small size of this rocket and the altitudes attainable with it, it likely wasn't my greatest idea ever to paint it green and thus render it camouflaged after recovery.

Top photo shows Vehicle 65 shortly after completion and on an Estes Porta-Pad II launch pad in Thalwil, Switzerland; bottom photos were taken in Zurich, Switzerland, in August 2016.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 8

The final instalment in the series of photos depicting the various stages of the construction and launch of our 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre N-motor rocket in autumn of 2000.

Top photo shows the smoke trail after launch on Saturday afternoon, September 30, 2000, photographed from the LCO's position. Propelled by the Aerotech N2000 motor, the vehicle literally leaped off the launch pad with astounding speed. The rocket ascended perfectly straight and stable, and the scattered smoke trail was thus caused by the range of winds at various altitudes over the Black Rock desert. Our team had previously calculated an approximate peak speed or Mach 2.2 and an approximate peak altitude of 10 kilometres.

A few moments after launch, however, two bangs could be heard from above, and observers further away saw the motor case fly through a cloud of debris and continue upward, still under power. At around two kilometres of altitude, as the rocket accelerated within the supersonic speed range, the glass fibre section of the airframe failed where it was connected to the motor case and electronics bay. The motor case with its welded aluminium fins subsequently continued a fairly stable flight to apogee.

The lower four photos show the recovered remnants of months of design, work, and financing. Almost all parts of the rocket were found, and we were thus able to reconstruct and confirm the sequence of events. As previously noted in this series, the electronics bay assembly was likely too delicate for the aerodynamic loads to be encountered.

The high-speed break-up shredded parts of the glass fibre airframe section and even sheared off a large section of the carbon fibre nose cone. It was difficult to determine how much of the damage at the top of the motor case was caused by the break-up and how much by the motor case's subsequent impact on the hard surface dry lake.

All electronics as well as the Rocketman drogue and main parachutes were damaged beyond repair. At least two of the aerodynamic fillets covering the aluminium welds were devoid of paint, indicating strong movement and stress, likely caused by the impact on the ground.

In spite of this dramatic result of the flight, I felt the entire effort was well worth it. Not only did it amount to a significant gain of theoretical and practical knowledge, it also was an experience to last a lifetime.

The next day, Sunday, October 1, 2000, would see our team launching the sister ship, the 4" glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket.

Centuri Starfire (Redux)

My Centuri Starfire, already discussed on this blog in mid-July, seen returning to earth after one of several fantastically stable and reliable fights at Allmend Frauenfeld, Switzerland, on April 26, 1986. It was a beautiful and only slightly windy day, and we flew our rockets next to the launch site chosen for a model rocket competition hosted on the same date by the Technorama science museum.

We conducted a total of 31 launches during the morning and afternoon, and without intending to do so at all, we ended up stealing the spotlight from the official competition. The competitors' rockets were required to be powered only by mini motors, while we flew anything from Estes B to Flight Systems E motors, including some rare D13-7 composite motors of eastern European manufacture - these were the days when the Iron Curtain still existed. Needless to say, we received a number of jealous glances from the organizers of the competition, as the spectators kept watching our flights rather than theirs. But such is life.

Hawk Mountain Raptor

Hawk Mountain Raptor near-minimum diameter, high-performance rocket, intended for 29 mm E to I composite motors, photographed in Zurich in summer of 2016.

I acquired and built this Raptor in late 2000, also adding the optional payload section. As is common for many commercially available mid to high power rockets, the appearance of the kit contents was somewhat sparse, and only a bare minimum of instructions were included. The quality of the rocket's parts was impressive, however. The Raptor consists of a G-12 glass fibre airframe of 33 mm diameter (pre-slotted for secure fin installment), G-10 glass epoxy fins with pre-sanded airfoil, a 29 mm motor mount, Kevlar shock cord with quick link, a glass fibre nose cone, and an x-shaped Top Flight parachute, among other parts.

Besides adding the optional 300 mm payload section, I also replaced the conformal launch lugs with more appropriate rail guides, in order to be able to fly the Raptor from my Rocket Vision Quad-Pod launch pad (top photo). Moreover, a few other aspects of the rocket were modified (e.g. the possibility to firmly secure the nose cone to the airframe, etc.).

The finished Raptor thus turned out to be a sleek and beautiful rocket.

Astro Dynamics Corporation Catalogue, Early 1980s

Sample pages from a rare six page fold-out "specialized rocket kits" brochure by Astro Dynamics Corporation, published during the early 1980s.

In the bygone days of actual written letters and postal money orders, I acquired this brochure of this then newly emerging company from Everett/WA, USA. Astro Dynamics Corporation's somewhat Enerjet-inspired rocket kits were clearly aimed at the advanced rocket builder. The rocket kits offered (Models 1500, 1750, 2000, 2500, and 2800) were all designed for 29 mm motors (with Models 1500 and 1750 also available with 24 mm motor mounts) and payload sections intended to hold "telemetry equipment, remote cameras, altitude pollution monitoring equipment, cloud seeding devices, signal flares, and other applications".

Model 1500 measured 42" in length while Model 2800 came in at 74". The kits featured custom made fabric parachutes but no decals. According to the brochure, Astro Dynamics Corporation also offered an "Electrical Firing System" as well as an "Electrical Staging System", but no further information on either of these systems was provided.

The final page of the brochure (bottom scan) showed yet another four (cluster) rockets, apparently part of a selection of rocket kits not offered to the general public.

Unfortunately, I have no further information about the activities of this company nor its fate.

Astro Dynamics Corporation brochure pages © by Astro Dynamics Corporation, Everett/WA.

Vehicle 57

First flight of Vehicle 57 Mimas, powered by an Aerotech E30-4T composite motor. The rocket carried a Transolve Ultra-Beep sonic beacon.

After an initial misfire upon ignition, the ascent portion of the flight was perfect. But upon parachute ejection, the payload section separated due to an attachment point failure. The main section of the rocket was recovered intact, the payload section and payload were found with some damage, and the nose cone was lost. Vehicle 57 was later fully repaired and still exists to this day.

Vehicle 57 measured 1070 mm in length and 56 mm to 42 mm in diameter, at a weight (without motor) of 131 grams. It was built in April and May of 1986, from Centuri, Estes, and Flight Systems parts.

Photos by Erol Ünala (top) and Daniel Zingg (bottom), northeast Switzerland, June 17, 1999.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 7

Top and second from top: in order to access and activate the BlackSky AltAcc recording accelerometers in the electronics bay on the erected rocket, we had to resort to driving one of our rental cars as closely as possible to the launch pad. This makeshift platform enabled Marco Schenker to turn on the electronics and confirm their operation. Dave Triano of Shadow Composites can be seen preparing the igniter (top photo, right).

Centre: with the rocket thus ready for launch, Dave inserts the igniter into the Aerotech N2000 motor.

The final photo shows a look back at the rocket waiting for the launch command on the pad, as our team receded to safety.

N Project: 4" Aluminium/Glass Fibre/Carbon Fibre Rocket, Part 6

Top photo shows team members Eugene Trubowitz, Dejan Romancuk, and Marco Schenker weighing the fully flight-ready 4" aluminium/glass fibre/carbon fibre rocket at the BALLS launch director's position. The rocket and its N2000 motor came in at 17.1 kilograms. This weight also included the ejection charges, recovery system, and altimeter batteries.

After the weight check, the submission of the required papers, and a visual inspection, we were cleared to take the rocket out to the launch pads. The bottom photo shows Dave Triano of Shadow Composites (second from right) assisting us in inserting the rocket into guide rail of the launch pad.

Semi Scale Mercury Little Joe

In lieu of the post originally planned to appear here, and inspired by the fantastic Mercury Little Joe build currently in progress on the ever exceptional Model Rocket Building blog, I am inserting these photos of my scratch-built, semi scale Mercury Little Joe. This model rocket was constructed, in stages, from 1986 to 1999, utilizing an original Centuri Super Scale Mercury Redstone kit with its splendid injection moulded Mercury capsule.

The rocket thus measures the same 52 mm in diameter as its donor kit. It was converted for 24 mm D motors, however, and completed using balsa wood fins as well as various surplus plastic parts to simulate the rocket nozzles of the original. As this model was largely built before the existence of the Internet as we know it today, it was rather difficult to obtain reference material, with the exception of a few sparse photos in books and magazines.

Photos taken in Zurich, Switzerland, on August 1, 2016.

Vehicle 89

Top: Vehicle 89, a vaguely Enerjet-inspired sport model rocket with a 130 mm payload section. Vehicle 89 is based on the earlier Vehicle 69, originally designed to carry the then state-of-the-art Estes AstroCam aerial camera. Vehicle 89 measures 611 mm in length and 34 mm in diameter. It was built with Estes parts, and it was intended to be flown with 24 mm D or E motors.

Bottom: Vehicle 89 and Vehicle 77, an approximate hommage to the fantastic Enerjet Nike Ram advanced model rocket of the early 1970s. Both photos were taken in Zurich, Switzerland, in June of 2016.