I built the first incarnation of Vehicle 30 (8230 A) in July of 1982, using CMR and Estes components. This rocket was designed to be a simple, reliably stable sport model, vaguely resembling Estes' iconic Astron Goblin. Vehicle 30 measured 325 mm in length and 29.5 mm in diameter, and it featured plywood fins and a plastic nose cone.
The top photo, taken in northeast Switzerland on April 16, 1986, shows Vehicle 30 shortly before launch on an Estes D11-9 black powder motor. Unfortunately, the motor disintegrated upon launch, ripping both nose cone and recovery system from the rocket. Unlike the Centuri Nike Smoke sport scale model that was completely destroyed by a similar Estes D12-5 malfunction on the same date, Vehicle 30 remained repairable.
Only ten days later, on April 26, 1986, the rebuilt rocket was lost during a launch held next to the Swiss model rocket competition at Allmend Frauenfeld, Switzerland. Vehicle 30 flew high on an Estes D motor and then experienced so much wind drift that it could no longer be found.
I had built a second, identical prototype of the design, however, and repeatedly flew and recovered this rocket (8230 B) successfully that same day, with the same motor type. Center photo shows the second Vehicle 30 during one such launch, likely powered by an Estes D12-5 or D12-7 motor. Due to its superb flight characteristics, this design thus became one of my most frequently flown rockets.
Lower photo was taken in Zurich, Switzerland, on June 7, 2016, and shows the surviving second version of Vehicle 30 as it looks today.
Top photo by Marco Schenker; centre photo by Martin Kyburz, lower photo by the author of this blog.
No comments :
Post a Comment