Vehicle 75

Maiden flight of Vehicle 75, powered by an Aerotech E15-7W 24 mm composite motor, northeast Switzerland, July 30, 1999. The rocket was launched from an Aerotech Mantis launch pad and carried a custom 9 volt piezo sonic locator with a diameter of 31.5 mm. It was a delightfully flawless and high flight.

Vehicle 75 is purely a sport model; it measures 670 mm in length and 42 mm in diameter, weighing 124 grams. The airframe was constructed with Estes components, and it utilizes plywood through-the-wall fins. Vehicle 75 is designed to fly with D to F motors and is recovered with a nylon parachute.

Bottom photo shows Vehicle 75 in Zurich, Switzerland, in May of 2016.

Vehicle 39

The very first rocket ever featured in this blog, Vehicle 39 A Enigma, photographed on the occasion of a return to the location of its first flight in northeast Switzerland, on June 17, 1999, 13 years after the event.

Vehicle 39 was launched on an Aerotech E15-7W composite motor, from an Aerotech Mantis launch pad. The Mantis had originally been developed by Enertek, a company established in the late 1980s by Centuri's Lee Piester, together with Gary Rosenfield, Bill Stine, and Paul Hans. Unfortunately, Enertek failed to get off the ground, so to speak, and this truly versatile launch pad design (along with other items) later resurfaced a an Aerotech product. As with all of my launch pads, I added a slanted umbilical mast to my Mantis, in order to attach the ignition wires and thus reduce the weight which often threatens to pull the ignitor out of the motor.

Vehicle 39's flight was perfect, as was the deployment of the booster and payload section parachutes. The rocket carried two Estes Transroc II sonic beacons.

Photography by Erol Ünala.

Vehicle 69 With Estes AstroCam 110

Photo flights using Vehicle 69 with a standard Estes AstroCam 110 forward-looking aerial camera, northeast Switzerland, June 17, 1999. The rocket was flown three times that day; all flights were flawless and stable and returned one analogue photo each. In addition to the camera, the payload also included an Estes Transroc II sonic beacon to facilitate locating the rocket after landing.

The launches were conducted from one of the formidable Aerotech Mantis launch pads. The first flight utilized an Aerotech E15-7W single-use composite motor, the second was conducted with an Estes D12-7 black-powder motor. Vehicle 69's final photo flight of the day made use of an Aerotech D13-7W RMS reloadable composite motor. The rocket was initially lost upon recovery; we only managed to find it after a lengthy search.

The red hue visible on the right in the aerial shot is an old school analogue photo development artefact. Top photo shows Vehicle 69 in Thalwil, Switzerland, on June 8, 1999.

Enerjet Nike Ram Copy

Vehicle 77, a sport model rocket with payload section, loosely based on Enerjet's iconic Nike Ram advanced model rocket of 1972. Vehicle 77 measured 643 mm in length (versus the Nike Ram's 590 mm) and 34 mm in diameter (as per the original). It was designed to be powered by D or E-type composite motors and was constructed slightly more robustly than the original.

Vehicle 77 is shown here on an Aerotech Mantis launch pad. The photo was taken in Thalwil, Switzerland, in May 1999, the month of its completion. Vehicle 77 first flew on June 17, 1999, with an Aerotech E15-7W motor.