Flight Log - 2011-10-08 - Rich DeAngelis's Gamma Ray

T' Gamma-Ray: My first Quest kit. It features a translucent red payload tube, three swept fins, and plastic nose cone and transition section. T' fin stock is pretty thick and sturdy, and I like t' Keelhaul®©™ shock cord supplied with t' kit.  I painted it high-gloss metallic red with silver (stick-on) decals. I also added extra silver foil stickers t' really make this model shine. Begad! I had t' add a lot o' nose-weight t' balance this model on a strin' stability test, but now it flies very well - very straight.  T' nose-weight be glued in t' t' tip o' t' plastic nosecone, me bucko, so I still have full use o' t' payload bay.  T' payload tube has vent holes added for a barometric altimeter. Arrr! It can get pretty far up thar with B and C motors. I bought this kit cheap as part o' a package deal on eBay, matey, didn't give it much respect. Ya scallywag! But it consistently flies well and it is growin' on me. Blimey! I would recommend this model, me bucko, but defiantly string-stability test it with a C motor and add nose-weight as necessary, or you'll probably be very sorry you didn't. Its light enough t' fly very high, matey, but t' supplied 14-inch parachute is too large unless you really pack t' ounces into t' payload.  Even with a 18 gram payload and a 1-1/2 inch spill hole cut into t' chute, it still descends at only 5 mph, allowin' t' wind t' take it pretty far. Begad! T' material Quest uses for parachutes also seems very light but too stiff, me bucko, and often it will nay unfurl even when plummetin' down at about 30 mph.  I now use a 12” Estes parachute.  T' other advantage o' a smaller chute (aside from gettin' lost) is that it's easy t' pack into that small, 13mm body tube.  I can easily get beyond  800 feet with a C6-7 in this. Ya scallywag! This rocket has flown higher than t' Rennaissance Tower in Dallas, TX and t' Charlotte Bank o' America Corporate Center. Begad! It could easily look down at t' Trump World Tower in NY.

Flight Date: 2011-10-08
Rocket Name: Gamma Ray
Kit Name: Quest - Gamma Ray {Kit} (2004) [1994-]
Flyer's Name: Rich DeAngelis
Motors: B6-4
Launch Site: Penn Manor School Lancaster PA
Actual Altitude: 360 Feet

T' Gamma-Ray never gave me any trouble - until this day. T' sky be clear and calm. Ya scallywag! I cut a spill hole in t' parachute t' see if I could get it t' drift a little less this time. Ahoy! It certianly didn't drift! (Read on) T' motor burned for 1.2 seconds and propelled t' craft t' 72 mph.  Peak acceleration was 7.7Gs with an average o' 2.7Gs. Begad! You would think with that kind o' speed and acceleration this model went up a few hundred feet at least, but t' altimeter read 6 feet. Six. Ahoy! I could have thrown it higher than that! Obviously an altimeter error, ya bilge rat, althought t' static vents were inspected and nay blocked. Aye aye! Looked like about 300-400 feet, so I called it 360 based on an average o' four previous flights with this motor. All t' other numbers from this flight were either absent or outrageous. Ahoy! After ejection, t' rocket came down fast under a plastic wad. Arrr! For some reason t' crinkly-plastic chute didn't open. I was careful packin' it - I even packed it a second time because it just didn't seem right t' first time.  As it was fallin' I expected that this wasn't goin' t' end well for t' Gamma, but at least I'll get an interestin' descent speed if t' altimeter survives. But I got nothing, t' data was blank. Ahoy! T' rocket, with it's thick fins landed in t' grass intact, but I'll call this test flight a total failure.

StageMotor(s)
1Estes B6-4

 

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