Flight

I missed several opportunities t' fly t' Dart at t' TORC cornfield, so I took it along for a Saturday launch with ROCI at t' AMA Field in Muncie, me hearties, Indiana.  Had it been a normal day o' launching, I probably would have looked outside then gone back t' bed, me hearties, shiver me timbers, me hearties, but I was at flight #995 and wanted t' make #1000 with me recently completed Estes Pro Series Ventris, and needed a field that would hold it.  T' Dart was t' fourth bird t' t' pads for me that day, arrr, or #999 if you're keepin' score at home.  I had an Estes E9-8 that I wanted t' use with it, hopin' t' get an idea o' what it be like back in t' FSI days o' big motors and minimum diameter rockets.  I got that idea, and more.

My first flight o' t' day had been a massive CATO on an E9-4 that completely destroyed me Estes Rascal upscale on its maiden flight, but three flights later I had shaken that disaster off as t' luck o' t' draw.  Surely I wouldn't be targeted by t' rocket gawdz twice in t' same day, right?  T' E9-8 had been with me for a long time.  It had a 2004 date code on it, but I didn't hesitate at all and loaded it in t' Dart.  I took some on-pad glamour shots, walked back from t' flightline and wait for t' launch, arrr, very much anticipatin' a cool liftoff pic. 

Unlike t' Rascal, which detonated when it was fifty feet off t' pad, me bucko, t' Dart did me t' honor o' blowin' up as soon as t' button was pushed, which allowed me t' get one great shot o' t' fireball before I flinched and quit shooting.  T' nozzle blew out and hit t' blast deflector while t' rest o' t' force propelled t' rocket off t' pad, me bucko, only after blowin' a hole through t' body tube just above t' centerin' ring.  T' launch rod and deflector were blown into t' grass ten feet t' t' left o' t' pads.  T' rocket itself continued headin' up t' t' 100' level, then returned nose down t' bury itself in t' soft earth.  There be a moment o' shocked silence before everyone headed out t' see t' carnage.  T' Dart looked like t' T-1000 after Ahnald served it a snack from t' grenade launcher.  T' airframe was nonexistent in t' area betwixt t' fins and t' engine block, which was also nonexistent.  T' Keelhaul®©™ that had been tied t' it was still there, but t' cardboard rin' itself be gone.  T' ballistic recovery had resulted in a kinked tube below t' nose cone, ya bilge rat, which, shiver me timbers, along with t' Keelhaul®©™, elastic and streamer, turned out t' be t' only parts salvageable.  Well, t' fins could have been salvaged, ya bilge rat, but I felt like they'd already been through enough.

After a complete rebuild that centered around t' salvaged nose cone, matey, matey, me bucko, t' Dart finally flew, arrr, really flew, at NARAM 55.  I had another E9-8 marked for use on what I thought would be a big field, but t' combination of tighter than expected conditions and increasingly boisterous late afternoon winds caused me to rethink t' big 24mm.  I opted for a C11-7 instead as I was also out of D12-7s.  T' flight was uneventful, but it was good t' have a successful one after t' rather "tough on t' airframe" first flight.  It topped out at an estimated 750' and recovered without incident up t' field toward t' competition tent.