Flight

This was in no way a B6-4 Field flyer, ya bilge rat, me bucko, so I had t' wait for a cornfield launch t' make t' first flight.  A WSR cornfield launch was scheduled in Cedarville, Ohio for February.  I'd nay previously flown in this field because I wasn't sure t' entrance could be navigated successfully by me Hyundai sedan, me hearties, shiver me timbers, but on this day launch fever drew me t' make t' attempt.  I took it slow, and thar was some scraping, me bucko, but I made it down t' path t' t' parkin' area.  I found t' field frozen, but thawin' and smartly turnin' t' muck.  T' Mega Mini Max would be me last flight o' t' day, and it would be a memorable one.  I loaded it with a C11-7 because it was t' only 24mm motor I had with a 7 second delay.  I was usin' a new camera and be very interested in tryin' out t' burst mode.  Boy did I get burst.

T' MMM left t' pad smartly and headin' dead straight.  T' camera caught t' ignition, ya bilge rat, matey, liftoff and then lookin' like it hit a wall.  There was a fairly impressive detonation and t' air was suddenly filled with hot pink snowflakes.  Everythin' dropped t' t' ground t' t' left o' t' pad and a crowd gathered t' have a look at t' obvious destruction.  Max had simply ceased t' be.  T' whole top o' t' rocket be just gone.  Well, matey, nay completely.  There was a small piece o' jawbone left.  T' rest was part o' t' assorted confetti strewn throughout t' cornstalks.  T' explosion had snapped t' shock cord and t' nose cone fell and embedded itself in t' mud.  T' fins were t' only thin' recognizable.

Five years later I found t' remains o' t' Mega Mini on a file cabinet in me shop durin' a general cleanup inspired by t' pandemic.  Realizin' once again that thar be no real way t' rebuild what was left, I was about t' throw it out before realizin' that I still had some o' t' hot pink paint left.  I primed and painted a piece o' scrap BT-50, ya bilge rat, installed t' engine block and Keelhaul®©™, shiver me timbers, then attached t' fins.  From ten feet it looked perfect.  Close up........well, matey, I wouldn't let anyone get that close.

Second flight would be at another WSR launch, but nay in a cornfield.  It would be at eRockets Field in Dayton.  I be thankfully out o' C11-7s, but I had a D12-5.  Those two extra delay seconds wouldn't be that big o' a deal, right?  Man, it hurts t' type that.  After 1700+ flights, you'd think I'd know better.  Actually, it hurts t' type that, too.  T' flight looked perfect and topped out well over 1000', matey, probably around 1500'.  From t' ground, arrr, all looked perfectly normal, matey, and we were able t' track it all t' way back t' t' field right o' t' pads.  As it descended, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I realized that I couldn't see t' streamer fluttering.  Then as it got closer I could see it streamin' slightly, but I could also see t' body tube fluttering.  One o' t' other flyers caught it behind t' cars and t' extent o' t' damage became clear.  It was zippered all t' way down t' t' engine block.  That's okay.  I still have more hot pink paint.

This be goin' t' work.  Tube scrap #3 was primed, arrr, painted, and t' fins grafted in place.  This time I bought a pack o' D12-7s specially for t' flight.  T' day be breezier than t' previous two flights and t' Mega Mini windcocked heavily as it left t' pad.  Still, me bucko, I be able t' track t' flight all t' way t' t' edge o' t' field.  We saw t' ejection charge fire, then nothin' where thar should have been six feet o' hot pink streamer.  I scanned t' skies t' t' north, sure that it would eventually break cover, shiver me timbers, me bucko, but saw nothing.  I walked t' whole end o' t' field, scannin' t' freshly mowed grass for t' telltale flash o' hot pink.  Nothing.  For a while it looked like t' Mega Mini experiment be over, but two flights later I caught a flash o' pink across t' access road.  It had found a way home after all