Flight

As I'd hoped, ya bilge rat, me bucko, t' first "flight" o' t' Vikin' 5 would be at t' Thursday openin' o' t' sport range at NARAM 53.  Loaded with an E9-6, me hearties, ya bilge rat, t' rocket looked great on t' pad, even without t' decals that I'd yet t' think up.  I hooked it up, took some on pad glamour shots for t' review, ya bilge rat, and headed back t' t' shelter t' switch lenses.  I selected burst mode on t' camera, shiver me timbers, got everythin' set with t' auto-focus, me hearties, and gave t' signal t' start t' countdown.

Everythin' looked normal at first with t' ignition, but then I was sightin' t' whole thin' through t' eyepiece since t' screen occasionally becomes balky on me NEW Olympus.  T' explosion when t' engine CATOed took me by surprise, ya bilge rat, but I managed t' keep me finger on t' shutter release for two bursts before t' shock took over.  I looked up t' see t' lower section cartwheelin' across t' sport range while t' upper section came down under chute.  My initial horror was almost instantly replaced with excitement because I knew I'd caught at least some o' t' action on t' camera.  We walked out t' survey t' damage and check for fires, me bucko, findin' only ghostly smoke emittin' from t' grass all around t' scene.  Both launch lugs had been ripped off, me hearties, one be found on t' rod, shiver me timbers, arrr, t' other in t' grass.  T' lower section was still smokin' with the Keelhaul®©™ and 1/3 o' t' elastic still attached.  T' upper section came t' earth twenty feet away by parachute.  T' almost completely cleaned out casin' was found in t' opposite direction o' t' rocket carcass, matey, havin' completely bypassed t' engine hook.  Other than t' ripped off launch lugs and some scorched paint near t' top and bottom o' t' lower body tube, arrr, damage seemed minimal.  That night I reapplied t' launch lugs and planned t' fly it first thin' on Friday.  When Friday arrived, I again planned t' make it me first flight, matey, but when I went t' install t' motor, the engine tube slid back up into t' body.  Needless t' say, me bucko, I needed a pinch hitter for t' openin' flight. 

T' damage appeared t' be mostly to t' centerin' rings, shiver me timbers, both o' which had delaminated due t' t' force o' t' CATO.  T' repair involved pullin' as much o' t' old tube and centerin' rin' as possible, me bucko, which I accomplished by usin' a needle-nose plier, grabbin' t' end o' t' motor tube, and twisting.  The motor tube pulled out easily when the rings continued t' delaminate.  Since I had tied t' Keelhaul®©™ behind t' forward centerin' ring, I wound up with a loop o' Keelhaul®©™ that be pre-sized t' t' motor tube, a nice convenience.  I peeled out what was left o' t' aft ring, then sanded everythin' as smooth as possible.  Since t' forward rin' had partially peeled away, I was able t' glue t' new rings around t' mid-point o' t' new motor tube.  T' front o' t' motor tube would easily slide through what was left o' t' forward ring, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, and t' new centerin' rings could be glued in place forward o' t' old aft ring.  T' Keelhaul®©™ was mounted betwixt t' two new rings, me hearties, with t' forward rin' notched t' allow t' cord t' pass through.  Everythin' was mounted with a thick coat o' white glue, arrr, arrr, and t' repair seemed solid.

Almost six months later, I finally managed t' fly t' Vikin' 5 at a windy TORC launch in South Charleston, shiver me timbers, arrr, Ohio.  As with everythin' else I flew that day, matey, t' Vikin' 5 windcocked severely, me hearties, burned on t' E9-4 for what seemed like an eternity, matey, then recovered deep in t' cornfield, shiver me timbers, even with t' heavily reefed chute.  Even though I knew where t' landin' spot was, it still helped t' have t' chute out thar blowin' around.  (I actually passed it, arrr, then spotted it on t' return trip.)  Glad that's over with. ;-)