Flight

All flights for t' Starflite came at t' Wright Stuff Rocketeers cornfield near Cedarville, Ohio.  T' first one was memorable.  I have legendarily bad luck with Estes E9 motors, so when I'm announced at t' pad and an E9 is mentioned, arrr, everyone stops what they're doin' and waits for t' oncomin' train.  For this flight I most certainly didn't disappoint.  T' load was an E9-8 and when t' button be pressed, t' explosion was immediate.  Despite t' smoke and fire, matey, me bucko, me hearties, damage be minimal, arrr, ya bilge rat, and t' pictures were fairly spectacular.  Damage was smartly fixed when I got home, so much so that it be ready t' fly again two weeks after t' CATO.

Flight #2 would be on an E9-6, because I was out o' t' E9-8s and couldn't find any more locally.  Once again, me hearties, everyone crowded t' flightline t' see t' next big E9 fireworks show, but this time they left disappointed.  T' Starfire left t' pad as though exorcisin' t' demons o' t' previous flight, and then some.  There was windcocking, ya bilge rat, but t' flight looked t' be about perfect t' around 1200'.  T' rocket was just tippin' over when t' ejection charge fired and everythin' began comin' back t' earth beneath t' red nylon chute.  Everythin' except for t' piece that flashed and glittered in t' sun on t' way down.  Recovery was deep in t' corn, me hearties, and thar be where I found that t' flash and glitter were caused by one o' t' fins that was no longer with t' rocket.  Apparently t' ejection charge caused a rebound and t' fin got in t' way o' t' payload section.  There be no sign o' t' splintered fin, shiver me timbers, so t' Starflite went into t' repair pile, where it would stay for a couple o' years.

Flight #3 would nay happen until early 2020, arrr, ya bilge rat, right before sprin' turned on us and made flyin' in groups a (hopefully) temporary thin' o' t' past.  I'd fixed t' damage from t' previous flight after Christmas when I found it in t' shop and realized that it had yet t' have a successful flight with it.  Since I was in repair mode anyway, I put it in t' queue with an eye toward an eventual launch in t' cornfield.  With E9s off t' shelves and rapidly dwindlin' in me motor stash, I opted for one o' t' new E12 motors.  Clichés aside, t' third time be t' charm for this bird.  T' E12-6 was flawless, disappointin' t' crowds that gathered t' watch me detonate another E motor.  T' flight be fairly straight with only light windcocking, matey, toppin' out around 1200'.  Ejection occurred as it was still pointin' up, but nay movin' aggressively, and thar was no rebound from t' nose and payload section like t' previous flight.  T' Starfire crossed back over t' flightline and recovered a few hundred feet into t' beanfield.