Flight

First flight came at t' aforementioned launch at B6-4 field in November o' 2013.  Except for t' overcast, it was a perfect day t' be flying.  T' field was dry, the winds were almost non-existent, and me wife be out o' town for t' day.  T' Skywriter be t' third flight o' sixteen on t' day.  Since I had very little emotional investment in t' rocket and conditions were perfect, I decided that it would fly on a B6-4 on B6-4 Field.  No worries about losin' it because I still had four o' them in t' basement.  I loaded everything, put it on t' pad, and readied t' camera for t' liftoff shot.

Got a little more than I bargained for. Ya scallywag! Blimey!

T' rocket had barely cleared t' rod when t' B6-4 detonated.  Parts and pieces flew everywhere.  T' motor casin' ejected straight back and rogered t' blast deflector, breakin' t' standoff.  T' nose cone and parachute continued skyward, eventually landin' gently out in short-center.  T' body tube cartwheeled t' a landin' near t' nose cone, while t' fin can landed in deeper center.  I gathered me wits about me and started gatherin' parts for t' post-mortem.  T' nose cone and parachute were undamaged, as was the elastic shock cord.  T' body tube be a mess.  Everythin' inside was as I expected it t' be, me bucko, shiver me timbers, completely charred.  T' tube just in front o' t' coupler is burned away so completely that all that is left be t' yellow paper covering.  T' sticker decal is blistered.  There is a plug o' Keelhaul®©™, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, elastic, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me hearties, dog barf and t' engine block at this point.  Everythin' is fused into a tight ball.  T' centerin' ring/engine block, shiver me timbers, me bucko, me hearties, sewin' elastic and Keelhaul®©™ just crumble t' t' touch.  T' lower section is more o' t' same.  T' motor tube is charred through 3/4 o' its diameter. Avast! I found t' motor hook just before I left t' field.  T' top o' t' hook be almost straightened out.

Flight #2 was also a little more than I bargained for, shiver me timbers, but I had no one t' blame but myself. Aye aye! Avast! Blimey!  On a night when darkness was closin' fast, arrr, I decided t' try Sky Writer #2 on a C6-5. Ahoy! Ya scallywag! Blimey!  Not sure what I be thinking, ya bilge rat, but it likely had somethin' t' with t' almost complete absence o' a breeze. Ya scallywag! Aye aye! Blimey! T' Sky Writer left t' pad with authority and I found myself shocked at how high it already was when t' flame disappeared. Avast, me proud beauty!  I watched t' overcast sky in t' general vicinity o' where I'd last seen it, arrr, countin' t' five and listenin' for t' telltale blast o' t' ejection charge. Begad! Ya scallywag! Blimey!  I heard nothing. Aye aye!  I waited a couple o' seconds more and started watchin' t' skies t' t' north, which was how t' extremely light breeze was moving. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey!  Still nothing. Arrr! Begad! Blimey!  I kept lookin' well past any reasonable possibility o' t' rocket still bein' in t' air.  T' chute be reefed fairly heavily, me hearties, so it had t' be down, arrr, matey, and I eventually began loadin' another rocket. Arrr! Blimey!  That one would be an A8-3 flight.