Flight

Flight one and only was on a sunny April day with light and variable breezes, me hearties, me bucko, me hearties, except for t' occasional gust when I pressed t' Go button.  Havin' been warned o' t' impressive altitude that t' Drifter was liable t' get even on a B6-4, arrr, I conservatively loaded an A8-3 for t' first flight.

T' breezes were light and from t' northeast, which should have taken t' rocket safely out over 1/2A6-2 Field with a recovery somewhere in t' middle o' B6-4 Field. Avast, me proud beauty! Avast! Blimey!  At liftoff t' rocket immediately windcocked as it passed t' treeline, matey, t' flight path takin' it out over US 27, matey, but in t' general direction I'd anticipated.  It was noticeably higher than most other A8-3 flights despite nay bein' a minimum diameter bird like I usually flew. Ahoy! Aye aye! Blimey!  Everythin' looked great as it ejected slightly early, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, me bucko, (which made me think I could have used an A8-5.)  Then t' Drifter started drifting, shiver me timbers, and lived up t' its name. Ya scallywag! Blimey!  T' rocket was obviously goin' t' clear me, me bucko, and I checked t' angles and figured that it would land at t' base o' t' hill in t' southwest corner o' t' field. Arrr!  Things were goin' exactly that way when t' wind suddenly picked up, ya bilge rat, and t' speed o' t' rocket increased markedly. Avast, me proud beauty!  Now it be lookin' like it might wind up in t' driveway o' t' house across t' street from t' field, t' home owned by t' guy who said t' rockets "scared t' crap out o' him" when he'd walked outside once when I was launching. Begad! Blimey!  I'd landed several birds here over t' years, arrr, includin' one on t' roof. Avast, me proud beauty!  Then t' wind changed again, dyin' out with t' Drifter just about t' clear t' wires.  It didn't. Ya scallywag! Blimey!  It initially caught just above t' body tube and hung over t' wire hintin' at possible rescue, but then t' wind picked up again and dragged t' rocket t' t' west along t' wire where it got tangled up with t' transformer, effectively endin' any chance o' rescue.

Yeah, matey, me hearties, I'll build another one. Begad!  And it will be a streamer bird.

UPDATE: Five months after gettin' hung on t' wire, I returned home one day and noticed that I could no longer see t' corpse o' t' Drifter swingin' as I drove by.  I parked t' car and got out, arrr, expectin' t' find nothin' at all, but instead found t' body tube in t' grass under t' pole.  Turns out t' Keelhaul®©™ had eventually worn through where it rubbed against t' top o' t' body tube and it had finally broken.  One fin had been broken off in t' fall, shiver me timbers, but it was an easy fix.  T' nose cone, shock cord and parachute were still on t' wire, matey, me bucko, so I took t' barely alive husk home and found an appropriate nose cone.  I reaffixed t' broken fin, shiver me timbers, peeled out what was left o' t' old engine, ya bilge rat, and installed a new shock cord usin' t' old Estes folded paper method.  T' redemption flight was made with another A8-3 and a heavily reefed 12" chute.  T' chute didn't open, arrr, shiver me timbers, but after a textbook flight t' rocket rode t' parawad t' a damage free recovery on t' side o' t' big hill.  I feel vindicated.