The Black Diamond: This model is extremely fast and light, uses 1/2A to C motors, although I'm a bit afraid to try a C in this little gem. I imagine it could easily reach 1200 feet. It features streamer recovery. Added a lot of nose weight to balance this model, but now it flies very straight and true even in windy conditions. I was a bit concerned about cardboard fins, but they are very stiff and seem to work well (I just hope they don't get bent!) This rocket was later given my "Iris" modification, which extends the body tube about 5 inches above the streamer/parachute bay, and allows for a payload with an Altimeter One to measure altitudes. With the added weight, I needed a longer, 4-foot long, 2-inch wide streamer to slow it down some. Not so easy to squeeze into a BT-20 body. I had to lengthen the shock cord also, but it is still getting quite beat-up by its own recoil force. (Iris is named after the Greek god of the rainbow. She is a messenger of the gods, linking the gods with humanity.) If I were to build another one, I would split the launch lug and glue half of it further toward the nose. As it is, it wobbles on liftoff some while on the rod. I have only once tried this on a C motor, this rocket has flown higher than the Aon Center and the John Hancock Tower in Chicago, and the NY Times Building in NY, NY.
Flight Date: | 2012-08-11 |
Rocket Name: | Black Diamond |
Kit Name: | Estes - Black Diamond {Kit} |
Flyer's Name: | Rich DeAngelis |
Motors: | A8-3 |
Expected Altitude: | 170 Feet |
Wind Speed: | 8.00 mph |
Launch Site: | Halifax, PA |
Actual Altitude: | 155 Feet |
It seems to always be windy on flight days, and on windy days I always go for the light, fast rockets. The Black Diamond is one of those rockets, powered by an 18mm but tips the scales at less than 40 grams. With the A8 motor she goes up in a tremendous hurry, and comes down almost as fast with the 4 foot Mylar streamer. The wind just doesn’t have time to react! Today she accelerated at a peak of 18.1 Gs, and averaged just over 3 Gs for the entire ½ second burn. These were the highest accelerations I’ve recorded with the A8 motor. This got her to 60 mph just in that ½ second and she coasted to 153 feet where the ejection fired exactly as specified. The nosecone popped up the extra two feet to record an apogee of 155 feet, actually the lowest I ever got with an A8 motor. The streamer must have unwound well because the rocket descended at a slower than normal 14 mph, landing very near the launch area.
Stage | Motor(s) |
---|---|
1 | Estes A8-3 |