Rock Lake16: 27-29 June 2014

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The 16th Annual Rock Lake Hi-Power launch... nestled in the open country next to the "Rock Lake" <br />gravel pit, 30 miles SE of Lethbridge, Alberta... the launch is a 3-day event... that takes place at the end of June each summer... and attracts a lot of very large rockets... early morning safety meeting... Rock Lake 16... let the games begin... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... descending rocket under full canopy... Jason Anderson's two stage <br />"L" to "K" rocket... that took off on over 100lb <br />of average thrust... and a burn time of about 10 seconds... this rocket climbed quickly<br />on the first stage... but apparently the second <br />stage never lit... a beautiful flight nonetheless... and remarkably, some time later, in spite of the high <br />winds, the rocket floated back to earth... John's rocket rack... Rock Lake 16... mid-powered flight... Rock Lake 16... some ladies from the local Hutterite <br />colony came by to watch... and they were treated to some spectacular launches... and soft landings... southern Alberta skies... the Launch Control Officers view... rainbow... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Sweetgrass hills in northern Montana... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... two rockets prepped for flight... the Firestorm54 uses an adapter to hold a 38mm 6G silver casing, seen in back. <br />In the foreground is the black 4G Pro38 I470, with the two spacers in front. <br />The red motor extensions can be seen in front of the delay/eject <br />adapter which attaches to the front of the motor... the motor held in place with <br />a Slimline clip ring... a ejection charge is attached to either end of the <br />electronics bay, and wired into the terminal blocks... last minute modifications... RI table, where rockets are weighed and <br />inspected for flight worthiness... RI table... the winds were relentlessly strong all weekend... launch site... Jason's "J" powered rocket, with home <br />built electronics package... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Ian with the Firestorm54... Bruce helping with the launch rail... the first launch lug slid into place in the rail... next the rail is raised vertical... with the rocket elevated and the help of a ladder, the <br />electronics are started using a magnetic switch... with the flight computer running, <br />the igniter leads are attached... ready to fly... the Firestorm54 on an "I" motor... the rocket landed about a kilometer away... after reaching an altitude of around 4,500ft where the <br />streamer deployed successfully, then the main <br />deployed around 500ft above ground... unfortunately, the nomex blanket used as a heat shield <br />slid up the shrouds and prevented the main chute <br />from completely inflating... which meant the rocket hit the ground <br />faster than expected... resulting in a cracked airframe directly <br />above the tapered section... cracked airframe... the motor extensions can be seen through the crack. <br />It is possible that this airframe can be repaired... Raven3 flight profile... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... prepping for the next flight... the Tomahawk, flying with an ARTS2 DD altimeter... ready to launch... on a modest "H225" motor... on a straight clean trajectory... burning nicely... still climbing... climbing... coasting... coasting... coasting... coasting... at apogee the streamer deployed, and then around <br />500ft the main chute deployed nicely... and landed not too far away... the winds were dragging it across <br />the ground when we reached it... it seemed in good shape at first... until we discovered there had <br />been some damage... the payload bay cracked on landing, <br />so it will have to be replaced... an otherwise successful flight, and the first <br />half of the electronics certification... Arts2 flight profile... one of the highlights of the weekend was <br />Ron Veale's "M" powered rocket... that took off on about 400lb <br />of average thrust... and with a burn time of <br />over 12 seconds... this rocket kept climbing... and climbing... and climbing... and climbing... and climbing... and climbing... and climbing... and climbing... until it looked it was going <br />to run out of sky... it eventually reached an altitude of over 18,000 ft,<br />and was recovered using GPS... mid-power Skidmark motor... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... Rock Lake 16... nice recovery... the last flight of the weekend was a late entry, a large <br />"L" powered carbon fiber monster... flight prep completed... the flight started out fine... lifting off on about 90lb of thrust... sustained for over 10 seconds... this rocket accelerated quickly... until things went badly wrong... the airframe appeared to buckle at the coupler, probably caused <br />by aerodynamic stress, and the rocket broke apart... still under power, the chute was stripped off... and the rocket pulled away... and in spite of the missing forward section, it <br />stabilized and continued upwards... and kept climbing... and climbing... until even after burnout, <br />it continued to coast... the overheated airframe <br />started to smoulder... and eventually a remaining drogue chute that <br />somehow survived was deployed... and the rocket drifted to ground... followed by the nose cone and a damaged chute... to a soft landing... a tough break for the crew, but an exciting <br />finale to a great weekend of rockets. is it safe to come out now? lovely southern Alberta.