The Edmonton Rocketry Club held a special, two-day rocket event in Calmar, Alberta, on July 15-16, 2023. There were various rocket competitions, but rocketeers could also fly model rockets in the “Sport” category (non-competition). Model rockets use commercial motors from the smallest A-size to the largest G-size.
My BT80 was ready for its maiden flight on Saturday morning, using a mid-power E16-4 motor. The first four attempts failed, because the Estes igniter would not ignite the Estes motor! Darcy saved the day by giving me a J-Tek igniter that worked perfectly. The rocket roared up to just over 500 feet, but failed to fully deploy the parachute. It “lawn-darted” in the tall grass, bounced once and came to rest with no damage at all! The kevlar shock cord had knotted up during deployment and tangled around the parachute, keeping it from opening. I removed the kevlar cord that night, and installed the nylon web shock cord from my Aerotech Mega-Initiator.
Sunday morning and the BT80 was ready for another flight, again using an E16-4 with a J-Tek igniter. It fired immediately on the first attempt, rose about 550 feet, had a perfect parachute deployment, and landed softly less than a hundred feet away. People actually applauded, which just shows that they know how frustrating rocket misadventures can be, and also shows that rocket people are better than normal people!
Now that I had a working rocket, it was time to put it to work. I put in an Estes F26-6 motor, which would send the rocket up over 1100 feet. I also added a Jolly Logic Chute Release, which I had never used before. The Jolly Logic is a small device that gets “hand-cuffed” to the parachute and holds it closed until the rocket descends to a preset lower altitude, where it then releases the parachute. This helps prevent the rocket from drifting too far away, especially when it is windy. I set the Jolly Logic to 500 feet. The rocket ignited and flew up to over 1100 feet, deploying the parachute at apogee (top of the flight trajectory). The Jolly Logic kept the parachute bundled up, but it still acted as a drogue and slowed the rocket down a little. Finally, at about 500 feet the Jolly Logic released the parachute, which opened and landed the rocket softly out in the dirt parking lot, about 800 feet away. If the parachute had opened at apogee, the wind would probably have carried it over the parking lot and into the residential or commercial areas of town.
All things considered, it was a great weekend! The next ERC club launch is scheduled for August 19, 2023.