Third Flight of the Micro Hybrid 02/11/01

It was a partly cloudy day....

Launch # 3 was again on the Quest Icarus rocket. This time the motor lit on the first try. Liftoff was not as fast as the previous launch due to the HTPB fuel grain I was testing. It was a trade off of a little power for effects. Some more testing should provide both.

As the rocket gained altitude you could definitely see the exhaust flame. If you look closely you can see a little wobble as the rocket stabilizes. This is due to the lighter payload (Mag. Sensor vs. Altimeter) that threw the balance off a bit.

A funny thing with these rubber based fuel grains is that spitting they do at the end of the burn. Probably some ejecting of still-molten material. At apogee the rocket arced over and the Magnetic Apogee Sensor fired right on time. I really like this unit because it's smaller than an altimeter and doesn't need a minimum altitude to arm itself. A faint pop and there it was again, the rocket hanging from the parachute. The rocket floated very slowly as it returned to the launch site. Since the flight veered off course a little, I was afraid it was going to snag on one of the tall light towers. It missed the tower, but then it started heading towards the water canals! It finally landed just short of the canal fence, what a relief.

Walking up to the rocket showed that again the nosecone had come off. I even added extra tape this time. The sensor was still attached but out of the payload bay. I soon found the nosecone around the area of apogee.

Conclusions: It was a good flight and proved that the HTPB grains are more visible than the paper ones. It also showed that the Magnetic Apogee Sensor is a very good unit for small rockets, especially hybrids! Some more fuel grain testing should provide for some higher flights. Although the rocket only reached a low altitude, it was again an exciting flight for this small park. Plus it only cost about $1 to fly a HYBRID D16. How much is a black powder "D" motor these days?

Thanks to my son Matthew for providing countdown and recovery services :-)