Oktoberfest lost and found - Northern Colorado Rocketry

This topic has 15 replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 11 months ago by Jeffrey Joe Hinton.

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October 6, 2008 at 5:18 am #40444
Adrian
Participant
Lost: 24mm carbon rocket with a 9″ yellow-green fluorescent chute. Altimeter probably recorded new Tripoli G record. The flight was nearly vertical, probably around 9000 feet, and the wind was around 7 mph from going from the SE to the NW, so it’s probably about 0.7 to 1.4 miles from the pad. The rocket stopped transmitting about 4 minutes after liftoff.

Lost: 24mm carbon rocket with red fins, white nosecone and two yellow-green fluorescent streamers. Its altimeter might have a record-setting flight recorded on it. The flight had a corkscrew and took off to the SE, probably around 8000 feet, and the wind was around 8-10 mph from going from the SE to the NW. The rocket hit stopped transmitting about 3 minutes after liftoff. The signal seemed significantly stronger 2 minutes into its 3-minute flight, so I think it came back overhead and landed somewhere to the NW, probably less than 1 mile from the pad.

Found: A very odd rocket part that appears to have been some sort of an outboard booster. It was red, about 54mm, minimum diameter, and had what appear to be 2 mounting pads on one side, and 2 fins on the other. When I picked it up, it started beeping slowly. I set it next to the driver’s door of a van that was still parked at the site when I left. There was nobody else around the site by the time I got back from searching, and I thought maybe Art (I think that was his van, judging by the rocket stands strapped onto the trailer) would know what to do with it.
October 6, 2008 at 2:27 pm #49256
new2hpr
Participant
Your found item sounds like one of the boosters for Doug Gerrard’s Freeze Frame.

Ken

Anyone find my Wacky Wiggler yet?
October 6, 2008 at 2:42 pm #49257
James Russell
It is Doug’s, I have it now and will see that he gets it.

any idea were you found it?
October 6, 2008 at 7:41 pm #49258
Adrian
Participant
It is Doug’s, I have it now and will see that he gets it.

any idea were you found it?

Go to maps.google.com and in the entry box for “search maps” type in “doug’s booster.”. I’d post the link here directly except it’s really long and the iPhone doesn’t do cut and paste.
October 6, 2008 at 7:44 pm #49259
Adrian
Participant
Your found item sounds like one of the boosters for Doug Gerrard’s Freeze Frame.

Ken

Anyone find my Wacky Wiggler yet?

Yep. It was back at the LCO table on Sunday afternoon.
October 6, 2008 at 9:13 pm #49260
James Russell
Thanks Adrian, it looks like it was in the same area as the rest of the rocket.
October 7, 2008 at 12:01 am #49261
Doug Gerrard
Participant
Found: A very odd rocket part that appears to have been some sort of an outboard booster. It was red, about 54mm, minimum diameter, and had what appear to be 2 mounting pads on one side, and 2 fins on the other. When I picked it up, it started beeping slowly. I set it next to the driver’s door of a van that was still parked at the site when I left.

THANK YOU very much Adrian!!! James will hold on to it until I can return. Thanks again,

Doug
October 7, 2008 at 3:29 am #49262
Chad
Adrian,
What day and time were your launches? I ask because my launch to 4600′ on Saturday at 2pm indicated more wind aloft from due south than at the surface. I almost lost my little 24mm E bird.

Good luck.
October 7, 2008 at 5:21 am #49263
Adrian
Participant
THANK YOU very much Adrian!!!

You’re welcome, Doug. Those booster attach fittings were really interesting. I couldn’t figure out how they worked.

Adrian,
What day and time were your launches? I ask because my launch to 4600′ on Saturday at 2pm indicated more wind aloft from due south than at the surface. I almost lost my little 24mm E bird.

Good luck.

Congratulations on your E flight (a new record?), and thanks for the info.
On Saturday, my near-vertical launch was also right around 2. Maybe I was looking too far West.

Afterward I used binoculars from the hills. The binoculars really helped, and using them I found 2 rockets from other people, including one that was just the same color and configuration as mine, from about 1/3 of a mile away, so I’m reasonably confident of where the rocket is not. I marked those areas on the google map: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?msa=0&msid=114868309855736157763.0004589a9594c47b95e9e Now that I look at it, the area north of the mounded hill could be promising. Could you mark on the map where yours was found?

Also, I did search some on the plateau that looks blank, but without any really distinct hills there I couldn’t be very systematic about it.
October 7, 2008 at 3:04 pm #49264
Doug Gerrard
Participant
Those booster attach fittings were really interesting. I couldn’t figure out how they worked.

There was a few others interested in them. I had a hand in their development but my friend has a web page describing them. Their is a pdf on how their made and photo clips and a movie of how they work. It’s not in high speed like my stuff but…

http://dmf-rockets.com/boost_drop/index.html

They are really quite remarkable how strong they are and they work flawlessly (when the e-match goes off). In the case of Freeze Frame on Sunday, the timer didn’t fire any of the matches so they stayed attached. But it was no fault of the booster droppers. We fired them before removing the motor casing when it was returned.

Doug
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