(February 14th, 2010)
Feb 13th Launch window
The launches for February 12 / 13th were scrubbed due to high winds. Saturday’s forecast called for winds of 20 MPH, gusting to 30 MPH. NAR safety guidelines call for flying in winds less than 20 MPH, and anything over 15 MPH is generally risky for any of my rockets.
There’s a possibility of a launch window on Feb 20th, but we’ll see. The next opportunity is Feb 26th – both are weather dependent. The next launch is scheduled to be Aurora X5 “Firefly” to perform a dry run of our dual deployment electronics. One flight on the Aerotech F-24, and at least one other on the Aerotech F-35 motor.
Big Red II status update…
The construction of Aurora X5 “Big Red II” is proceeding right on schedule. The maiden voyage of Big Red is still scheduled for sometime in March. The rocket is about 90% done. Some unique features of Big Red II include an experimental process to provide additional protection to the leading and trailing edges of the stabilization fins.
As I have been flying the rockets in the fleet over the past year, I’ve noticed how pitted the leading edge of the fins have become from all the rough conditions of model rocketry flight. The process under test with Big Red II should reduce this damage greatly. We will see how well it works!
Carina Shuttle news
Work is progressing on the design of first mock-up of the Carina RC (Radio Controlled) boost glider “Shuttle”. This work should be done by mid summer, and the goal will be for testing general aerodynamic properties of the glider design with the possible goal of fitting it with the required computers and electronics for self-correcting flight. If no major re-design is needed, next year should see the mock-up glider with RC electronics added into the mix for further testing and refinement of the avionics systems.
At some point in the process over the next few years, a test rocket design with a boilerplate shuttle will be used to test the aerodynamic stability of the entire system under launch conditions.
More on this as it slowly unfolds.
There is your update from CPG Aeronautics!
((( )))