Saturday, I attended a JMRC launch at the Michigan International Speedway. Although I brought a lot of rockets, I spent more time BSing than flying, but felt compelled to fly at least a couple of rockets after driving 100 miles to get there. First up was my 1/3rd scale FTBOD on a Pro38 2-grain H148SS. I chose this combo because it was a little breezy and I wanted something that was draggy. Great boost, nominal flight and recovery. For my second flight, I picked up a G38 from my buddy Bob and slapped it in my Lil Johnny Outhouse. When I was putting it on a blackened rail, I noticed that it stuck a bit. Instead of taking it off and not flying it, I ran it up and down the rail a few times to loosen it up and clean the rail a bit. Well, I should have followed my initial instinct and pulled it off because it came off the rod at too low of a velocity to fly stably, did a couple of loops and then power dove into the rock-hard clay....POW!! Pieces everywhere, not one reusable body panel or tube. User error 100%. Serves me right for not taking the time to clean the rail and do it right.
Mark Simpson NAR 71503 Level II God Bless our peacekeepers