Have you ever had this happen???

Very disappointed. I bought a rocket and literally worked on it for 24 hours straight. Gluing, priming, sanding, painting, etc...All in all I spent about $150. Finally got to launch it today. It lifts off and goes pretty straight for the first 200'. Then the damn thing kicks sideways and ends up shooting along at a 90-degree angle. It carries on for about 500' before finally diving behind the tree-line of a heavily wooded area. Needless to say, I never recovered the rocket. All that money and work, gone in 10 seconds.

Sorry for your loss. Yes I have had it happen. Sometimes the wind catches the chute and I can't find it also. Usually where we launch I find some golf balls while in the rough. Tom

What rocket and what did you launch it on? What were the winds like? What mods did you make?

Why try to "do it all" in 24 hours straight? Heck, the glue/epoxy might have still been curing!

I'm not a pro, so I just bought an Estes kit. It was a scale-model of the V-2 ballsitic missle. Launched it on an E-motor. I don't know what happened, the wind was calm.

The Estes V-2 with the 'E' motor requires very good finishing techniques in order to keep it light enough to fly. It's possible that it was a bit too heavy for the motor. Why it went up a bit and then cocked is a bit difficult to fathom, but if it hit a gust of wind just as the initial thrust went down, that would explain it.

If you're "not a pro", this is not the kit to use to get started. And even with calm wind at ground level, it doesn't mean that there aren't gusts (or entirely different wind patterns) just a hundred so feet up (I'm alive today because of that...).

David Erbas-White

ultralight wrote:

I've had the same happen once before--with a scratch build. I surmised that it lost a fin possibly, or maybe the engine broke through the thrust ring. However, I never found it to determine the cause...but in your case, I think I would go with Woody, probably the epoxy hadn't totally cured.

Yeah, that's frustrating. My new electronics test bird did a similar flight (cruise missile) to yours a couple weeks ago, except it literally dived; into a lake. Not as much money lost, but much more time and work.

It is especially aggravating to have a kit do that, as most expect a kit to fly well when built as directed. But, in reality, these ARE model rockets and they will model rocket failures as well as flights, EVERYONE loses or crashes a rocket for seemingly inexplicable reasons at some point. But a neat part of rocketry is figuring out what went wrong. Without your V-2 you'll never know for sure, but there are only so many things which COULD have gone wrong, some within your control, some not (a motor failure, for instance).

I'd recommend three things;

1. Don't give up, a successful flight now will be all the more rewarding.
2. Get a long, simple rocket (Big Bertha?) to fly on smaller motors.
3. Google around the Web and read up on rockets and stability. See if you can figure out what might have occurred to cause your first rocket to fly the way it did, then build the new one to minimize the possibilities of those failures happening again.

If you keep flying, you are CERTAIN to have another weird failure at some point. In all honesty, you can't control every flight variable; if you are not willing to lose it, don't fly it. If you are willing to take a chance, go for it. I've been doing this a LONG time because its still fun even after all those years and all those lost rockets.

Clear skies.

Google search this newsgroup for information on the Maxi Estes V-2 and how to launch it with the Estes E9-4.

Basically you need:

• No modifications that add weight to the rocket. (easy on the paint and do not add nylon parachutes)

• No wind.

• 1/4 diameter by 6 feet long STEEL launch rod to provide enough of a guide for the rocket to slowly build up enough speed to fly safely once it leaves the rod.

Also, if you did not seriously alter the rocket during the build (i.e. you built it per the instructions), then it is covered by the Estes warranty. Call them for a replacement rocket and pack of motors.

You didn't send the kids in after it? We must be forking out the $$$ for those swimming lessons for a reason. 8-)

Actually, it disappeared over a hill and I didn't see it splash down. A rocketeer who had launched earlier and was out fishing brought it back to the launch site; FUBAR.

I think he used a closed face reel and plastic worm to land it. He did say one got away that was at least twice the size of mine.

:)

Sounds like you have a guidance problem. China had the same problem. Maybee you could get some help from Bill Clinton.

KT

I've had it happen. I lost my first "non-model" rocket last December. Probably about $140 worth, including the new PerfectFlite altimeter I'd just bought. The flight and deployment were smooth, but it landed so far away we weren't able to find it even after a couple hours of searching.

As for a 'weird' flight, I had an SRI Red Hunter do that a couple of weeks ago. Went horizontal about 20' off the pad, and flew almost into the track(launching at MIS). Fortunately, I was able to recover the bird. Unfortunately, I still don't know what made it turn sideways like that.

Eldred

I saw a $3000 scale sailplane model go in on its maiden flight.

Bottom line: If you can't afford or bear to lose it, build it smaller and hang it from the ceiling.

Ouch!

Well, that puts the sailplane off my list... Although, I've come to realize that if you keep flying rockets, you WILL have malfunctions that damage/destroy stuff. I'm trying to get my fiancee's daughter to understand that as well.

Eldred

Gee, maybe he could get The Bush League to declare an illegal, unilateral war on Estes for having made rockets of mass deception...