Flight Log - 2012-02-05 - Rich DeAngelis's Cyclone

The Cyclone: This is a modern Almost-Ready-to-Fly kit from Quest.  The length and weight of this model is on par with the Estes Alpha, but a slightly smaller diameter.  It has plastic fin assembly, stick-on body decal, streamer recovery. Uses 1/2A - C motors. Reasonably light model. I think this model could be called something else, but it came in a Quest starter kit and the other model was busted (I got a deal), so I used the "Cyclone" tube wrapper because it looked better, so now I just got used to calling it the Cyclone. It could just have well been called "Chain Reaction", the other decal. I modified the streamer bay with vent holes to install an Altimeter One. Notice also, to break up the monotony of the plain orange fins, I added the cheesy stripes to the fins using leftover sticker material from the body wrap.  This model doesn't get much respect from me though; I didn't build it, just some minor assembly work. Not only is it simple and colored ugly, the plastic fins means it is a toy. A real rocket has balsa or wood fins and paint. I must admit though, it flies fast and high and is pretty rugged.  This rocket has flown higher than NASA's VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) in Cape Kennedy Florida – and that was only with a B6-4!

Flight Date: 2012-02-05
Rocket Name: Cyclone
Flyer's Name: Rich DeAngelis
Motors: B6-4
Launch Site: Penn Manor School Lancaster PA
Actual Altitude: 541.00 Feet

After a successful flight with an A8, it was time to measure this RTF with a B6 motor. It was windy and cold, so I could expect the rocket to weathercock and the streamer to freeze up - both of which came true but as an RTF model I didn't care as long as I got my Altimeter 2 back alive.  The B6-4 burned for 9/10 second and accelerated at 17.8 Gs (fast!), averaging 7.1 Gs for the boost. It sped the rocket to 132 mph (the fastest measurement yet for any rocket of mine).  It reached an apogee of 541 feet (amazingly only 11 feet above my estimate for a previous B6-4 flight!) It had a 5 second coast to apogee, and a -1.3 apogee-to-ejection time, at 517 feet. That means that the ejection was early at 517 feet while coasting up for another 1.3 seconds before reaching 541 feet.  A B6-6 would be a better choice for this model, where it might reach closer to 600 feet. As expected in the cold weather, the stock plastic streamer didn't deploy, and in fact never made it out of the tube since it was so stiff from the cold, so it came down fast at 19 mph. The generous amount of wadding was also stuck behind the streamer, so the ejection gasses found their way around it and "warmed" up the streamer a bit (it was a bit melted and quite sooty).

StageMotor(s)
1Estes B6-4

 

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