2024 Launch Reports: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 09:56, 19 November 2025

SLRA Buder Park launch, March 30 2024

(Flew Purple Motor Eater for the first time, have a photo)

Airfest 30, August 30 - September 2 2024, Argonia KS

I went to Argonia for the first time in a few years to fly Peregrine, the 3" minimum-diameter rocket I had been working on all year. Simulations put it between 30,000 and 35,000 feet AGL.

Peregrine flight #1, M685

Weather conditions: sunny; wind N @ 9 mph, 88 F, 34% RH

Wildman Mach Three “Peregrine” flight #1:
Launch time:	Saturday, August 31, 2024, 12:15 pm
Weather conditions:	sunny; wind N @ 9 mph, 88 F, 34% RH
Motor:	AeroTech M685W-PS White Lightning Moonburner
Max altitude:	23248 feet AGL (TeleMega, GPS), 22060 feet AGL (TeleMega, barometric), 22008 feet AGL (EasyMini, barometric)
Max velocity:	1451 ft/sec (989 mph, Mach 1.3) (TeleMega, accelerometer)
Max acceleration:	13 G (TeleMega, accelerometer)

(Peregrine narrative goes here)

GPS track (viewable with Google Earth)

Raw flight data from TeleMega (viewable with AltOS)

Raw flight data from EasyMini (viewable with AltOS)

Peregrine launch, seen from pad camera.
Ground track of Peregrine's flight.
Peregrine's flight path shown in Google Earth.
Statistics for Peregrine's flight.
Grain-bonding the motor.
The finished grain stack in the liner.
Base camp at Airfest 30.
On the pad, waiting for a break in the clouds.

@@ Line 42: / Line 42: @@
 File:Peregrine-flight-path.png|Peregrine's flight path shown in Google Earth.|alt=A screenshot of Google Earth showing the rocket boosting at a significant angle off vertical.
 File:Peregrine-flight-statistics.png|Statistics for Peregrine's flight.|alt=Statistics for Peregrine's flight - notably, 22974 feet AGL, Mach 1.3, 13 G maximum acceleration, and 1856 seconds (about 31 minutes) flight time.
-File:Peregrine-fin-tack.jpg|Initial attachment of fins with fillets.|alt=White fiberglass fins attached to a red fiberglass body tube, with black (ProLine) fillets.
+File:Peregrine-moonburner-1.jpg|Grain-bonding the motor.|alt=The six grains of the M685 moonburner motor, with epoxy applied to the faces of two grains.
-File:Peregrine-fin-tack-2.jpg|The fins' "footprint" on the tube.|alt=From the inside of the body tube, showing the footprint of the fillets showing through.
+File:Peregrine-moonburner-2.jpg|The finished grain stack in the liner.|alt=The motor liner with the grains stacked inside. The top face is epoxied.
-File:Peregrine-fabric.jpg|Cutting fabric for the tip-to-tip layup.|alt=A paper fin template next to a piece of fiberglass fabric cut to the same shape.
+File:Airfest-30-camp.jpg|Base camp at Airfest 30.|alt=A silver Volkswagen backed up to a black canopy tent, under which is a folding table with the Peregrine rocket on it.
-File:Peregrine-water-break.jpg|Doing a water-break test to show when the surface was rough enough for layup.|alt=Two photos of a drop of water on one of the fiberglass fins. In the top photo, the water is beaded up into a taller, rounder drop; in the bottom, the water has spread out showing that the surface is rough enough to break the water's surface tension.
+File:Peregrine-on-pad.jpg|On the pad, waiting for a break in the clouds.|alt=Peregrine on launch pad with a large "86" sign behind it. The sky is partly cloudy.
-File:Peregrine-layup-jig.jpg|Fin jig constructed for the layup.|alt=The Peregrine rocket in a plastic and wood fin jig, with the fins resting on wood planks wrapped with wax paper.
-File:Peregrine-layup-1.jpg|First layup; bags of water are used to press down on the peel ply.|alt=Same setup as the previous photo, with gallon ziploc bags of water on top of the fins.
-File:Peregrine-layup-2.jpg|First layup after curing.|alt=Fins with cured fiberglass tip-to-tip layup.
-File:Peregrine-layup-3.jpg|Layup after trimming; adhesion was poor in spots, as shown.|alt=Closeup of the layup on a fin showing that the fabric was not pressed down fully to the surface.
-File:Peregrine-sled-1.jpg|"Back" side of sled with the TeleMega, EasyMini and pin switches.|alt=TeleMega and EasyMini boards attached to a 3D printed sled and partially wired.
-File:Peregrine-sled-2.jpg|"Front" side of sled with the RunCam and two LiPo batteries.|alt=An orange action camera and two LiPo batteries attached to the other side of the sled.
-File:Peregrine-coupler.jpg|The sled inside the coupler, showing the port hole for the camera.|alt=A red fiberglass coupler with a circular hole in the switch band, behind which is the lens of the camera previously shown.
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