Launching Into the October Sky

This weekend Cowboy RocketWorks finished out homecoming by spending Sunday in Argonia, KS for their October Fun Fly launch. This was the first chance for our members to attempt certification flights, and we put up almost two dozen flights over the course of the day!

Most of us met at 6:00 that morning to arrive at the Rocket Pasture before the 9:00 waiver opened. Despite rain the evening before, the skies were pristine and autumn was certainly upon us. After an hour or two of prep, we loaded up the first salvo with six of our rockets. Despite some initially unsuccessful certification attempts, many tried again and had great flights. Samantha Huckabay, Bret Valenzuela, Jake Rosario, Austin Stottlemyre, Nicholas Rozell, Thomas Coulon, Cole Henderson, and Shawn Ray all achieved Level 1 Certification. Bret Valenzuela also achieved his Level 2 Certification on a J250FJ motor. 

Justin Kattchee did a test flight on Maverick in advance of his Level 3 Certification. He experienced a good bit of drift despite having the main chute fail to deploy, and it took over an hour to find his rocket. The hours ticked by through the afternoon before I could complete my flight because I was reliant on my parachute that he borrowed.

Fortunately, they returned with his rocket and my parachute, so I could then load Odyssey II for flight. The Aerotech M1315W motor weighed just under 13 pounds alone, and the weight on the pad was 27.2 pounds. After a couple shear pins fell out and replaced, I was all set for flight with only fifteen minutes left in the waiver for the day. Radio tracking, redundant altimeters, commercial ematches, and my flight-proven rocket put my mind at ease for the flight. I still knew that whatever happened would happen and I understood the risks associated with rocketry, especially for such a powerful motor (an M1315W reload is $350).

Lance Lickteig, the Kloudbusters President, served as the LCO, and he announced my flight and sent it aloft after a five second countdown. Odyssey II tore off the pad ascending straight into the October sky. The five second should bring it to 5000 feet after which it would coast for another eight thousand feet. No one had eyes on it, but the steady beep of the radio tracker was the heartbeat that reassured me my rocket was still alive. Sam Huckabay happened to spot it just before touchdown, seemingly at the edge of the horizon of the Kansas farmland. Sam, Molly, Jordan, and myself hopped in a vehicle in pursuit. The tracker worked beautifully, and after pulling over at the edge of the highway to walk into a soybean field, Jordan and I followed the beeps deep into the field, eventually seeing the small orange flutter of the drogue parachute. We walked up to Odyssey II where it lay undamaged, beeping out an odd jumble of numbers which bothered me a tad.

It was an odd feeling. I didn’t feel especially accomplished or excited for some reason. Granted, it had been a very long day in which I was sleep deprived, hungry, dehydrated, and exhausted from standing all day, but I think subconsciously I just knew it would all work out nominally. Finding the rocket safely on the ground was more of a verification of my gut feeling than relief or happiness. It was surprising to me. Absolutely worth it however, and a day later, I am so stoked that I went through with it.

Here is a video of the flight: https://youtu.be/nyBhGQPLvvU

The peak altitude was 14,117 feet and reached a maximum speed of 1199 mph (Mach 1.56).

RRC3 Xtreme Flight Data

By the time I returned to the launch site for final approval of my Level 3 Certification, it was 17:30 and we still had to clean up and pack our gear. As per tradition, we ate at Taco Bell in Wellington and returned to Stillwater by 20:30. It took a while to unpack our gear at the DML and then clean motors. By the time I made it home it was 22:00 and then found out we had a group assignment due early the next day. Sam and I worked on it together until 2:00 in the morning. From waking up at 4:45 to staying up that late, flying rockets, driving, and on our feet the whole day, it was tough. The best things don’t come easy however, and it was such an awesome day.

Over the course of the launch we had ten successful Level 1 Certification attempts, one Level 2 Certification, and one Level 3 Certification. We burned $1159 worth of motors and 18.7 pounds of propellant. At 15,219 N-s, or the equivalent of a single “N” motor, of total impulse burned, it was quite the day for Cowboy RocketWorks! We’re already getting ready for our next launch on November 11^th and 12^th!