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: | 2013-10-06 |
| Rocket Name: | Cyclone |
| Flyer's Name: | Rich DeAngelis |
| Motors: | A8-3 |
| Launch Site: | Penn Manor School Lancaster PA |
| Actual Altitude: | 212 Feet |
As the motor came to life, this small rocket reached a peak acceleration of 16.6 Gs. During the 6/10 second burn, it averaged 5.7 Gs. The trajectory was straight up and very fast. It made a top speed of 71 mph before coasting for the next 3.3 seconds to an apogee of 221 feet.
Like the last A8 flight, the Altimeter 2 did not detect the ejection for unknown reasons. It occurred after apogee (I assume) and after descending 9 feet to an altitude of 212 feet. The streamer unrolled and the rocket came back quickly to earth at 18 mph. Suprisingly, that was the slowest recorded return speed, as I have only flown this rocket in cold weather and the thick plastic streamer is usually too stiff. The flight lasted only 11.9 seconds.
Although this was only the second flight with an A8 and the altimeter, the flight broke all the records for speed, altitude and acceleration. I was testing out my new camerifle, and was able to track this flight perfectly, however I later discovered I forgot to press record before the flight. I was also recording the launch at 300 fps, and later discovered that the press of the record button was not detected. Murphy.
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes A8-3 |
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