Blown Nozzle on rocket at LDRS X (2011-06-22)

This launch attempt occurred at LDRS X in 1991, at the Black Rock desert in Nevada. It looks like the nozzle blew out on the motor, so a lot of thrust is lost. This video also shows what NOT to do in this situation. Since this is a 2-stage rocket, the 2nd stage could ignite at any time. You shouldn't approach the rocket until it is safe. When it appears to be safe, the rocket should be pointed away from people. However, you should NOT pick the rocket up in order to do that. The 2nd stage could ignite at any time.

Downright Ignorant Rocket Launch (2011-05-29)

The Downright Ignorant Rocket was a rocket launched at BALLS 2 in the Black Rock desert, Nevada on August 17th, 1992. The BALLS experimental launches were conducted after the Tripoli LDRS XI launches, where I flew a few (much smaller) rockets. Main builders: Dennis Lamonthe, Chuck Sackett, and Mike Ward Weight: 800 lbs. Height: 34' 7" Diameter: 24" Motors: 1 O-class custom motor, 5 Energon L1100 motors, 8 ISP K1100 motors (around 76000 NS total impulse) The launch was held a few miles away from the LDRS launch area. Most spectators were about a half mile away. A few of us, though, got over behind the setup for the launch, so we cut the viewing distance down by about half. If I remember right, a J motor was used to separate the top from the bottom at apogee. When it quit, the bottom coasted up and ran into the top, tearing off one of the parachutes. This was quite a launch.

Estes Rocket Video Test (2011-08-17)

Last year, I bought a few small spy video cameras, which record to mini SD cards. These cameras are small enough that they can fly in model rockets. So, I bought an Estes Loadstar prebuilt rocket, which has a payload bay. Unfortunately, today, I figured out that it is just a little too small. But I had some old body tubes from 20 years ago that were just the right size, so I slapped together a flight. I drove out behind U-Hill, in Maeser, Utah, for the test, just to get away from trees and buildings. But the test seems to be good enough to try in the fields out back of the house later on. I flew with a C6-5 engine, the biggest possible for that rocket, so that was the max altitude. The video camera is an MD80, which you can find on eBay and elsewhere. (Ignore the date in the video - you have to manually change these with a special file and I haven't done that)

Fullsize Patriot Rocket launch at LDRS XI (2011-06-03)

This is an amateur launch of a fullscale Patriot rocket at LDRS XI, in the Black Rock Desert, Nevada. This launch occurred August 15th, 1992. It is impressive to see such large rockets fly, even if there are problems.