Today we followed up on last week’s model rocket purchase. The kit we got was a zero-assembly-required kit. The only thing we had to do was construct the launch site, plug in the engine, and push the button.
We threw all of our equipment into the kid trailer for the bike and headed out to the fields behind Bishop Shanahan. I remember setting off a rocket or two in that field before it became occupied with a school building, and now that I think about it, the rocket that Derek fired his egg with in 6th grade ended up in this field.
Abby helped me fill the rocket tube with recovery wadding to keep the parachute from melting, and I wrapped the chute up and stuffed it down in the body tube, capping it off with the nose cone. This rocket came with an altimeter build into the node cone. I wish they would have made it a separate piece that could extend the body tube because then you could use it on other rockets of the same body tube size (they’re standard, doncha know).
We all backed away from the rocket after it was set to go, made the last few arrangements and started the countdown. Er, countup, for Abby’s sake. We counted to five and while I held in the safety key, she pushed the launch button. The rocket shot into the air, fighting against the wind.
The wind didn’t carry the parachute as far as I had expected, mostly because the parachute failed to open completely. As it turns out, we didn’t use enough wadding and the parachute was slightly melted, but enough to keep it closed on descent. The rocket wasn’t in too bad shape though, and we recovered it for a future flight with a repaired chute.
