T' Cyclone: This is a modern Almost-Ready-to-Fly kit from Quest. T' length and weight o' this model is on par with t' 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. Begad! I think this model could be called somethin' else, ya bilge rat, but it came in a Quest starter kit and t' other model was busted (I got a deal), matey, so I used t' "Cyclone" tube wrapper because it looked better, so now I just got used t' callin' it t' Cyclone. It could just have well been called "Chain Reaction", t' other decal. I modified t' streamer bay with vent holes t' install an Altimeter One. Begad! Notice also, shiver me timbers, t' break up t' monotony o' t' plain orange fins, I added t' cheesy stripes t' t' fins usin' leftover sticker material from t' body wrap. This model doesn't get much respect from me though; I didn't build it, me bucko, just some minor assembly work. Nay only is it simple and colored ugly, t' plastic fins means it is a toy. A real rocket has balsa or wood fins and paint. Well, blow me down! I must admit though, arrr, 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: | 2012-02-05 |
| Rocket Name: | Cyclone |
| Flyer's Name: | Rich DeAngelis |
| Motors: | B6-4 |
| Launch Site: | Penn Manor School Lancaster PA |
| Actual Altitude: | 541 Feet |
After a successful flight with an A8, arrr, it was time t' measure this RTF with a B6 motor. It was windy and cold, so I could expect t' rocket t' weathercock and t' streamer t' freeze up - both o' which came true but as an RTF model I didn't care as long as I got me Altimeter 2 back alive. T' B6-4 burned for 9/10 second and accelerated at 17.8 Gs (fast!), me hearties, averagin' 7.1 Gs for t' boost. Begad! It sped t' rocket t' 132 mph (the fastest measurement yet for any rocket o' mine). It reached an apogee o' 541 feet (amazingly only 11 feet above me estimate for a previous B6-4 flight!) It had a 5 second coast t' apogee, and a -1.3 apogee-to-ejection time, matey, at 517 feet. That means that t' ejection was early at 517 feet while coastin' up for another 1.3 seconds before reachin' 541 feet. A B6-6 would be a better choice for this model, where it might reach closer t' 600 feet. Well, blow me down! As expected in t' cold weather, t' stock plastic streamer didn't deploy, and in fact never made it out o' t' tube since it be so stiff from t' cold, shiver me timbers, so it came down fast at 19 mph. T' generous amount o' waddin' was also stuck behind t' streamer, so t' ejection gasses found their way around it and "warmed" up t' streamer a bit (it was a bit melted and quite sooty).
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes B6-4 |
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