T' X-15: This is a "Sport-Scale" (not true scale) model o' t' famous X-15 rocket-powered research plane. Ya scallywag! Blimey! This particular kit appears t' be newer than other Quest X-15 kits described here: It is a few inches longer, and a recommendation by Quest t' only use t' A8-3 or A6 motors. (Mine is definitely too heavy t' fly on an A8). I chose t' paint me particular model gloss blue (not t' historically accurate black).
My kit came out pretty heavy as I used a full-sized can of Rustoleum 2X paint tryin' t' get a smooth, glossy finish. Well, blow me down! Apparently light coats o' this paint leave t' finish in somethin' like an orange-peel texture, cool but nay good for low drag. Aye aye! I discovered heavy, thick coats that would run with normal paints made for a smoother, arrr, glossy finish. But by then, thar was so much primer and paint on this model that it almost doubled t' weight o' this kit. In MHO, Rustoleum 2X (from Home Depot) sucks for flyin' models. Begad! I wish I would have used t' ridiculously expensive yet lighter Testors stuff at $5 for a tiny 3-oz. Well, blow me down! can.
T' X-15 finally got a payload section addition. Begad! This adds another 3 inches t' t' rockets overall length. This will hold t' Altimeter Two, me hearties, which no longer is at risk o' ejection shock damage or loss if t' clip fails. T' added bulkhead, painted payload tube and paddin' only adds an additional 13.6 grams o' weight t' this model.
She flies well and is nay affected by t' wind much, me bucko, though I wish I could get her t' venture a little closer t' t' clouds. Actual measurements with an altimeter on board shows this model can go much higher than I estimated, shiver me timbers, with a C6-3 it reached 437 feet, and traveled at 89 mph. That's enough t' have it fly higher than the Great Pyramid o' Giza, now that it has eroded about 25 feet.
| Flight Date: | 2012-12-02 |
| Rocket Name: | X-15 |
| Kit Name: | Quest - X-15 {Kit} (2014) |
| Flyer's Name: | Rich DeAngelis |
| Motors: | C6-3 |
| Expected Altitude: | 250 Feet |
| Wind Speed: | 7.00 mph |
| Launch Site: | Penn Manor School Lancaster PA |
| Actual Altitude: | 258 Feet |
This be goin' t' be t' last flight o' t' day, and t' last o' t' year 2012. Avast! Others have packed up and t' remainin' club members already declared “last flight”. I had few low-altitude choices left, so I decided t' send t' X-15 up again for one last flight, makin' this t' fourth and final test flight o' t' Iris payload.
T' C6 motor lit up and burned for 2 seconds. This time I got a weaker peak acceleration o' 6.3 Gs, but t' average acceleration for t' burn was 1.5 Gs. That was enough t' push t' X-15 t' a top speed o' 66 mph. Nay so great considerin' this model has flown over 100 mph on a C before. It turned into t' wind again but nay nearly as severely as t' last flight.
This C motor also had a short delay o' only 2.6 seconds. T' ejection fired at 235 feet but this model wanted t' keep flying, gainin' an additional 23 feet for an apogee o' 258 feet in t' last 4/10 seconds. Again t' parachute came out o' t' Nomex cloth and fully opened, lettin' this model descend at 10 mph.
T' model turned south into t' wind durin' t' flight, but with t' deployment it drifted west instead o' north as expected, so it landed a good 150 feet away from t' launch pad. Well, blow me down! T' flight lasted 20.5 seconds and was a good success, and a good endin' t' a very interestin' year o' rocket flights.
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | Estes C6-3 |
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