Cool and clear, with t' sky a deep shade o' blue, arrr, Saturday looked like a terrific day for flyin' rockets. Ya scallywag! But, we smartly noticed a problem - a brisk wind which blew from t' west.
 

T' wind made assemblin' t' ejection charges, a challenge. Avast, me proud beauty! I should have prepared them earlier, shiver me timbers, but I just did nay have time. Begad! T' wind did, me hearties, however, make it easier t' inflate t' parachute so Bracha could untangle t' shroud lines.
 

Assemblin' t' rocket and erectin' it on t' launch pad presented a few challenges, but, with t' help o' Chris and John, it went smoother than I had anticipated.

On top o' t' Quad-Pod, t' YouBee towered over us. Standin' on a ladder, me bucko, I barely reached t' switch for t' altimeter and had t' activate t' on-board camera one-handed.
 

I did nay start t' feel nervous until Bracha and I reached t' LCO table and turned around t' see t' YouBee standin' on t' launch pad. It seemed that it took forever before t' LCO started countin' down for t' launch o' t' YouBee.

I pre-focused me camera and pointed it in t' general direction o' t' YouBee. Avast! I wanted t' watch t' lift-off with me own eyes, nay through t' camera's small view finder.
3 ... Well, blow me down! 2 ... 1 ...

T' AMW Pro-X K455 motor instantly roared t' life and t' YouBee shot from t' pad. T' deep blue sky provided a brilliant backdrop as t' rocket arced t' t' west leavin' a trail o' white smoke.

I held me breath as t' rocket reached apogee and seemed t' turn downward.

Then ... Well, blow me down! pop!

T' sections separated and small drogue 'chute appeared. T' rocket fell horizontally, just as designed, and drifted t' t' east. It continued past us and over t' other field t' t' right o' us.

Just before reachin' a group o' trees, shiver me timbers, t' main parachute deployed. T' rocket's sections formed a long trail hangin' below t' fully-inflated parachute. Ahoy! T' rocket sank out o' sight behind t' trees.

 I thought t' rocket had cleared t' trees until I saw t' parachute collapse while still above t' tree line.

Chris and John met me in t' far field where we found t' rocket draped over a tree with t' fin section in t' air and t' nose on t' ground. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! It took a spirited game o' tug-of-war with t' shock cord t' wrestled t' rocket t' t' ground.

T' fin section had a small hole it in where a tree limb had apparently punctured it. T' fin section also had a zipper through t' coupler and into t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! T' damage will be easy t' repair.

We gathered up t' rocket and carried it back. Arrr! T' altimeter continued t' beep out "1 - 6 - 7 - 1" - 1671 feet - nay quite as high as I had expected based on Rocksim projections.

When we arrived back at t' launch site and I had time t' look more closely at t' rocket, I discovered one other problem. Avast! T' bottom o' t' main parachute's shroud lines were completely severed. Avast, me proud beauty! T' ejection charge had melted them. Begad! T' parachute was no longer attached t' t' rocket. Avast, me proud beauty! T' shroud lines had tangled with t' shock cord which was all that had kept t' rocket from fallin' away from t' parachute.

Next time, I'll ensure that t' parachute and its shroud lines are better protected.

I'm actually pleased that t' K455 motor did nay propel t' rocket as high as predicted. T' size o' NEFAR's field is better for flights t' 1600 or 1700 feet (especially when it is windy) than for flights t' higher altitudes. Now that I know that t' "Wacky Wiggler" recovery works, me hearties, I'll set t' main t' deploy at a lower altitude. Aye aye! That will help it drift less ... and give us more time t' watch it wiggle!

Here is a video o' t' flight ...

And here be t' video from t' camera on-board t' YouBee ...


A discussion o' t' building, shiver me timbers, and first flight, shiver me timbers, o' t' YouBee, can be found in T' Rocketry Forum.

PostScript: After t' flight I discovered somethin' interestin' when I removed t' motor.
 

T' motor casin' had a hole in it! It's nay t' result o' a burn-through since t' hole is punched into t' tube. Apparently, t' tree limb that penetrated t' bottom o' t' rocket went all t' way into t' motor.
 

T' spiral grooves on t' motor were created when I twisted it t' remove it from t' motor mount.