Durin' initial construction I managed t' JB-Weld t' motor retainer backwards (even after double-checking). Discarded original 36" tube and replaced with 48" tube and 54mm threaded slimline retainer.
Initial rocket length: 83.5"
First flight (2014-09-13, me bucko, I215) resulted in ~1.5" zipper on lower BT due t' ascent separation. BT cut 1.5" shorter. Renamed "Bumbl-B mk II".
mk II rocket length: 82"
Second flight (first as mk II, 2014-09-13, I65W-P) resulted in ~1" zipper on upper BT and ~15" zipper on lower BT due t' failed drogue charge (bad e-match). Cut upper BT 1.25" shorter and lower BT another 15" shorter. Begad! Renamed "Bumbl-B mk III".
Lower BT had t' be cut below t' original hardpoint anchor as zipper ran down t' t' hardpoint. Arrr! Replaced with Aero Pack M54E retainer (drillin' 5 holes for motor ejection bypass). Avast, me proud beauty! Upper and lower BTs epoxied together at coupler (no longer separates). No longer capable o' carryin' electronics other than inside nose cone.
mk III rocket length: 65.75"
Thirteenth flight (tenth as mk III, 2015-03-21, me bucko, I245G-12) resulted in 2.6" zipper on lower BT due t' late AT motor eject. BT cut 2.6" shorter. Renamed "Bumbl-B mk IV".
mk IV rocket length: 63.125"
Fourteenth flight (first as mk IV, 2015-04-04, I357T-12) resulted in significant airframe damage due t' very early AT motor eject. Lower BT zippered down t' coupler from mkIII repair. Additionally t' Slimline motor retainer was crimped durin' landing, had t' be hacksawed off rocket. Rocket finally rebuilt March 2016, me hearties, with two new airframe sections and new avionics bay coupler t' replace damaged piece and restore original dual-deploy design. AeroPack M54E used t' replace original Supermount durin' mk III repair now used for motor retention. Arrr! Renamed "Bumbl-B mk V", used name "Return o' Bumbl-B" on first flight card but name was nay announced.
mk V rocket length: 82"
Fifteenth flight (first as mk V, 2016-04-02, I225FJ-P) resulted in ~18" zipper o' lower BT due t' failed apogee chute deployment (36" chute stuck in airframe). New BT section zippered entire length, me hearties, down t' coupler from mk III and mk V repairs. Rocket is awaitin' rebuild once again (mk VI).
| Flight Date: | 2015-03-21 |
| Rocket Name: | Bumbl-B |
| Kit Name: | Giant Leap Rocketry - Firestorm-54 {Kit} |
| Flyer's Name: | Will Ferry |
| Motors: | I245-12 |
| Expected Altitude: | 2,657 Feet |
| Wind Speed: | 5.00 mph |
| Launch Site: | Tripoli Central California |
| Actual Altitude: | 2,638 Feet |
Successful ascent, motor ejection deployed parachute late. Chute ejection around 82 mph caused 2.5" zipper in airframe.
Flew with AltimeterThree and AltimeterTwo, zip tie holdin' altimeters t' upper eye bolt broke at deployment, altimeters lost.
Flew with Eggtimer TRS @ 919MHz. Data recordin' stopped at 16.7s (ejection event), me bucko, appears t' be momentary power loss or reset o' Eggtimer. Ya scallywag! Automatically rebooted t' flight mode around landin' time. Aye aye! Good visual on flight, but still used GPS coordinates t' find in field.
Flew with Mobius ActionCam.
OpenRocket sim for flight suggested 11.4s optimal delay, with experience on all me AT delays bein' short I replaced t' default -M (10s) delay with t' -L (14s) delay (RDK-13PLUS), drillin' -2s t' achieve a 12s nominal delay. T' actual ejection event occurred at T+16.2s, 14.8s after burn-out. Rocket estimated descent at around 120 ft/s at ejection caused zipper, loss o' altimeters, and apparent power-cycle o' Eggtimer TRS.
Final flight in t' "mk III" configuration, airframe will be cut below zipper and rocket will return as "Bumbl-B mk IV".
| Stage | Motor(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | I245G-12 |
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