LOC IV launch

There was a running bet that I would shred the fins of my LOC IV rocket as she went supersonic. I had broken a fin during an experimental motor launch in the Black Rock Desert, and repaired it with a lathering of JB Weld (a super strong two part epoxy that can repair cracked engine blocks) over the entire fin surface. Fin flutter at the Mach transition rips many a fin off a rocket, so this was a good stress test for the epoxy.

Optimism prevailed, and she had a perfect flight on a J350 motor, screaming out of sight. According to RockSim, she took 47Gs. I did not want to risk a flight computer on this launch, so I only have the simulation to go by.

Photo by oddwick from the bluff top.