iPhone 14 Pro Max
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A pleasant surprise to discover this in the latest issue. Thanks to flickr’s Creative Commons license options, people can use my photos for things like this.

10″ diameter. 47-lb. nosecone. N2000 launch in the Back Rock Desert. Here’s a ground video of the launch. You can see my videocam on tripod in the foreground (bottom left corner of the photo caption box overlay).

3 responses to “My Photo in Sport Rocketry June 2023”

  1. jurvetson Avatar
    jurvetson

    Final prep on the playa, for what was a successful Level 3 flight in 2007Final Prep on the PlayaBut the launch in the magazine was two years later… On this second flight the going up part was perfect, with a nice long burn… but, then it arced slowly overhead…. ”deploy… please deploy”…. No parachute deployment!… It starts to pick up speed pointing straight down. Too much momentum to stop now…. Its fate is sealed… it came back ballistic… and disappeared into the solid clay of the Black Rock Desert. X marks the spotErik’s Bullpup rocket, with a 48 lb. nose cone, did not create a crater.

    It disappeared into the solid clay, the fins slicing an X, like a pirate’s buried treasure.

    Luckily there were a bunch of ATV and motorcyclists tooling around the playa and they spotted the landing, which would have been very difficult to find otherwise.

    After a bit of small talk, I said "Oh my god – Hoppy is in there." Erik: "My daughter will never forgive me for taking her bunny without permission." Me: "Yeah, you are in trouble man." The ATV folk started backing away slowly with looks of shock and disgust on their faces. Erik: "Oh, no, it’t not like that. Hoppy is a stuffed animal toy."

    Time to get the shovels and pneumatic cutter.

    After a bit of reflection, the putative culprit for this ballistic lawn dart was old batteries. The 9V Duracells had been used last summer on Erik’s successful L3 launch with this rocket, and had aged, and we forgot to replace them with fresh ones. They most likely did not provide enough current to fire the e-matches that ignite the black powder pouch that ejects the parachutes. So it all came back in a sickening thud, making a cloud of dust in the distant mirage.Bullpup landingOh, I happen to have a real Bullpup nose cone and fin can at work, detailsBullpup Nosecone — America's First Air-to-Ground Missile AGM-12Bullpup AGM-12B Guided Missile Fin Can

    Reply
  2. gsikich1 Avatar
    gsikich1

    Nice shot – you managed to get the whole rocket and the plume from launch. All in focus too.

    Reply
  3. Chris P. Costa Avatar
    Chris P. Costa

    Hoppy’s journey !🍻

    Reply

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