IRW+1997

=**'Largs' International Rocketry meeting 1997**=

My son David and I (Dave Thomson) had been to the International Rocketry weekend in Largs (Scotland) back in 1995 but had not been able to go in 1996. We arrived in 1997 on the morning of Saturday the 23 August. The weekend ran from Friday to Monday. We set up camp and checked out the equipment. We then signed in at the pavilion with John Bonsor for the weekend and had a look around. The usual crowd was there including Aspirespace and Mars.

The next tent to us was Sean O'Neill. We got talking and discovered that we both came from the Wirral. Sean had been to IRW 1996 and had seen Ben Jarvis launch Nemesis. Sean had brought his Estes Thunderhawk and Estes Pheonix to fly.

Above image shows the camping field with the Pavillion in the distance. The small field is to the right of the trees.

In the afternoon was a free flying event so I prepped the 2inch silver experimental rocket for launch on a G40-4W Aerotech single use motor. The flight was great and deployment good and at apogee. The new beeper system worked well also and could be clearly heard from 2000 feet. Other rockets included a PML Ultimate Endeavour on a J350 motor. Very impressive and very loud! "I have got to get me one of these" I heard myself saying. When the rocket reached apogee it turned over and headed for Earth. The sound of the crowd rose with shouts of 'OPEN'. The chutes then opened just in time before it attained too much speed. The rocket landed a bit hard and had some minor damage.

Some other rockets did not go according to plan. One flew an arc almost overhead and coresampled. The ejection charge then blew so causing the rear booster to eject backwards into the air!

Another orange rocket was launched on 3xD12 motors. The centre of gravity must have been BEHIND the centre of pressure as the rocket took the tightest turn in the air you can get then landed only a few feet from the pad. I hope whoever it was swing tests it first next time!

A great launch from an Estes Caomanche-3 to a great height. I think it was all recovered. Plus many more other good flights.

Sunday morning brought clear clam weather. Some flyers went up on the top hill to fly some of the larger higher powered rockets. Myself and Sean stayed around the pavilion to launch some rockets in the adjacent field. I had prepped the Patriot to fly on a G80T and 6xD12 motors. The rocket was taken out to the field and loaded onto the pad. Sean took over control of launch and we all stood back with video camera in hand. At the end of the countdown when the button was pressed the motors kicked in but then all went very wrong. The G80T motor catoed which in turn caused three of the D12 motors to fail also. The rocket had lifted around 20 feet of the pad at this time then the D12 motors and part of the G80T blew through the motor mount and threw off the nose cone. The video shows the motors disappearing into the distance while the rocket spins in the air. Luckily the parachutes are forced open by the blast and manage to mostly open just as the rocket hits the ground. Inspection showed that the rocket had not been damaged apart from a wrecked motor mount and a few scorch marks on the parachutes. Somebody said that it must be a "Good solid construction" followed by the Safety officer saying it was a "Good solid explosion!".

Above image shows the rocket prior to launch on its maiden flight.



Above image shows the rocket a split second after launch during a spectacular CATO!! The orange ball of flame below and richt of the nose cone are a few of the motors that have come up through body tube and blown the nose cone off.

Video clip of the CATO: [|IRW1997_Patriot03.wmv]
The engine cell from the camera rocket was then transfered into the Patriot for a later flight. This cell is for 4x29mm motors but was loaded for flight with 2xG40-4W motors. The other two where blocked up.

The flight was perfect to say the least. The rocket lifted swiftly off the pad to around 1000 feet and deployed both parachutes perfectly. The rocket then gently came back down to earth only 30 feet from the launch pad!!



Above image shows the Patriot at the moment of launch on 2xG40W motors. To the left is David (my son) with his fingers in his ears. Me with the video camera, and Sean pushing the button (to the right).

Above two images show the Patriot heading skyward on a large column of smoke. Patachutes where deployed at apogee and returned slow and safe to ground in the launch field by the pad.

That night there was another open entry flight in the field adjacent to the pavilion. This time I prepped the camera rocket on two G40-4W single use motors. 4 motors was not allowed as power had to be kept down. But I was a bit concerned that it would have enough power to get to a safe altitude. The camera was loaded images/ The button was pressed and both motors ignited. The flight was very majestic and slow off the pad but VERY stable in flight. Altitude was very low and must have been only a few hundred feet.

The parachutes deployed perfectly and the large rocket landed some 20 feet from the pad. Unfortunately I forgot to turn on the camera so I launched again. By now it was starting to go dark. The second launch was similar but the delay for deployment was way too long. The parachutes just opened before hitting the ground and the rocket suffered a zippered tube from the bungy rope. This time the camera was turned on but the system did not trigger. I would have to wait until the September SERFS Yatesbury meeting to try again.



Above images show the rocket prior to launch with myself and David (my son) posing for the camera. Right image is the rocket in flight on a large column of smoke. A perfect flight, low in altitude but VERY stable.



Another part of the rocket weekend is the Aquajet competition. This year again the winners where the Paisley Rocketeers. Images below show the prep and launch. Notice the jet of water caught on camera as the rocket leaves the launch rod!


 * [[image:IRW1997_10.jpg width="412" height="331"]] || [[image:IRW1997_11.jpg width="411" height="332"]] ||

Other memorable flights where the gyroscopically stabilised flight by Aspirespace. This was an own design and built rocket and was gimbal controlled. Although the flight was only short it was very impressive. The rocket was designed to only have enough thrust to give some vertical lift. But the control system managed to keep the rocket stable. You could see the system working to keep the rocket pointing vertical and was oscillating around its centre of gravity.


 * [[image:IRW1997_07.jpg width="256" height="221"]] || [[image:IRW1997_08.jpg width="260" height="226"]] ||

The Mars group had been preparing a very large rocket all weekend called 'KevRoc-3'. Motors of all types and sizes had been clustered together in a large 'cake'. The power was terrific at launch but soon it went all wrong. It had first looked as if there had been a structural failure in the middle of the rocket as it appeared to bend in two as it rose from the pad.

**Link to a video clip of the launch: [|IRW1997_KevRoc-3_a.wmv]**


But as it turns out and as could be seen from the video I took one or more of the motors had failed at ignition and had begun to push off the nosecone off. When the nosecone had separated the rocket was unstable and began to spiral wildly in the air a s the motors where still burning. At burn out the rocket hit the ground near the pad at set alight to the grass. This was quickly extinguished as cheers and claps from the distant crowd could be heard.



We packed away the following morning and looked forward to next years event in 1998.