Murphy's Launch

I've had more disasters in the past week than in the three month's prior when it comes to launching rockets.


Murphy's Launch from Chixulub on Vimeo.

Lost Curtis to the corn field last week, and the Hellboy lawn dart fiasco on top of that. Then tonight, Otis lawn darts and the Inscrutable Hulk a rocket surely too big to lose, goes to the corn field for a hide out.



At first I thought Otis was another failed ejection charge. I wondered if Estes would question me if I had two warranty claims for this issue close together, or if maybe they'd had a bad spell in quality control.



But no, the motor was probably fine. If it had stayed with the rocket. It must have kicked, which is hard to imagine. The nose cone was loose, so much so I almost added some masking tape for a snugger fit. And I'd used the engine clip that came with the kit. I'm not nuts about Estes clips, but it was there and what the hell. Right?



Wrong. I'm back to taping or using spring steel clips like Apogee sells from now on. Estes can take their engine clips and shove them up their motor mounts.



I'm hopeful I can get the Hulk back, though. I have a good idea where he went down and that field wasn't as hard to navigate as the one Curtis went in. I ran out of daylight, but I'm pretty sure I can get him back. Plus, I let a bud who lives by the park know his kids could earn some easy money if they recover it for me. And since these are kids who go into the corn just because, I'm thinking they might do a pretty systematic search in hopes of ten bucks.



And Otis is very repairable. Thanks to a coat of finishing resin and the acetate label stock that his plaid is made of, all I'll need is some 3" tubing and a coupler. Might make him a hair taller in the process because why not?