Rawkit Gurl's Blog

What to do with the Tree after Christmas

Rawkit Gurl — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:40:21 +0000

I’ve been purposely neglecting my blog as have been pre-occupied with learning electrical engineering. This was prompted by my failure with leds for a night launch rocket. So I’ve been experimenting with some techniques shared on forums and a dummy guide to electrical engineering.

Since I have no project updates to share instead I’ll amuse with this Christmas tree adventure. These two guys are funny, ”the math was nothing exciting, just a little differential calculus”.

Level 3 Happy Dance

Rawkit Gurl — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 07:42:08 +0000

It’s official, my level 3 card arrived in the mail yesterday! And I did a lil happy dance right there in the post office lobby. You’d thought that there was money in the envelope by the grin on my face.

My rocketing goddessness is finally realized. Of course this is a self-appointed title. However I remained convinced that if I state it often enough and with enough conviction that people will start to believe it or do so just to humor me. Take a cue from my family people. Resistance is futile.

Big thanks to my TAPS Jack and Kurt, and to Greg for the hours of mentoring. The beast in now unleashed.

Rocket Scientist by Teddybears featuring Eve

Plaster Blaster 10 Coming Nov 4th!!!!

Rawkit Gurl — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 03:43:46 +0000

Countdown to Plaster Blaster 10 has begun and the festivity planners from Tripoli San Diego and DART are working to produce the best event ever.

I’ve even gotten in the spirit of it all and am volunteering as the raffle director to obtain donations of products, services or cash.

If you have any goodies, let me know.

We are all looking forward to the excitement starting November 4th of getting our launch on, marveling those special projects, enjoying sparkly night launches, mingling with the rocketry community, and of course the raffle of spectacular prizes.

My intended project will be for the Saturday night launch.

Now if mine can only be so sparkly and cool as this Diab-Glo below.

This photo is from Wolf Star Design.

NASA Unveils Plans for the World’s Largest Rocket

Rawkit Gurl — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 03:17:07 +0000

It’s Official, Great Success Level 3

Rawkit Gurl — Tue, 12 Jul 2011 06:44:48 +0000

Quick post to share the success. It’s been in the works since November. Wind has not been my friend, however Saturday July 9th, it was not an issue. More details to follow in later post.

Thanks G for the great shots!

Whining Bout Wind

Rawkit Gurl — Tue, 24 May 2011 08:46:55 +0000

For the past handful of launches, my level 3 flight plans have been grounded due to windy conditions.

Last month, I trekked to Plaster City with my young friend Jadan. He is an aspiring rocketeer as he received two rockets for Christmas.

Alas the wind was just crazy. So we ended up staying about an hour. Instead we decided to take the scenic route back to San Diego. This included a detour in Jacumba to check out In Ko Pah Desert Tower. More details http://www.roadsideamerica.com/story/9178

Great view from the tower and very windy.

The fun part though was climbing the big rocks and exploring the nooks n crannies.

Despite the wind, the disappointment of not flying was dulled as we embarked on a spontaneous adventure.

Rocketry Community Has Twisted Panties Over Verizon Commercial

Rawkit Gurl — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 04:11:10 +0000

Okay, true dat. A rocket should never be flown horizontally. But its a commercial, and it highly unlikely to have a public impression on High Power Rocketry. Other than Marketing geeks like me, who really watches commercials?

Rocket Decoration Idea

Rawkit Gurl — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 07:25:17 +0000

G mentioned this to me and it made me giggle. Not sure how to implement yet. Below is a clue.

Never Stop Learning

Rawkit Gurl — Tue, 08 Mar 2011 05:58:30 +0000

March launch at Plaster was sunny with some wind. With the fin fixed, Sparkle Motion was ready to fly on a CTI K160. In January the launch lugs and the cracked fin, kept me from flying. I struggled with the launch lugs and it turned out to be an issue with a dirty rail.

https://picasaweb.google.com/g.phresh/PlasterCityMonthlyLaunches#slideshow/5581167681076812546 (photos courtesy of G’s new camera)

The take-off was nice, however the 6 second delay was too short. An early ejection caused a zipper in the cone, also shredded off the tracker transmitter and tore up the parachute. The rocket launched quite well as the parachute acted as a streamer and slowed it down. Luckily clear line of sight of where the rocket landed. To my good fortune, one of the boy scouts found the transmitter. It had been ripped free of the shock cord, which tore the cover off and lost the battery.

Mark C told me that the transmitter manufacturer could repair. I did buy another transmitter for my L3 flight next weekend. Speaking of L3 flights, was happy to watch Mike C’s successful flight on an Extreme Darkstar. He was too funny, later that day he stopped by G & my set-up areas to thank us for making our mistakes and learnings visible as that helped him in his pursuit. So glad someone could benefit from my misadventures. Although I do have to say that I learn the most from correcting my mistakes.

At home I (and Monty) assessed the Sparkle Motion’s damage. Looks like I’ll need to use some fiberglass material and an epoxy concoction to patch.

Lessons learned:

A clean launch rail is key. keep baby wipes and spare igniters on-hand.

Transmitters can be repaired. It is a good practice to tape the battery in place, tape the cover shut, and finally tape securely to shock cord well above parachute.

6 second delay on motor is not long enough.

Happy Valentine’s

Rawkit Gurl — Mon, 14 Feb 2011 09:55:35 +0000