Memo to self- NEVER, EVER rush thru rocket prep

I post this mostly to remind myself. But if others can learn from my mistakes, that's
good too...

We waited out some mid-day weather at TTRA but had a pretty good late
afternoon... Unfortunately I had recovery issues on Saturday, too. My
Performance Rocketry G3 suffered from a drogue charge that didn't fire.
Autopsy analysis[1] uncovered a comedy of errors, but it boils down to- I
rushed the prep.

As they say, the up part (on the SRS J263) was great!

UPDATE (7/9/08) - TTRA has posted photos of the liftoff and boost phase:
Liftoff shot
Boost shot


Estimated altitude was ~3K ft. where it arched over gracefully, then came in
ballistic. Mike Kiss and I saw it bounce at the tree line and walked out to recover the pieces. Probably should've taken along a garbage bag. But between the two of us,
we managed to collect all the parts.

The NC impacted, then the payload bay spidered outwards, the motor, mount, retainer, centering rings and fins all came slamming down on the av-bay. This
created a 'reverse zipper' of sorts where the fins cut though the body. The vented motor bulkhead was pushed into the case, but not before breaking off the eyebolt at the retaining nuts and bending a snap ring. The nozzle and washer pushed the fuel grains and U/C valve forward about 4 inches. Somehow the washer turned sideways and bent slightly.

Luckily, the case itself appears to be OK (only a minor scratch of the anodizing from the nozzle washer).

If you look closely, you can see the 'step' of the nozzle stuck (sideways) in the fuel grain. The nozzle
is also missing a sizable chunk of the outside perimeter... I'm gonna have to get some replacement
parts (nozzle/washer/snap rings) from Todd @ SkyRipper before I can fly the 54mm cases again.
And another altimeter. And a rocket...

Or maybe I need a train set....

[1] Gory Details of Autopsy - Lessons Learned

I prepped the motor the night before. Calm and relaxed at home. All good.

Possible mistake #1
I waited until just before the flight to prep the electronics and charges. But earlier
in the day, there was a grandfather and grandson asking questions and I stopped unloading the truck to demo
the e-bay and altimeter. The drogue bulkhead was removed to pull the sled and
the charge connector was disconnected at this point. I'm fairly certain (but not 100%)
the wires were reconnected when the bulkhead was reassembled. After the recovery,
the damage was such that I wasn't sure about this connection. I should've reassembled
the av-bay from scratch.

Possible mistake #2
I checked continuity of the N3rd e-match canisters when removed from the ammo box,
but not after filling with Pyrodex and the foam ear plug. Should have also doubled-checked
once they were terminated on the connector blocks.

After the destruction, the drogue e-match was found to be electrically open. No way to know for sure
when that happened. The main fired, but by that time it was too late- the aero-forces kept
the NC firmly in the BT.

Possible mistake #3
I was sure I heard the proper beeps/chirps after arming the altimeter on the pad. But
the fiberglass construction and height of the av-bay makes it difficult to listen. After the
last launch, I had planned to pick-up a stethoscope, but didn't get around to it. Skycraft here
I come!

Possible mistake #4 - and ultimately the ROOT CAUSE
Rushing thru the prep! The weather had been crappy most of the day but the die hards
that waited it out were rewarded with relatively good flying conditions. Unfortunately,
this also imparted a sense of urgency to prep quickly or miss out on the remaining portion
of the flight day... GO FEVER IS NEVER A GOOD THING!