| Name: | Newcomer 1 |
|---|---|
| Designation: | NC-1 |
| Type: | Estes Alpha |
| Recovery System: | Parachute |
| Fins: | 3x Swept Delta |
| Builder: | William Boersma |
| Project: | Project Newcomer |
| Colors: | Blue/Silver |
| Maiden Flight: | 16 Oct 2021 |
| Status: | Lost |
| Name: | Newcomer 1 |
|---|---|
| Designation: | NC-1 |
| Type: | Estes Alpha |
| Recovery System: | Parachute |
| Fins: | 3x Swept Delta |
| Builder: | William Boersma |
| Project: | Project Newcomer |
| Colors: | Blue/Silver |
| Maiden Flight: | 16 Oct 2021 |
| Status: | Lost |
"Victim of the Sky"
Newcomer 1 (NC-1) is the first model rocket I built. I called it "newcomer" because I was a newcomer to model rocketry at the time. I originally got the name from the first orbital rocket I created in the game Kerbal Space Program. I had named that rocket Newcomer because I was new to the game and it was like my kerbals were newcomers to orbit in the game. So the name has multiple meanings. The Newcomer Program gets it's name from this rocket.
Newcomer 1 was built completly stock, as I wanted to build a rocket stock before making modifications to it. It was lost during Trail Junction 2020, during it's third flight when it was carried away by the wind and out of sight after successful parachute deployment.
After doing some research, I bought an Estes Alpha rocket from their website. I had concluded that the Alpha was the best rocket to for a beginner to start on while still using the same construction techniques implied on more advanced models. This is because eventually I plan to build my own rockets from scratch, not a kit, and Newcomer is supposed to familarize me with the aspects of model rocketry needed to do this.
The 2021 Trail Junction was having a Model Rocketry event, and of course I brought my rocket to use. Mr. Smitty, a leader of our troop, recently retired from NASA, and had a large bin of model rocket kits that he gave out to members of our troop. They were all Estes Alpha Beta Series kits, which I eneded up getting a few of, and turning into other newcomer rockets.
I launched Newcomer I three times at Trail Junction. The first time I used an B-powered motor. The flight went good with an easy recovery and I was loving it. The second time I used an A or 1/2A engine for somereason. I think I was being cautious, or maybe I just wanted to see it all up close. Point is I remember of of the adult leaders of your troop incouraging me to use a more powerful motor. The third time I used a C engine. It went so high that when the parachutes deployed, it was so high up I lost track of it and it blew beyond the recovery area. I attribute this to to using a powerful engine on a windy day at a very small launch field.
"Elks Launch Bays" stand for the Elks Youth Camp at which Trail Junction 2021 took place. They set up for Estes launch pads with caution tape around them, making a square divide into four smaller squares, or "bays." The Elks Youth Camp is located at: The Elks Youth Camp / 24175 S.E. Hwy 450 / Umatilla, FL
| F# | Specifics | Notes | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F1 |
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Success. Went fairly straight up, wind blew NC-1 about 150ft away after chute deployment. Igniter wires burned trailing edge of fins slightly, leaving blakc marks. Engine may have been a B6-4. | ||||||||||
| F2 |
|
Success. Engine was A or 1/2A power. The director tried to get all four "bays" to launch at once. NC-1 was slow to ignite, and therefore only the other 3 bays lifted off simultenously. It went much less high up than F1 and landed ~50ft from spectator tent. | ||||||||||
| F3 |
|
Failure. Most powerful motor used yet. Successful parachute deployment at high altitude. However, I looked down to put down the controller and looked up again and couldn't find it. I hoped I would spot it again when it came lower, but it most have been so windy it blew past us. My Dad said he followed it until it went over a line of trees and then lost it aswell. He said it was still pretty high. He said he wouldn't be surprised if it went beyind the small lake behind the tree line. I spent the next hour searching for it and could not find it. We left the camp the next day, me and my brother both losing our rockets. |
Hover over images to read the "tool tip" info about them, and click to open it full size in another tab.
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Updated 3/14/2022 by William Boersma
