Newcomer 3
| Name: |
Newcomer 3 |
| Designation: |
NC-3 |
| Type: |
Estes Alpha (Beta Series) |
| Recovery System: |
Parachute |
| Weight (dry) |
0.8oz (20g) |
| Mass (calculated from above): |
0.2kg |
| Builder: |
William Boersma |
| Completed: |
18 Dec 2021 |
| Project: |
Project Newcomer |
| Maiden Flight: |
18 Dec 2021 |
| Status: |
Active |
Newcomer 3 (NC-3)
Newcomer 3 (NC-3) is the third rocket I made and the first one not to be lost. IIt is a part of Project Newcomer. quickly made it the night and morning before the Spaceport Rocketry Association (SRA) December 2021 launch after Newcomer II was lost during it's "test flights" at Yellow Park. I have to admit I am pretty surprised at how well it turned out for being made so quickly.
The launches went well, I got to use many different engines on it through out the day. Newcomer 3 now holds the record for most flights by a single rocket, 4, and the first not to be lost. I also launched it at the March 2022 SRA launch so it now holds that record with 5 flights, with a 90% flight success rate (4 successes + 1 partial success out of 5 flights = 4.5/5 = 0.9
Newcomer 3 was officially on reserve for awhile as I didn't really plan to fly it again, although I launched it at the March 2022 SRA launch, and I still hadn't really done I good dual-test with Newcomer 5 since it would really have to be the same day at the same launch site with the same weather. However, in May 2022 I thought of launching them both on 1/2A engines at Yellow Park when I launch Theremin I there.
See Also
- Newcomer II, the previous rocket in Project Newcomer.
- NC-IV Ascention, the subsequent rocket in Project Newcomer.
- Newcomer 5, a rocket in Project Newcomer that could perfom joint tests with Newcomer 3.
Flight Log
"SRA-CLS" stand for the Spaceport Rocketry Association's Compound Launch Site.
| F# |
Specifics |
Notes |
| F1 |
| Date: |
18 Dec 2021 |
| Time: |
~12:00p |
| Engine: |
A8-3 |
| Location: |
SRA-CLS |
| Weather: |
Cloudy, Not to windy. |
|
Success. Landed within the recovery zone. Fins trailing edges were slightly scorched, as well as the engine hook and shock cord partially covered in soot.
|
| F2 |
| Date: |
18 Dec 2021 |
| Time: |
~2:00p |
| Engine: |
B4-4 |
| Location: |
SRA-CLS |
| Weather: |
Cloudy, Not to windy. |
|
Success. Parachute strings spinned together and caused a "rolled up" parachute effect. This is good as it most certainly would have blown past the recovery area if the chute had fully deployed. I assumed it was a fluke and didn't change much for the next flight.
|
| F3 |
| Date: |
18 Dec 2021 |
| Time: |
~4:00p |
| Engine: |
B6-6 |
| Location: |
SRA-CLS |
| Weather: |
Cloudy, Not to windy. |
|
Success. Parachute strings spinned together again. Again, the rocket was fine but it was still slightly disgraceful to have a partial deployment. I decided to use a 1/2A power engine to see if I could see what was happening. I guessed that the chute deployed correctly but for some reason it was twisting an contracted again. I figured I could confirm this by observing it up close.
|
| F4 |
| Date: |
18 Dec 2021 |
| Time: |
~4:00p |
| Engine: |
1/2A6-2 |
| Location: |
SRA-CLS |
| Weather: |
Cloudy, Not to windy. |
|
Success. Parachute deployed regularly so I am still not exactly sure what caused it, but from these four flight's data, it seems to only do it durng higher altitude flights. Coincidentally, I came very close to the "spot landing" target on this flight, however you have to enter each flight into the competition separatly. I considered doing a repeat flight just to enter into the contest, but they were nearing the end of their flight window so I didn't want to keep them.
|
| F5 |
| Date: |
19 Mar 2022 |
| Time: |
~2:30p |
| Engine: |
B6-6 |
| Location: |
SRA-CLS |
| Weather: |
Clear skies, fairly windy. |
|
Partial-success. I didn't angle the launch rod at all for this flight, which today proved to help alot in recovery spotting. I used the older, purple engines I got from Mr. Smitty. The plugs that came with the B engines I bought didn't fit very well into them for some reason, so I tested them on this flight before risking NC-IV Ascention. It was unsuccessful because it went just beyond the line of trees downrange, which I thought meant I would never get it back, however someone else ended up finding it while looking for their rocket and brought it to the sign-in table. They didn't find theirs :(
|
Image Gallery
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Updated 5/27/2022 by William Boersma
