Vector Force

The Vector Force: The Vector Force is a modern Estes kit. This was my first model I made as a BAR. The kit came with very good quality balsa fins, thick and sturdy.  It appears to me that the design is inspired by air defense missiles. I also like the transitions to smaller diameters, very Saturn/Apollo-like.

It is rather tall, but somewhat heavy because of the two reducers.  Because it has two reducer stages it has two separate payload tubes.  Estes tells you to glue the payload tubes, but why? Good idea if you want to be sure the rocket doesn't separate in flight, but why waste two very nice payload bays?  I just make sure they are always good and tight with some masking tape.

Mine is painted school-bus yellow and gloss black to better match the included decals. I added about 3 heavy coats of clear coat for a really deep shine.  String stability tests with a C motor required about 20-ish grams of nose weight, but now it flies really straight up - provided there is little wind. In the wind it weather-cocks pretty severely.

The top payload tube has vent holes for a barometric altimeter. This is my current go-to flagship rocket. I've recorded flights in excess of 400 feet with C6 motors. I have tried some test flights with composite D engines, to see if I could kick this puppy past 1000 feet. It sure did! In the process, the shock cord was torn out from the mount. This model was repaired by installing a custom ejection baffle with a Kevlar shock cord attachment. Now I think she'll hold up to a few more D-powered launches and ejections.

This rocket has flown higher than the NY Times Building in NY, and also the Chrysler Building including the pinnacle, and the Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta.

SPECIFICATIONS

Series Number: 12
Length: 28.25"
Lowest Body Diameter: 1.33"
Intermediate Diameter: 0.960"
Upper Body Diameter: 0.710"
Fin Span: 6.25"
Basic Empty Weight: 99.4 grams
Liftoff Weight Range: 125.6 - 132.6 grams
Motor Diameter: 18 mm
Motor Length: 70 mm
Motor Retention Method: Clip
Primary (upper) Payload Interior Length: 4.4"
Primary Payload Diameter: 0.680"
Primary Payload Volume: 1.60 cubic inches
Altimeter Capable: Yes
Secondary (lower) Payload Interior Length: 4.2"
Secondary Payload Interior Diameter: 0.94"
Secondary Payload Volume: 2.91 cubic inches
Total Payload Volume: 4.51 cubic inches
Recovery Method: 12 " Nylon Parachute
Typical Descent Speed: 11.5 mph
Recovery Protection Method: Baffle
Shock Cord Mount: Kevlar
Noseweight Mass: 15.5 grams
Number of Fins: 4+4
Fin Material: Balsa Wood, Thru-the-wall construction
Transition/Reducer Sections: 2
Launch Lug Size: 1/8"
Glue Used: Titebond III
Paint Used: Testors
Kit Brand: Estes
Completed: Nov. 10, 2010

FLIGHT LOGS

2011, May 29: Indiantown Gap, Light wind

B6-4:  First Flight: Perfect Success, but barely high enough.  There was an onboard altimeter, and it measured 150 feet.  Altitude not very impressive though. I should fly this on a C or D motor - especially if there is any weight to the payload.

2011, June 12: Penn Manor, Breezy wind

C6-5: Last flight of the day before the storm arrived. The liftoff was perfect but it weather-cocked considerably. 'Chute popped, opened cleanly and drifted right back to the launch area.  Altimeter in payload bay recorded actual apogee of 442 feet.


2011, July 2: Indiantown Gap, Light wind

C6-3:  Good flight and recovery. Altitude reached as expected for this model & engine. Coincidentally, altitude was exact same as previous flight...I suspect I might not have reset the altimeter. Apogee was 420 feet.


2011, July 3: Indiantown Gap, Light wind

C6-3:  Good flight and recovery, although shrouds were a bit twisted around shock cord. Apogee reading was 438 feet.

2011, August 7: Halifax, Light wind

C6-5:  Perfect flight and recovery. Reached 386 feet. I caught it in mid-air, never touched the ground!  C6-5 is a good motor for this model; flights are high, but manageable. Flies OK without winds. Still, would like to try it on a D (see next flight).


D10-7: This powerful motor sent this rocket to 1121 feet!  First D power for this 18mm bird, and my first composite propellant launch. Fortunately the poor reputation of copperhead igniters did not show on this flight, the Apogee engine lit on the first attempt.  Good takeoff, incredible power! Many, including me, thought it was obviously more than a D, but altitude was as predicted - just over 1000 feet.  (Note that the Apogee D10 motor has a lot more total power than an Estes D12.)

The ejection was apparently just as powerful; it ripped the shock cord from tape/paper mount and the model separated into two parts at apogee. The booster landed without a parachute but survived just fine. The parachute melted together in parts, and the payload drifted far under a plastic wad recovery.  I will install a Kevlar shock cord tied to an ejection baffle, and I already have a nylon chute waiting for this model. Almost afraid to try an Aerotech D21 I have for this rocket (but I'm sure I will). Another rocket in the 1000-high club!

2011, November 6: Penn Manor, Breezy wind

C6-3:  The Vector was newly repaired with a Kevlar shock cord mount, longer shock cord and a relatively heavy ejection baffle, but she flew fine and didn't get disturbed by the breezy winds. The altimeter errored again! 4th error in 8 flights. 8 feet? Looked more like 350-400 to me. It said it reached 73 mph and again the peak G's was less than the average. It also said the 1.86 second burning C6 burned only 0.8 secs. - that stupid thing! The flight was good, ejection good if a tad early, and the nylon chute and baffle worked well. Can't wait to throw another D10 or D21 in there!

UPDATE: After corresponding with Jolly Logic (maker of Altimeter 2), it turns out that the model '2 is not triggered by pressure like the '1 is. It senses acceleration - and I'm sure I knocked the rocket around some and triggered it before launch - that explains the bad data I've been getting. Stay tuned for some valid data on upcoming flights!

2011, November 25: Penn Manor, Moderate wind

C6-5: The Vector Force has flown with an altimeter before, but this is its first successful flight with the Altimeter 2. I was hoping to get some meaningful data on whether the -5 or the -3 would be a better delay for this heavy rocket. I have an answer, but not one I expected.

The Vector took off slowly with a motor burn of about two seconds. The average acceleration was only 1.5 G's, but peaked at 5.4G's.  Not going faster than 72 mph, the Vector was very vulnerable to the moderately strong wind. It started weather-cocking into the winds before motor burnout, and continued to coast for 2.6 seconds as it went horizontal at 270 feet, then it continued its arc downward. You know the feeling, seeing your prized rocket streaking in the wrong direction.

Though it seemed like hours, the ejection fired on time 2.3 seconds after apogee, with the rocket having descended 75 feet to an altitude of 195 feet. I had confidence in the strength of the small, sewn nylon parachute and it didn't disappoint me. Once deployed, she descended at 18 mph to a soft landing a few hundred feet or so upwind. Flight time only 14.2 seconds.

So which is better: -3 or -5 delay?  In the past I would always choose based on my expectation of the ideal flight, but in these winds that's only a fairytale. Now I base the decision on the wind. No longer do I have to waffle on the choice. If it's windy, use a -3 because this heavy clump of wood pulp is always going to chase the wind.

2011, December 4: Penn Manor, Steady 10 mph wind

B6-2: Again, because of the winds I had to leave the D motor in the box and loaded a B6-2 for this flight. Experience with this model told me to use a short ejection delay, especially since this will be a low flight.

The Vector Force launched with a peak of 6.5 Gs and averaged 2.3 through the motor burn. In just under a second it reached a speed of 45 mph and coasted for 1.9 seconds to an altitude of 105 feet. It then descended as it arched over for another 1/2 second, losing only 1 foot of altitude and deployed the parachute. It returned at 10 mph and landed in 10.2 seconds. Not bad for a rocket with just over 1 oz of payload weight.

2012, May 6: Penn Manor, light wind

D10-7: It was time to stop playing around with those little motors and sent the Vector up on a composite D-motor. Because of the expected altitude of this rocket, in addition to the altimeter/accelerometer in the top payload, I installed an audible beeper in the lower payload section to be able to find this model in the tall grass. That of course prevented it from ever landing on the grass! (lookup "Murphy's Law") The additional 14 gram weight shouldn't affect the flight too much, since it already has 7 grams of altimeter and 22 grams of additional nose weight.

The engine chugged three or four times before a solid ignition, and then the rocket tore off the pad with a longer flame and denser smoke than any Estes black-powder engine I've ever seen. It accelerated at a peak of 12 Gs, and averaged 5.4 Gs for the 1.4 second burn time. That acceleration was twice what I could expect from a B6 or C6 motor, but it is achieved at 3-times the cost. With that acceleration in light winds I expected very little weather-cocking, but this model turned and flew upwards at about a 30-degree angle from straight. It reached a speed of 168 mph, and coasted for 5.2 seconds before reaching an apogee of 742 feet. Ejection was late at 7.9 seconds, allowing the model to descend for 2.7 seconds to an altitude one hundred feet lower (641 feet). During this coast time it traveled very far upwind.

The parachute ejected and it descended at 19 mph - a bit fast but safe enough (normally). Considering the distance it traveled upwind, it was good that it came down fast or it easily could have been lost. After a flight time of 32.2 seconds, it landed hard in the dirt of a baseball diamond instead of the typical grass field. This caused a minor separation crack in one fin where the two balsa pieces were glued together to form one fin.

As a test flight, this proved that the new ejection baffle and Kevlar shock cord are strong enough for the D10 motor. Inspection of the heavy-duty nylon parachute revealed the cause of the abnormally high descent rate. The shrouds were formed in the usual way: double the length from the chute to the attachment point and back to the parachute. At the attachment point, I used a small loop of Kevlar so that the smaller Kevlar thread would fit into the small wire loop of a fishing swivel. Since I didn't think to glue the individual shroud lines to the Kevlar loop, one shroud loop pulled through about 2 or three inches, making the opposite shroud line too short. With one shroud too short and another too long, the parachute opened lopsided, causing the fast descent speed. Lesson learned: Glue the shroud lines together to prevent slipping.

2012, Sept 1: Indiantown Gap, 10mph winds

C6-3: This was to be a test flight with less noseweight, in hopes that it would better resist turning into the wind. The 10 mph wind was just right for this test. Although I wanted to try a 5 second delay, I thought it would be safer with 3 and have it eject while coasting instead of while plummeting towards the ground.

The motor lit and it burned for two seconds, accelerating to a peak of 7.2 Gs and averaging 2.1 for the burn. That was better than before, probably because of the 11 gram weight reduction (I removed three ¼” nuts on the nose cone).  The rocket flew well, only slightly turned into the wind this time, and reached a better speed of 90 mph, certainly better than the last C6 flight did.

It coasted for the next 2.9 seconds and at 339 feet the ejection fired a bit early while still going up.  3/10 seconds later, after travelling an additional 7 feet up it reached its apogee of 346 feet. As it happened the ejection was timed as well as can be expected.  A good Nylon ‘chute appeared and it descended at 9 mph, landing about 100 feet upwind in 29.5 seconds.  In conclusion it appears that it does fly better with less nose weight.  The nose weight was added originally to get it to pass a string-stability test, which I later learned is quite conservative, often causing one to add too much weight.

D21-7T: Since this rocket flew well with less nose weight, I wanted to try it on the most powerful impulse motor I ever launched.  This has flown with a D10 and I expected a similar flight with the D21. It was not the same at all!  The first two attempts at ignition was met with failure.  As it turned out, the supplied Quest G2 ignitor had continuity but was shorted out internally and didn’t fire.  Even when tried without the motor, there was no spark or flame, just dead.

Eventually we got this motor to light, and without delay it tore off the pad at an unbelievable rate. It burned for only 8/10 seconds, and in that time the rocket disappeared from sight, having accelerated at a peak of 23 Gs. The average acceleration was an incredibly high 16.9 Gs, I’ve never seen an average so high on any rocket or motor.  Though I could see it was very fast, I was amazed to find out after the flight it flew to a top speed of 282 mph – an all-time, any-rocket record for me.  At that amazing speed, it didn’t turn into the wind at all.

It took almost the full 7 second delay to coast to an apogee of 1048 feet (a bit less than the D10 flight), turned over and dropped 5 feet before the ejection fired only 1/10 second late.  It was at 1043 feet when the parachute met the air.  The reliable but small Nylon chute opened, sized specifically for 1000+ flights like these.  It descended at 13 mph, but still took 61.7 seconds before it reached the ground.

I did not see it at all and relied on others to spot it for me. I went towards the landing spot they indicated way on the edge of the field, probably about 600 feet or more downwind.  As I got closer to it a truck drove by on the roadway and blew the parachute into the air a bit and I caught my first sight of it since on the pad. It turns out it was not near the road but on the road! At that point my hurried walk changed to a full sprint. 

Another car was coming from the south and it was lying directly in the middle of the road, with the payload in one lane and the booster in the other lane, connected by the long rubber shock cord. I modified my path to get onto the road as soon as possible in hopes to get the car to slow down. If they were going to run over my rocket, they’d have to run over me too. (Kids, DON’T try this yourself!  I am a large, heavy target, I lived a long, full life and I have plenty of insurance, you don’t!)  Still alert, I saw another car approaching from the north in the other lane. My adrenalin level just doubled.

I ran down the center line waving my arms until I reached the rocket, scooped it up and hurried off the road. Post-flight inspection showed a heavily dinged nose cone and a fin edge, another fin scraped pretty good from the wind dragging it along the road.  But that’s normal in the life of a rocket, they get uglier as they get old and have more flights logged.  I’d call this a very successful flight, and I have a new number to brag about: 282 mph.  It will probably be a long time before I better that speed.

2013, May 4: Halifax, 5-10 mph wind, 70 degrees

C6-3:  Having spent an hour and a half this morning searching the tall grass for a small rocket, I decided it was a day for larger rockets only.  The Vector Force fit the bill.  Having recently reduced the overly-conservative nose weight on this model, I wanted to continue to test it on the much more affordable C6 motors.

As I brought it out to the launch pad, I couldn’t help smiling as I recalled how this model reached an incredible 282 mph using a $10 Apogee composite motor. I had hoped to try a C6-5, but the wind was just a bit too high so I opted for the more conservative C6-3 in case it weather cocked.

The rocket lit and accelerated off the pad at 7Gs. The 2-second burn averaged 1.7Gs, and the rocket reached a top speed of 76 mph.   The lighter nose weight again kept this model from weather cocking into the wind too much.  The delay was only 2.6 seconds, so the ejection charge fired at 316 feet, stopping the rocket very early. With the parachute opening, it took another 6/10 second before the rocket came to a stop 13 feet higher at an apogee of 329 feet.

The large, yellow Nylon parachute brought this model back to the tall grass at 12 mph, resulting in a flight duration of 21.8 seconds and a perfect flight. It landed a few hundred feet away, clearly visible in the tall grass. Unlike the two previous flights today, this big, yellow-and-black model was spotted right away.

2013, August 10: Downingtown MS, 6 mph winds, 80 degrees

C6-5: Another test flight with reduced nose weight – 6.2 grams less than before in hopes that it performs better in winds. The previous flight with a C6-3 showed it could use more delay.

The C6-5 fired up and pushed the Vector off the rod at 6.8 Gs and then burned for 1.9 seconds. During the burn it averaged 1.9 Gs, and it did not turn into the wind much at all. At burnout the rocket was travelling at 77 mph, and it then coasted for 3.4 seconds where it turned a bit more into the wind – but not too much.  It reached an apogee of 322 feet – not very impressive performance for a C6.

The rocket then turned over and fell for the next 1.5 seconds, dropping 32 feet before ejection fired at 4.9 seconds of delay. It was at 290 feet when the Nylon parachute opened up, and the rocket returned at 13 mph. Flight time was 21.3 seconds.

The booster bounced off the top of a chain-link fence before landing, but it did not seem to hurt it. I did however find a nasty dent in the lower balsa reducer that was exactly the shape of the body tube opening. Apparently it snapped back pretty hard after ejection. Still, a good flight.



2013, August 31: Fort Indiantown Gap, 6 mph winds, 86 degrees

B6-2: Since reducing the noseweight on the Vector Force, it has proven itself with both the  composite D21 and three C6 motors. Now I need to test fly it with a lower-power B6, where it should easily surpass 125 feet. Previously I have flown this with a smaller 12 inch parachute for flights to 1000 feet or so.  I used a much larger 18 inch parachute, knowing that it could not drift too far from 100 feet up.

The flight went well, but I must have jarred it before launch, because the altimeter triggered and I ended up with no flight data. It reached about 100-150 feet, deployed the parachute at a good time, and landed softly in the grass about 70 feet away.

Shown below is the ejection sequence.

I will need to fly this again to get valid data on the B6 performance with reduced noseweights.

2014, March 9: Penn Manor (south field), 10 mph winds, 40 degrees

B6-2:  This was my first flight of the year, after a long autumn and winter with not a single flight because of the weather. Today was just tolerable, a bit windy but sunny and clear. The fields were still mostly snow covered and soaked from an overnight rain, with snow, slush, puddles and mud.
 

This was a re-do flight with the B6 motor, a test flight after reducing the nose weight. The last flight had an altimeter trigger error.  She lit right up and streaked skyward. Despite the wind the flight remained fairly straight. It accelerated off the pad at 7.4 Gs, and averaged 2.1Gs for the 9/10 second burn.  It reached a top speed of 42 mph and almost coasted to a stop. The early 1.6 sec. ejection fired at 110 feet and the Vector coasted for another 2/10 second to an apogee of 118 feet.

The 12” nylon chute opened clean, and the rocket returned at 9 mph, landing in 10.1 seconds.  It was only about 150 feet downwind, but found a lot of wet snow upon landing. 

2014, June 15: Penn Manor, 5 mph winds, 75 degrees

B6-4: This was to be an historic flight. The first ever launch of a live astronaut – Mr. Lego, weighing in at 5 grams. He was to be carried in the middle section or lower payload compartment, and his mission was to test low-power flights with the newly modified lesser nose weight.

The whole space administration was awash with controversy as the first man into space turned out to be the first woman in space. In a last-minute grab for the astronaut from the pool of three Lego candidates, the woman was chosen over the two men.
"With all astronauts dressed in space suits with helmets on, there was really no way to tell who was who!" stated Rich DeAngelis, the launch officer in charge and the one who personally selected the astronaut. "It didn't really matter" he later stated, "I just didn't realize who I picked at the time because the launch was scheduled and there wasn't much time to waste."

A formal portrait of the first Lego-person to fly into space.

Mrs. Lego undergoing technical training before launch.

Mrs. Lego at the spacesuit fitting and testing at the launch training facilities.

Mrs. Lego taking a quick break during the intensive months of training.

Here we see Mrs. Lego, getting into the crew compartment of the Vector Force just before launch, facing away from the launch officer who could not identify her from his direction.

In the slightly stiff breeze the flight was scheduled to use a B6-2, but there was none to be found. Mrs. Lego personally approved the use of the B6-4 motor, even though it carried a greater risk of a hard landing.

Mrs. Lego reported all systems well as he took off enduring 6.4 Gs of acceleration at liftoff.  The burn lasted 9/10 seconds and had an average acceleration of 2.2 Gs, which she felt was very tolerable.

The flight then had a 2 second coast to apogee, where it slowed from a maximum speed of 42 mph to zero.  This low-power flight shows that the Vector Force can fly better with less noseweight at lower power.  After Mrs. Lego experienced weightlessness at 103 feet up, the rocket then turned over and started down for 1.1 seconds, losing 14 feet of altitude.

At 89 feet Mrs. Lego fired the ejection charge where she experienced the most discomfort. Soon, she reported a good parachute and started down at 15 mph.  She touched down in the grass safely after a historic 8.4 second flight.

Post-flight data analysis showed the actual motor delay of the B6-4 was only 3.1 seconds, so this helped ensure the safety of Mrs. Lego.  The flight surgeons determined her to be well and she is currently on the talk show circuit.