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Phobic
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The Phobos was picked up one winter
night. I was at HobbyTown USA and wanted to get a kit, but wasn't
sure which one. After some deliberation, I picked the Phobos.
But this wasn't to be your standard Phobos. I also picked up some
2.1" phenolic tube to replace the QT, and had big plans for this
rocket. PHOBIC can handle any motor that will fit. Keep
reading to see how I built this rocket to make sure it doesn't go
anywhere. |
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| Flight
Log |
Flight
Details |
RockSim
File |
Flight Log
|
Flight #
|
Motor
|
Electronics
|
Performance
|
Comments
|
| 1 |
I195J |
RRC2 |
4836 ft. |
First flight. Slow liftoff-- out of sight.
Perfect dual deploy. No damage. |
| 2 |
J280S |
RRC2 |
6981 ft. |
Fast flight. Very high, arrow straight..
Perfect dual deploy. No damage. |
| 3 |
H180W |
None |
N/A |
Good, slow flight with perfect deployment. No
damage. |
Flight #1, LDRS XXI, July 2002
This was my only flight at LDRS. I prepped most of the rocket in the
motel room the night before, except for installing batteries in the electronics
and installing the motor in the rocket. When I arrived at the site, final
prep was quick. PHOBIC was the second flight of Sunday. The I195J
took its time coming up to pressure, but once it did, PHOBIC lifted off slowly
on a black plume. As it passed above 4000 feet, we lost it in a haze
layer. That was one non-benefit of flying in Texas, where it was more
humid. Oh well. The streamer came out at apogee, and I spotted it
again at about 1000 feet. The main popped right at 500 feet, and PHOBIC
came down for a soft touchdown just on the other side of the river/lake/whatever
you want to call it. Success!
Flight #2, January 2003
| Well, the Arcas flight went so well I decided to put up PHOBIC again,
except on a really hot motor. I wanted to see if my building
techniques could handle the thrust of a Kosdon motor, so I stuck a J280
in it. Once again, I set up the RRC2 for dual deploy. After
about 2 hours of prep, I took PHOBIC out to the pad. Everything
was peachy, so checked for aircraft, 5...4...3...2...1...launch.
The motor came up to pressure in about a second and the rocket MOVED off
the pad. Sims put it in the transonic range. Then it coasted
up... and up... and up... and up... until it could barely be seen at
apogee of about 7000 feet. The streamer deployed there, and it
came back down to 1000 feet and popped the main. YESSS.
PHOBIC flies again. |
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Flight #3, December 2003
After nearly a year of inactivity, I decided to dust off PHOBIC and toss it
into the air on an H180W. This was a nice rest from the steady diet of
full I's and baby J's I've been feeding it. As expected, the rocket
gracefully lifted off and coasted forever straight up, and then deployed the R3C
right at apogee. That's how it's done! Now I gotta try a J450...
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