The Electronics of "Enterprise" - Note 2 MAWDs, and CO2 system

The Enterprise recovery system: 1 60" main, and 1 24" drogue

98mm Arrow "Enterprise" with 54 and 29mm Arrows Note propane tank for size comparison

09/24/04 - Flew on K550 at Black Rock - Great flight to ~3300 ft.  Landed 50 ft from our camp - worked perfectly!!    Did discover later, that the main parachute charge moved the forward retaining ring (and the electronics cage) aft ~6", until it was against the aft retaining ring.  Careful "coersion" got the ring back into position, and epoxied back into place.  drove screws through the bulkhead as well, to hold in place.
09/25/04 - After hours of prep work, we were ready to fly on the M1419.  Great launch - arrow-straight, and picture perfect.  Event at apogee, and 4 minute decent to 1100 ft.  And disaster.  The rear body untied, and fell (with the engine) to the desert.  Crinkled the body tube, and de-laminated the fins.  No L3 This time...  Order more parts, and repair!!	Enterprise 98 on M1419 at Aeronaut 2004
08/02/05 - I ordered the new parts, and salvaged what could be saved - the fins, coupler, and motor retainer.  I've reinforced the body tube, and cut two of three fin slots.  Got lots to do before XPRS! 08/15/05 - Replacement rear body is coming together.  Fins mounted on replacement rear body tube.  (Coupler in place, carbon/fiber fillets in place.)   09/20/05 - Rebuilt aft body and new rocket tube transporter ready for XPRS.  Unfortunately, I wasn't ready with the rest of my projects.  Late start and rain and dust storms made XPRS untennable - came home without flying.
08/04/06 - Aeronaut  2006 - Completed rear body brought to Black Rock for another try at the level 3.       Flew on Friday (Research Day) on a JPS L980 (total weight 27.6 lbs), to 10411 ft.  Good flight, but the parachute came out at apogee.  Had to drive a ways for this...	Enterprise 98 on L980 at Aeronaut
08/05/06 - Flew on an M2400, on Saturday at Aeronaut.  Total flying weight - 30.7 lbs.  After protracted debate about nosecone pins, and other stuff, I finally decided to go anyway, and flew successfully!  Ripped off the pad and disappeard at a great altitude.  Main chute came out at apogee, so I knew I was in for a drive.  Grabbed a bunch of kids, and tore off across the play.  With them directing, I was able to get lined up, and watch the thing hit the ground!   No damage to the rocket, and I received my level 3, coming out at 17,000 feet.	Enterprise 98 on M2400 at Aeronaut 2006
08/03/07 - Aeronaut 2007 - Prepped and flew the rocket on a JPS M1295, 4-grain "M".  Hoping for 22,000'.  The motor took a long time to light, but finally caught, and the rocket roared straight off the pad.  The intense, white spark climbed straight into the sky, and disappeared.  The high-power Walston was making a big noise on the receiver, even at apogee!  I had to turn on the attenuator, and it was STILL strong.  "There it is!!!"  Alan T yelled out.  I spotted the rocket on the main, just as it should be.  We raced out and recovered it - no damage.  The MAWDs say it went 17450'.  A little disappointing, but still a terrific flight.
Mudrock, Saturday 6/20/08 - with Aeropack After LCO duty (10-noon), I got a M1845, 3-grain 98mm demo motor from Karl at Aerotech, and flew Enterprise 98 to 18766 ft!  Perfect flight and recovery, but my Walston high-power failed!  I had a weak signal before launch, and nothing afterwards - dead batteries.  If Steve Sawyer hadn't been with me, and had good eyeballs on it, I wouldn't have recovered it!  We went 1.5 miles from camp, and saw the blowing 'chute.  Great flight!  Thanks again to Steve for assisting me, and Karl and Gary for the motor.  Very cool!
August 3rd, 2008 - Aeronaut, with Aeropac Flew the Enterprise 98 on an M1939, to 22.1K, only to have the 72" 'chute fail to deploy properly.  Heavy damage to the rear body.  Rats.  At least I got it back.  Also, the High Power Walston tore off the antenna, and was nearly lost.
March 2009 - Carefully cut the body tube, and a replacement tube to be grafted on.  Mated, using fiberglass sock (two layers), and the 4-grain 98mm case for a guide (with lots of wax paper to aid in the release).  Looked good, though getting the case out was hard.  Started sanding to prepare for painting.  Knocked it over, and it broke at the joint.    I was pretty bent, but glad it happened on the ground.  Sanded and tried to repair again.  This time I used 7oz f/g to fill and even the two tubes, and then used 7 oz CF (two layers) to bond the halves, as well as two layers of sock (for sanding).  We'll see how it turned out.
April 21st, 2009 - Well, it turned out pretty good.  I filled it with Aero Filler two-part putty, and completed a round of sanding.  Looking better.
08/01/09 - Almost flew the Enterprise 98 on an M1845 at Mudrock - just ran out of time!.  But I had plenty of time at Aeronaut.  After fixing an arming problem on the backup (the board was moving), Daryl, Travis, and I drove out to Pad B and put it on.  Darryl made sure I didn't put in the igniter until it was armed!!  Backed up, and lit it.  It roared off the pad on a beautiful blue flame - straight up.  And disappeared in the cloudy sky.  After 20 seconds or so, I heard a sudden change in Walston tone, that meant apogee ejection.  Settled down to a 4+ minute wait, while it fell 17,000 feet.  Right on cue, Darryl hears an ejection charge, and thirty seconds later, another one - the backup.  He spots it just above the horizon, and I spotted it just as it landed - no damage!!  We raced over and got it - 18,325 feet!!  And a perfect flight. Here's the video - Thanks Darryl P!