It looks like as long as you have buttons on the bottom, you can launch almost anything from it.

You are correct. As long as I have rail buttons on the bottom we can fit this tower to about anything. Here are a couple of pad pictures. The first one is from LDRS last year.
The second one with the 163 lifting off is from Balls.
Please check out the pad on the far right. That will be the pad for the X2.

X30

Wow that's a serious tower. Since you have a brand new one, I assume the tri-rail you're using for the Komet falls short in some respect? Also, can you remind me what motor you flew the Komet on?

Ari.

Wow that's a serious tower. Since you have a brand new one, I assume the tri-rail you're using for the Komet falls short in some respect? Also, can you remind me what motor you flew the Komet on?

Ari.

Hi Ari,

Yes the tower for the Komet is way to small for the X-2. The 163 is just over 3 feet long and weighs 9.5 pounds on the pad. The X-2 will be over 8 feet long and depending on then motor weigh over 40 pounds on the pad. The new tower was competed just 2 weeks prior to Balls and will have additional supports for the wings when we use it for the X-2. As you can see, we did launch some large rockets off the new tower and it worked very nicely.
The Komet flies on an I-161.

X30

That is a big rocket, and a great event. I feel envious. Maybe next year I go.

I wonder what you think of AT's endburners, the I49 (same casing as I161) and I59. I49 is probably too small to launch a 9.5 pound airplane vertically, but I59 has 40 pounds of initial thrust.

How high do you think the Komet goes on I161?

Ari.

I have both the I-49 and I-59 and the plugged forward closure that goes with them although I haven’t flown them yet. These should make great R/G motors. The end burning propellant slug on both of these are identical. The I-59 has an additional corded white Lightning slug at the bottom that gives the I-59 a nice kick off the pad.
The I-49 is won’t get the 163 off the pad cleanly. The I-59 may work very well but it is heaver than the I-161 and it goes in the 38/480 case. This will further complicate my C/G shift. I’ll probably fly the Komet on the I-161 a few more times and then try the I-59.
On the I-161 it climbs to about 800 feet.

X30

Very nice! Do you climb straight up or at best glide speed?

My Vulcan glider is smaller and lighter (43" wingspan, ~4 pounds TOW), but if it survives the H54 and my L1 cert, I want to try the I49. I59 is probably too much for it.

Ari.

While I don’t climb the Komet straight up I’d be hard pressed to describe the climb as ”the best glide speed” It’s about 250 mph at the end of the burn.
Here’s a series of photos that will give you an idea of the boost profile.
Now that I’ve spent the past week cleaning up from Balls, I can get back to work on the X-2.

X30

How do you like the two guys just walking past the Komet launch without turning their heads!

250 mph is a lot. I'm fretting the sim's projection of half that on my glider. Your Komet is a sight to behold.

I wonder if you ever come out to TCC in Fresno or Snow Ranch outside of Stockton.

Ari.

'Your Komet is a sight to behold." Ditto!!


Richard

Great photos. How what your Hyperion flight? My dad and brother were out there (Ted and Nathan) and flew a Black Brant on an N2000. I am praying I get into medical school this year and I plan on going to MudRock in June. I miss Blackrock.

I flew the Hyperion on a Gorilla M-745. This gave me a chance to try this motor, as this baby “M” would be the very upper limit for the X2. It’s a great motor with a nice 300 pound thrust kick off the pad with a 7.7 second regressive burn. It also was perfect for the first flight of the Hyperion. It put up a nice straight flight to 17920 feet and 1150 feet/second. I could not have asked for better recovery and it’s ready to go for the next launch. I saw the Black Brant fly and it looked great. How was the recovery?

X30

Originally Posted by X30PILOT

...Gorilla M-745. This gave me a chance to try this motor, as this baby “M” would be the very upper limit for the X2.

Wow. An L3 glider.

Ari.

The recovery was a little screwy but they got the rocket back. The chutes tangled at apogee and it came down in the 80 ft/sec range but there was no damage to the rocket. It went a little over 28,000 feet and burnt the decals off the side of the rocket .

It went a little over 28,000 feet and burnt the decals off the side of the rocket

Very nice! It’s a shame your dad and brother didn’t come by our tent to visit.

Today I finally got to test fly the small electric powered X-2 and it flew very well.
I was surprised just how effective the small elevators are. On the next few flights I’ll start to mix in ailerons to assist in pitch and I’ll see how that works out. This may help me expand the C/G envelope. I’ll try to get some inflight pictures next time it flies.

X30