Debut of the "Big Daddy" AkavishOur upscale Akavish made it's first flight at the June, 2007, NEFAR launch.
The new "Big Daddy Akavish" is about twice as tall and, weighing about 10 pounds, is more than ten times as heavy as our earlier spider-themed rockets. "Abba Gidol" ("Big Daddy") has a 38mm motor mount and uses a PerfectFlite MAWD altimeter to deply the 'chute at apogee. The "head" of the Akavish is 12" in diameter. It was created from a hollow foam ball which we covered with a couple of layers of fiberglass.
Inside the head are the motor mount and recovery system. A PerfectFlite MAWD altimeter is used to ensure that the parachute deploys at apogee.
We somehow fit the giant Akavish into our minivan and took it to the June NEFAR launch. We launched it on an Aerotech I154J motor.
It took a couple of seconds for the motor to come up to power.
Finally the rocket started to rise on a tower of black smoke. The flight was slow, but straight and stable.
Just after apogee the parachute deployed and the bug Akavish floated to earth.
According to the altimeter, "Big Daddy" reached an altitude of 376 feet!
 Click Here to Watch Video [Posted: 2007-06-10 | Updated: 2007-06-10] |