flight field
Engine Ranges (A-G)
Lehighton Area High School Flight Field
The flight field we launched our rocket at is the Lehighton Area High School sports fields. This includes the track (bottom), baseball fields (top and right), and the practice field (left). We launched in the bottom left corner of the middle field due to the velocity of the wind on that day. The overall size of the flight field is that it has a circle radius of about 1200 ft. According to the engine ranges, our Extreme 12 rocket with an E engine is safe to fly here and the largest rocket we can launch would be a rocket with a G engine.
Field Flight and Station Setup
--The trackers, 1 and 2, are in position far away from the launch pad. For example, our trackers were 850 ft. away from it. They use a device to measure the angle of the rocket at its apex during the flight. A different tracker records the total time the rocket is in the air using a stopwatch. The recorded info is then given through a walkie talkie to the person at the control station writing down the data. The recovery team, 6, has a different job. They follow the rocket and recover it, along with the booster, once it lands. The person who runs and acquires the rocket radios in whether or not the rocket was recovered. In the diagram above, the wind is blowing from the right to left. This is apparent due to the flags at the bottom right and top. The Range Safety Officer, 3, is the manager of the launch, making sure all goes as planned. This person makes sure conditions are safe for flight meaning no aircrafts are overhead and everybody else is ready to track and calculate stats. They then give permission to launch the rocket.
--For the direction of launch, the rocket should always be launched with the wind because the wind will eventually push the wings and the bottom of the rocket straight since the wind acts mostly on this part of the rocket.
--For the direction of launch, the rocket should always be launched with the wind because the wind will eventually push the wings and the bottom of the rocket straight since the wind acts mostly on this part of the rocket.
Calculating Altitude
Our tracker stood 850ft., an appropriate distance, from the launch pad. It is more ideal that the trackers stand on opposite sides of the launch pad so that they each have a different perspective of the launch and can collect data from different viewpoints.