Pegasus-III -BALLS19, CTI N5800 Breakin Mach 4

[oodoodanoo]

Well, that was a surprise. I expected the guy in the foreground to rise up into the sky.

[jamesfdougherty]

True. A post-mortem fema shows the issue was the finish - the lamination came off in LE areas and all 3 of the fins were ripped off. The slight tilt towards the disassembly event is where the upper airframe sheared from an abrupt course change. Sims to 60K, I expect over 50K' AGL for 2011.

[qzpm150]

@jamesfdougherty what kind of lamination was it?

[r0ck3tsm0k3]

Sorry to be a downer, but mach 3.87? Two stage 0 to M flights SOMETIMES break mach 3.5. What is the data on this? Simmed performance? Thanks, great flight.

[danaownsall]

@r0ck3tsm0k3 Its an N5800 minimum diameter. Super high thrust on a rocket that weighs the same as my leg will get it going pretty damn fast

[r0ck3tsm0k3]

@danaownsall I hear you. But O 10,000 flights did mach 2.4 or so. P to N (4000) flight hit about 80,000 feet and a hair over mach 3, with severe erosion on the airframe. It doesnt look close to mach 4 in this video. More like 1.5 - 2 tops when it shred. But prove me wrong, where are the data?

[jmar1371]

N5800 C*Star. Nasty. If you're gonna shred, do it at Mach 4. 8^)