website header logo

Flight #12 - 2004d

We have an extra tank of helium left over from the Super Launch on Saturday. Also, Jon Riley, AJ0NR, recently purchased one of the new Garmin GPS-18 units that has not yet been tested over 60,000 feet. We will be sending it up to approximately 87k on a 600g balloon.

Flight Parameters
Launch Date/Time Saturday, 5 July 2004 at 8:30am
Alternative Date None
Launch Site East fairgrounds parking lot near Fairgrounds Pool   (38° 04.6'N,  97° 54.9'W) in Hutchinson, KS
Primary Transmitter / Antenna VX-1R HT running APRS on 144.39MHz / Vertically polarized dipole
Backup Transmitter / Antenna Radio Shack HT running APRS on 144.39MHz / Vertically polarized dipole
Balloon / Gas Kaysam 600gram / 190 cu feet of Helium
Estimated Burst Altitude 87,000' MSL
Estimated Ascent Rate 1050' per minute
Estimated Descent Rate Approx. 1100' per minute at touchdown
Capsule(s) weight 3lbs 8oz including parachute, rigging, batteries, etc...
Chase Frequencies 146.49MHz
Balloon Finder Telemetry Mode PT Mode 2

Flight Results

After another night of rain storms, the sky cleared off and a small group of us gathered at our normal launch site in Hutchinson.

The primary mission objective was to fly the new Garmin GPS-18 above 60,000 feet

Flight Statistics
Launch Date/Time Monday, 5 July 2004 at 8:50am
Launch Site East fairgrounds parking lot near Fairgrounds Pool   (38° 04.6'N,  97° 54.9'W) in Hutchinson, KS
Burst Altitude About 78,915ft (23,933m) MSL
Average Ascent Rate 1090ft/min (5.54m/s)
Measured Descent Rate 952ft/min (4.84m/s)
Touchdown Site 2 miles west-southwest of Ramona, KS (38° 35.0077'N, 97° 6.2803'W)
Touchdown Time Monday, 5 July 2004 at 10:41am
Recovery Time Monday 5 July 2004 at 11:45am
Distance Traveled 56 miles (90km) as the crow flies
Total Flight Time 1 hours 52 minutes
Downloads Lat/Lon File, Log File (W0WR-11), Log File (AJ0NR-11), Flight Analysis

map_overview

map_landing

Lessons Learned

  • The internal air temp on the secondary package dropped to -10°C but the Lithium-Ion battery pack continued to put out nearly full voltage. We aren't sure why the temperature drop - the box was fully sealed when we recovered it.
  • We had some issues with the primary radio shutting down while packing the box. It appears that the power connector going into the controller board may have glitched while packing the capsule.