Central Christian School has requested a flight demonstration in conjunction with their 8th grade science class. The flight will be conducted on a school morning in the prescence of students and facilty.
Table of Contents
Flight Parameters
| Launch Date/Time | Wednesday May 2nd at 8:45am (13:45Z). Plan on meeting at 7:30am to prepare. | |
| Alternative Date | Friday May 4th at 8:45am (13:45Z) | |
| Launch Site | Central Christian School (38.0883N, -97.8878W) | |
|
Capsule 1 (Track) 144.39MHz |
ArduinoTrack with Radio Shack HTX-200 HT transmitter and Ublox M8Q GPS, signing W0ZC-11. Beaconing is altitude-based delay: Path is disabled above 2,000m MSL. Canon A570IS camera running CHDK and GoPro camera pointed up. |
1.10kg |
|
Capsule 2 (Track) 144.39MHz |
ArduinoTrack (Combined) with RadioMetrix 300mW transmitter and Ublox M8Q GPS, signing W0ZC-12. Beaconing is simple time delay: Path is disabled above 2,000m MSL. |
0.31kg |
|
Capsule 3 (Track) 144.39MHz |
ArduinoTrack Flex with RadioMetrix 300mW transmitter and Ublox M8Q GPS, signing W0ZC-13. Beaconing is simple time delay: Path is disabled above 2,000m MSL. |
0.49kg |
| Recovery / Misc |
Parachute and misc rigging. | 0.31kg |
| Total Flight Weight | Total neck weight on the balloon. | 2.21kg |
| Balloon / Gas | 1200g Kaymont with 5.4cu meters (190cu ft) Helium. Neck lift (4.3kg) / Net lift (2.1kg) | |
| Estimated Burst Altitude | 29,939m MSL (98,225') | |
| Estimated Ascent Rate | 6.1 m/s (1200'/min) | |
| Estimated Descent Rate | 6.6 m/s (1300'/min) | |
| Chase Frequencies | 446.100MHz |
Flight Results
| Launch Date/Time | Wednesday, May 2nd at 8:45am (13:45Z) |
| Launch Site | Central Christian School (38.0883N, -97.8878W) |
| Burst Altitude | 28,939m MSL (94,946') |
| Average Ascent Rate | x.xm/s (x'/min) |
| Measured Descent Rate | x.xm/s (x'/min) measured at x' MSL. |
| Touchdown Site | 38.6593N, -96.5720W |
| Touchdown Time | Wednesday, May 2nd at 10:41am (15:41Z) |
| Recovery Time | Wednesday, May 2nd at 11:29pm (16:29Z) |
| Distance Traveled | 131km (81mi) |
| Total Flight Time | 1 hour, 56 minutes |
| Downloads | W0ZC-11 Log, Flight Path (KML), Winds Aloft Forecast |
Photo Highlights
Tracking Predictions
1 May 2018
The flight track is almost identical to yesterday. All indications show that storms should hold off until well after noon. A quick recovery will be very important.
30 April 2018
Surface weather is calling for isolated thunderstorms in the morning, which could cause us problems. We're continuing to watch that. Winds upstairs seem to be cooperating more and more each day.
29 April 2018
The track is stabilizing, and zeroing in on the small town of Alma, about half way between Topeka and Junction City. Surface forecasts are continuing the call for "PM" storms, although the Topeka forecast is calling for a lesser chance of "scattered" storms this morning. That may suggest that the storms will be fizziling through central Kansas, or not going as far north as I-70.
28 April 2018
This is a very similar track to Friday the 27th. Still overing in the mid-80 knots around 40k feet for a top speed. Surface forecasts are now calling for "PM" thunderstorms and moderate surface winds. At this point we're still a go for Wednesday.
27 April 2018
Similar tracks, although it appears that a chance of rain or thunderstorms has now picked up.
25 April 2018
Track is still showing the same general north-northeast track, only somewhat shorter than Monday's prediction. Surface weather still looks good for launch on May 2nd.
23 April 2018
Initial predictions for Monday the 23rd, show a typical north-northeast flight up to the Junction City area. Maximum speed is a moderate 83kts. Surface weather looks promising with only a slight chance of rain Wednesday.
