Preparation
As I was upgrading my motor from my earlier L1 flight, the rocket body needed slight alterations in order to pass safety and stability requirements needed for an L2 launch.
Filling my nosecone with around 500g of sealant meant that my OpenRocket simulation was acceptably stable, while the excessive amount of epoxy used to integrate the centring rings and the motor mount was found to be conservative for the forces applied.
Launch Day V1 (Drouin) May 2021
Prior to launch the forecast had been giving wind speeds of ~13 km/hr, which even with a 50% fluctuation would still fall below my 6m/s assumption in my simulations. This would mean that at the Drouin launch site my rocket would not interfere with traffic along the nearby road, a requirement for launch at the site.
However, on the day there were very high wind speeds and the CSO felt the launch would be unsuitable, going as far to say that he would prefer L2 powered rockets to have a dual deploy system at Drouin, whereas at Drouin a single deploy system (like mine) would be ok.
Luckily others from ARES could launch on the day and could comfort me.
Launch Day V2 (Serpentine) October 2021
Try number 2 was equally unsuccessful unfortunately, with high winds again and storm clouds cancelling the launch of any L2 rocketry. Given concern had been raised by others about losing my rocket during the first launch attempt I had put together a siren system that would be bolted into the bulkhead in my upper body tube and initiate via a physical switch as the main chute ejected, however I obviously was unable to test it out in the field.
Launch Day V3 (Serpentine)
The first flight of the day failed as the rocket came down too fast (even with a fully deployed chute) and broke one of the fins. This was rectified with a quick on-site layup using 5 minute epoxy and fibreglass strips, resulting in “a rocket so ugly it should not be certified to fly”. Luckily the launch was allowed to go ahead and it came down all in one piece, gaining the University of Melbourne its first L2 certified flyer and meaning that the team could launch Big Blue.
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