The Flights of the
Happy Birthday Party Napkin Rocket of the Apocalypse

The Maiden Flight:

This peculiar rocket flew for the first time at the NAR National Sport Launch held Memorial Day Weekend 2002 in Phoenix, AZ. The motor was a K550. Ejection was controlled by a G-Wiz LC Flight Computer and backed up by a 5-second ejection delay on the K550. The rocket plowed its way upward to 2500 feet (despite computer model preditions of less than 1000) with all the aerodynamic elgance of a whiffle ball. Ejection was right at apogee, and the Rocketman RC-4 chute on the five-pound nose cone opened instantly; but the the fuselage fell trailing its chute (it floated, actually) nearly a thousand feet. Finally, the tightly-packed home-sewn 12-foot parabolic-cupped parachute caught some wind and deployed, much to everyone's relief. The rocket returned with no damage, ready to fly again.

Thanks to Kevin Patterson for these great launch photos, and thanks to everyone for their interest in this rocket!

Click HERE for video of this flight!

Flight Two:

The Napkin Rocket didn't fly again for several years, until Brad's brother Rick asked if he could fly it at GHS2005. Rick had never seen it fly, and Brad thought; "Good Idea." This time Brad stuffed it with a K695 Redline motor for a bright crimson flame just like the napkin! It was a beautiful flight. It angled slightly downwind after it left the launch rod, but the flight trajectory was less random than the first flight. The twin parachutes deployed just after apogee and the the rocket returned to the ground ready to fly again.

Click HERE to go to the descriptive article written about the Happy Birthday Party Napkin Rocket of the Apocalypse!