Debut of the "Big Daddy" AkavishOur upscale Akavish made it's first flight at the June, 2007, NEFAR launch.
 Big Daddy Akavish |
The new "Big Daddy Akavish" is about twice as tall and, weighing about 10 pounds, is more than ten times as heavy as our earlier spider-themed rockets. "Abba Gidol" ("Big Daddy") has a 38mm motor mount and uses a PerfectFlite MAWD altimeter to deply the 'chute at apogee.
The "head" of the Akavish is 12" in diameter. It was created from a hollow foam ball which we covered with a couple of layers of fiberglass.
 Inside the Akavish |
Inside the head are the motor mount and recovery system. A PerfectFlite MAWD altimeter is used to ensure that the parachute deploys at apogee.
 Inside the Akavish |
We somehow fit the giant Akavish into our minivan and took it to the June NEFAR launch. We launched it on an Aerotech I154J motor.
 Big Daddy Akavish Launch |
It took a couple of seconds for the motor to come up to power.
 Akavish Lift-off! |
Finally the rocket started to rise on a tower of black smoke. The flight was slow, but straight and stable.
 Parachute Deployment |
Just after apogee the parachute deployed and the bug Akavish floated to earth.
 Akavish Touchdown |
According to the altimeter, "Big Daddy" reached an altitude of 376 feet!

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[Posted: 2007-06-10 | Updated: 2007-06-10]
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