|
Photo Of The Month
Farside X & XXL
This month we're doing a double feature of a rocket known as the Farside X. The
first one you'll see was built and flown by Red Squadron member
Jonathan Dunbar. The one after that is a larger scale and belongs to Moe Bertrand. All of the amazing photos
you're about to see were taken by Moe.
Jonathan with his Farside X, hooked up and ready to launch!
As you can see the Farside X has 3 stages. Jonathan flew his on an A8-0, A8-0, B6-4
and he tells us all the staging occurred less than 100' above the pad. The first to second stage event took place very
low, almost as it cleared the rod.
As Jonathan describes it, the model was almost motionless when the 2nd stage fired, about
4' off the rod and Moe got the shot at the exact moment of transition. Jonathan loves it, as do we, saying, "What
I like is the 2nd stage plasma shooting down into the top of the first stage like a real missile or spacecraft launch."
We have to agree, this photo is a spectacular and rare catch indeed. The 2nd to 3rd stage event took
place at about 75' with the rest of the ride on the B6-4. The color scheme chosen for this one makes it a stand out as
well. Excellent job Jonathan!
And now for Moe's...
Moe's bird was done as a midpower upscale that
he calls the Farside XXL and it naturally carries a larger payload bay. He chose a power combination of D12-0,
D12-0, E9-6. As the photos show Moe's first flight suffered a slight malfunction and the opportunity for even more spectacular
photos.
The 1st flight problems were quickly resolved and there are
many more photos on his website (like these) along with some very interesting build information and a great commentary. So
with that in mind I'm not going to give it all away here. Instead, when you've finished with Fire
& Smoke (you really want to see that) see the complete story of Moe's upscale Farside
XXL complete with an entire flight sequence.
We want to congratulate Jonathan and Moe for making Verna's Photo Of The Month and say a BIG thank you, for
sharing all the great photos!
Verna
Go to Fire & Smoke!
|
