Who: Mark Jeghers"L" Class Altitude Record
Who: Mark Jeghers
What: 23,689 feet
When: Sept. 13, 1998
Where: Black Rock Desert
Mark's very high-tech Carbon Edge 54/38 is, as its name implies, a two stage minimum diameter rocket which flew on a an Aerotech K250W booster and an Aerotech I132 sustainer. That total impulse adds up to 62% of "L" class maximum. It carried no less than 7 electronic devices, two for each stage, two for the interstage coupler, and a Walston transmitter. Carbon fiber was the primary airframe material, but the uppermost section of the sustainer was fiberglass, to prevent the transmitter signal from being blocked. It was flown from a tower launcher, of course.
The Carbon Edge 54/38 is an extremely slender rocket, and Mark believes that it was slightly over-stable, resulting in a bit of initial spiral which he thinks cost him about 1,000 feet of altitude.
I'd like to thank Mark for allowing me to reproduce the two graphics on this page from his website, and would like to refer you to many more details from this flight, other projects, and some ham radio info from Mark's own site.
