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This is the first major rocket from fm_rockets. Large in contrast to the Alpha 2, which only had half the inner diameter of Alpha 4.1 as its outer diameter. For the first time, a parachute, an on-board computer and a camera were built into the rocket. It laid the foundation for the many improvements that led to Alpha 4.2.

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• Mass: ~ 520g

• Height: 61cm

• Booster: C6-3 (4x)

• On-board computer: Flunami 1

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These are the corners of the self-made parachute for Alpha 4.1. However, since the parachute was not well enough protected from the hot gases from the boosters, the parachute melted in flight and could therefore not brake the fall as well as it should. Since then we have been using an externally manufactured parachute and a more sophisticated flame protection system.

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The flight went unexpectedly well. At that time I had little idea about aerodynamic stability, which is why the size of the wings was chosen more on the basis of feeling. Nevertheless, the rocket flew very stable and above all unexpectedly high. Because I didn't know enough about the physics of the booster to be able to say with certainty that the rocket will take off at all. At the start, the boosters were ignited by a self-made remote ignition system, because there was no proper start process for Alpha 4.1 yet. First of all, we were happy that it flew without a hitch - after all, it was our first rocket of this size. So it wasn't too bad that the "onboard camera" hadn't taken a picture and the on-board computer had switched itself off.