ROC April 2002 Launch

I don’t need to say much about the weather except- PERFECT! Fliers were able to launch rockets all day long, without the fear of the “W” hampering flights. Despite the long drought of available motors, some fliers managed to find some cool motors, which had been stashed neatly away. There were a few reloads released from Aerotech recently. It’s good to see them get back into production.

And much to our pleasure, and Bill Farr's wallet, we saw a couple of cool flights. Bill’s first rocket of the day was “Stochastic”, a very bright 6” scratch built rocket. The motor of choice for this flight, was an Aerotech L-952W motor. Bill was using a new recovery controller called “Control” (from Defy Gravity), which recorded an altitude of 6,488 feet. Way to go Bill, for a spectacular flight. But Bill was not done yet, for he had an ace up his sleeve. His next launch was nothing less than spectacular. Using a scratch built rocket named “Roaring Tiger” , it was configured in a two stage design. The booster used a K1100, then staging to an Aerotech J260HW hybrid, in the sustainer. This was quite spectacular, when the sustainer ignited, and carried the rocket to an altitude of 9,683 feet! Again Bill used “Control”, for deployment of the parachutes. For the day, Bill and Brian Farr totaled six flights.

Allen and Bryce Farrington had several flights. Including a nice flight of “Yet Another Magnum” The K700 motor was a nice match up, that took “YAM” to an altitude of 5,569 feet.

There were several nice camera flights today. One such flight, was Doug Gerrard’s “Epoch” rocket, which flew on a J90W. I love those long burn motors. Let’s hope to see some nice pictures from that flight.

Dirk and Erik Gates, and family were out in force. While the dad’s watched, David, Ashley, Aren and Evan thrilled us all with a four way high power drag race. I’m not sure who won, it was hard to see through all the burnt AP. A good job, with perfect flights from all four fliers.

One flier, who always seems to be busy flying rockets, is David Whiteaker. And today was no exception. He had a total of eight individual flights. Now that is getting down to business, and having some fun.

Robert Brigham… what can I say. My kids love that “Oatmeal Special” rocket. This is a rocket made from an Oatmeal box. It looks neat, and is a great flying rocket too. Today it was launched with an F23J motor, for another great flight.

A very surprising flight came today, when the sustainer of a two stage rocket fired unexpectedly. This happened on the launch pad, when Brian Barney was attempting to arm the electronic timer. Brian says that the wires for the power, and break wire may have been backwards. Luckily no harm was done to Brian, and the sustainer flew perfectly, despite no guidance from the launch rod.

I think we all love air starts, and today we were fortunate to see another one. Chuck Cerise brought out his beautiful PML "Ultimate Endeavor", and set up on pad 39A. Chuck used a central K550, surrounded by three I 310 motors. The K550 lit, then the three I310 motors fired mid-flight, for a crowd- pleasing flight. What can I say, I love to see and hear the roar of air starts. Way to go Chuck!

Dennis Dinga, had three flights today. “Kermadec” flew on an I154J, “Tripod” on an E9-6, and “Bird of Prey” (my favorite type of bird) on a G33J. It’s good to see you out flying Dennis. Let’s see that level-3 attempt soon!

“Glassed Shard” a very small rocket went for a wild ride. This rocket built by Tom Emerson weighed in at a mere ten ounces, and was powered by an F20-7 motor. Being a little unstable, it did a few loops above the flight line. This sure kept spectators on their toes.

Barry Forrest managed to fly today as well. Barry launched a “Scud Missile” on an I195J motor. Another nice flight, was his “British Alarm Scale Missile” on an H180W motor. Both flights were exciting.

Today being a blue sky day, was a perfect match for this rocket by Kurt Gugisberg. “Two Blue Two”, a PML Ariel flown on a I285 Redline motor. A second rocket flown by Kurt was a PML “Lunar Express Jr.” on a I161 motor. Both flights flew as good as they looked.

The new Nike had to take a back seat, as Wedge Oldham was busy flying his LOC “Hi-Tech 45”. This rocket flew twice on an H180W, and a H123W. This combination of rocket and motors made for a good old spectacular flight.

Bill Seiders was testing rocket construction today. His “Draino Dart” rocket had a “Grand Daddy” zipper flight. The Kevlar shock cord ravaged the PVC body tube, to the point of the tube melting. This was due to an early deployment of the chute. And amazing as well, was the fact that the Rocket Rage chute did not shred. An amazing testament to the construction of the chute.

A small X-15 rocket flew today. This is a smaller version of the rocket that David Sparks is working on. David was flying and testing this small X-15, in hope of gaining valuable flight information. David is planning on debuting the large version at LDRS 21. Today’s flight was on a H242 and an I357. A little unstable, but that is what testing is all about. Nice work David.

If it is an unusual rocket, Fred Sanford is most likely the flier. Today was no exception as Fred managed a couple of spectacular flights. One such rocket flew on a cluster of four C-6 motors. Freds second flight was a BSD “38 Speacial” on an I95J motor. This is a nice looking rocket. And anyone that has flown BSD rockets, know of their high quality.

Bob and Michele Vincent combined for a total of ten flights, off the front pads. Five different rockets were flown, with motors from E6-7 to E9-8.

Another family to make it out to the launch were the Trammell’s. Steve Trammell flew a scratch built “Rocket With No Name” on an E9-6. Alyssa Trammell flew her “Monkey Magic-2”. And Morgan Trammell flew an LOC “Aura” on an E9-6. All three had great flights.

Two other flights worth mentioning were from Greg Lawson and Rick Magee. Greg flew “Golly Green Giant” on a cluster of three E15-7 motors. Rick chose a LOC “Forte” and an I161W for a nice flight. I hope to see more BOD members take advantage of available flight time. ( right Greg ! )

Now onto the gaining in popularity, hybrid flights. The stage had been set…build a non- reinforced Quick Tube rocket, to prove that it can handle an “M” motor flight. Who else, but Troy Monroe Stacey would take that challenge. The motor used was a Hypertek M1010 hybrid motor, supplied by NOW Hybrids. The up part was flawless, a straight and stable flight. I must make mention of a note, at the top of the flight card. It says “Oh My God”; I think that best sums up the flight! Good job Troy building a rocket, on a budget, that flew great.

Dave Griffith flew his scratch built 4” rocket named “Dic-n-Along” on a RATT Works K240 Hybrid motor. Boy, this motor really screams! Another RATT flier was Dave Flynn, and his scratch built rocket “Dirty RATT”. After the third launch attempt, the K240 motor pushed the rocket to an altitude of 5,500 feet.

The Rocket Hunter group of Joe and Taylor Mullin had a successful flight. Their scratch built rocket “Come Back” flew high altitude on a Hypertek K240. Joe has been experimenting with telemetry lately, and used his system to transmit the altitude read out “Live” on this flight. That’s being creative, with technology that is out there.

Most flights for the day have to go to John Storey and family. This bunch flew twelve flights in all. Bayard Storey had nine of the flights, and one being credited to Elliot Storey. John’s first rocket of the day was the “Mirage” by Aerotech. This 2.6” rocket was up to the challenge, and the altitude, that theHypertek K240 had in store. The second flight for John was the “Corporal”, flying on a Hypertek L355 motor. This combination pushed the rocket to an altitude of 9,200 feet.

There were seven attempts, for High Power certification. Brad Ballreich flew a scratch built rocket named “jewel” on an H128W, and G-Wiz electronics. This was Brad’s level one attempt. Matt Del Castillo going for his level two also used a scratch built rocket. “Crowd Seeker” flew on a Cesaroni Pro 38 reload, and used dual deployment for recovery. Daniel Franklin used a VB “Extreme 38”, on an H73J motor for level one. Mark Gulley going for level one, used a LOC “Legacy” with an H128W motor, for a nice flight. Jim Roundy flew a PML “Tethys” and an I357 for his level one attempt. David Schat finally got around to his level one flight. David used a scratch built rocket named “Scratch” with an H242T motor. Another level two attempt was made by David Wilsey. The rocket of choice was a PML “D-Region Tomahawk”, flying on a Cesaroni J360 reload. Good luck to all those attempting certification, and congratulations to all that were successful.

An observation today revealed that many fliers, were young kids. I think it is great, that more families are attending launches. This is a great hobby, which should be enjoyed by people of ALL ages. I especially like to see groups, like the Boy Scout troop that attended today’s launch. They even set up the front row of launch pads. This is a great way to expose many people, to this fascinating hobby we call rocketry. I wish that I could have listed all the fliers, in this report. Unfortunately there is not enough room to accomplish this. And that says a lot about our club. I feel that too many people, as in this case, is a good thing. I would like to see this growing trend continue, for many years to come. I would like to thank all the people, that volunteered at today’s launch. Help is always needed with set up, and teardown. But especially with running the launch. Don’t be shy, volunteer for RSO or LCO duties. It is a great way to meet people, and see what they are flying. I am already looking forward to next month's launch.

See you then, Eric.

Motor Usage for April 2002

    1/10A    0
     1/4A    0
     1/2A    1
        A   16
        B   16
        C   49
        D   21
        E   20
        F   18
        G   34
        H   23
        I   22
        J   16
        K    7
        L    2
        M    1
      ---------
           246 total motors burned