ROC May 2000 Launch

Report by Mike Riss

The rocket gods smiled on ROC's May launch, as prevailing weather for this time of year (the evil "W") was held in abeyance and the last launch before RocStock was blessed with perfect flying conditions. Sixty three ROCeteers took advantage of the opportunity, and totaled 162 flights. Here's a few of the highlights:

Andy Perez put up a great flight early with his Rocket R&D Skyraider on a K700. His brother George chimed in, flying his LOC Mini Mag on an I154. Jeff Stai, one of the ROC board members, stuck a J275 in a Public Enemy Fatboy for what looked like a nice flight (but I think I saw some zipper damage later--Ouch!). John Anderson and Dave Ramsperger teamed up for a two-stage attempt with a rocket named "Slugger-X2". The booster (the Slugger part) was powered by a K550, and the X2 upper stage used an I161. Unfortunately, the "Slugger" only had warning track power, as after a couple of seconds boosting the rocket became unstable and began skywriting! Kerry Garrison took some time off from his duties at Wild Rocketry to fly his PML Small Endeavour "Green Machine" using a H73, and fellow Wild Rocketeer Carl Delzell put up "Rocket Rage" on a J570. I heard some buzz about a few new things they're cooking up for the website, but I was sworn to secrecy so you'll have to keep an eye on WildRocketry.com for details.

One thing you couldn't keep an eye on was Wessel Dirksen's scratch rocket called "Spontaneous Combustion". It disappeared off the pad on an I435. Only problem was, when it reappeared a second later and many hundred feet higher, it was in pieces! Apparently the shape of the fins wasn't designed to survive the mach barrier; they were sheared off just above the fillets (as a testament to Wessel's construction skills, the fillets were still on the body tube). John Egenberger's LOC Magnum held together under J600 power, as did Mark Ferguson's "Birthday Surprise", a LOC Syonic, on a J800. More LOC action was turned in by Tom Emerson with a H238 in a Norad, Jim Correll with an I284 in a Magnum, Chuck Platisa with a J415 in his Magnum, James Neal with a G35 in a Lil' Nuke, Forrest Perry with a G80 in a Legacy, and Ben Payne and Bob Abbey using G power in HiTech 45's.

Lots of families joined in the action besides the brothers Perez. Bill and Joe Huber flew several scratch designs, including Joe's "Sandhawk" on a J350 and Bill's "Sandblaster" which tore off the pad on an I435. Switching to the action on the front pads, Hailee and Kendra Willits flew their Mosquitos named "The Bean" and "The Bug" on A3's, while fellow Willit Jason went with a G80 in his Aerotech Warthog. Adron Mason launched an Estes Stealth on a C6, with Bill Mason making several flights using an Estes Astrocam (one flight suffered separation, after which it became "Deadcam"). The Rowe's combined for several nice flights with Zac's "Zinger" flying on an A4, while Colin debuted a prototype of his titanium motor retainer hardware on his LOC HiTech 45. He needed the extra strength of the aerospace material when the rocket suffered separation after an H128 boost. The retainer (and the rocket) must have held up, since the rocket made another flight on an H112. To continue the theme, the Storeys, Bayard, Elliot, and Natalie, put up several great flights, but also experienced the "agony of defeat": Natalie when her Alpha suffered separation after launch on a B6, and Elliot, who really "stuck the landing" of the second stage of his Long Shot when it failed to light (unfortunately, this isn't gymnastics!). Bayard avoided his relative's fate with two successful flights of his Aerotech Arreaux on an F23 and G40. The clan Trammell must have been set up near the Storeys, as Steve T.'s Long Shot upper stage also became a "lake stake". Fortunately Jon had his "mojo going", avoiding disaster on two flights of his neatly finished NCR Bomarc. Morgan used a G104 in a PML Io, and Alyssa rounded out the group with two flights of an Estes Super Nova powered by D12's.

With hardly any line at the RSO table all day, some ROCster's were able to get in a respectable number of flights. Bruce Hay put up 5, as did Jon Trammell. Natalie Storey flew several Estes kits for a total of 6, and Mike Murphy launched 7 rockets, with one a cluster. Jeff Gortatowsky also made 7 flights, including 2 clusters and one 2 stage, but was aced out for total flights and motors burned by Rich Silva, who spanned the alphabet from "A" to "F" with 14 flights! An I154 in a LOC V2 was one of Bruce's successes, while Rich chose an Estes Silver Comet with a D12 for a couple of his. Mike's cluster flight used 2 E30's to boost a LOC kit. One of Jeff's flights featured a F101 in his scratch-built egg-carrying rocket "Eggcelleration". No word on whether an "eggstronaut" was on board; hopefully not as I'm sure the F101 would have scrambled him!

The use of electronics for recovery and data recording is becoming more prevalent at ROC launches, but only a few flyers are reporting back with their altitudes. John Walquist used Adept equipment in a PML Nimbus with a J170 and a 4" AMRAAM with a J275 to reach 5215' and 3890' respectively. Jeff Gortatowsky clustered 3 G55's in a US Rockets Swarm Jr., and his Black Sky AltAcc indicated approximately 2600'. I heard Chuck Lahmeyer mention that his "Tyranno Cirrus" broke 4000' on an H242, and Rick Magee's "Dragonfly" tickled the waiver at 5250'. The "Rocket Dog" himself, Troy Monroe Stacy, made it out of hibernation to fly his scratch-built "Certifiable" on an I284 to 3046'.

While we're on the subject, several certification flights were attempted: Bill Farr with a PML Callisto on a H70 made Tripoli Level 1, as did Bruce Pettus using an H123 in "Willie P.", a LOC HiTech 45. Achieving NAR Level 1 was Robert Waddell, whose Public Enemy Ultra Fat Boy boosted on an H45. Allen Farrington did it in style, choosing a PML Pterodactyl and a J350 combined with recovery by Priscilla to reach NAR Level 2. Mike Gibbs missed certifying Tripoli Level 1 "by this much" when his US Rockets Stilletto kicked the H124 at ejection. Better luck next time, Mike!

Joel Simon showcased his scratch-built version of an Estes Trident, flying it on a C6. Word is Joel is planning a 3X upscale and is trying to squeeze the project into his budget. A scratch 429 belonging to Hyam "Clustering for Fun and Profit" Sosnow wasn't much fun to recover. I don't know if one of the 4 G80's lit early, late, or never, but the rocket angled over and headed off towards Barstow after clearing the launch rod! Steve Todd put in a couple of nice flights with his Hawk Mountain "Veloci" Raptor using a G80 and H70. John Jennings tested out modifications for night flying on his Public Enemy Bullpup on a J180, as did this reporter on a scratch design with a D12. Turning in a couple of boosts in the H class, Jim McMullin chose an H242 in a PML 3" AMRAAM for one of the flights.

The day ended with a preview of one of the premier events being held at next month's RocStock: a Magnum drag race! The competitors were Rick Magee and Calvin McAllister, and the motor of choice was a K1100. Most observers agreed the race was a dead heat, but Calvin reported that he edged Rick in the altitude department, going to 3470' with Rick topping out at 3369'. With the conclusion of the race and the launch, I could feel a serious case of ROCstock fever beginning to set in. Hope to see you there!

Motor Usage for May 2000

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