ROC October 1999 Launch

Report by Jeffrey D. Gortatowsky

After two months of somewhat meager attendance, October saw a return to more historical levels of attendance. By all accounts the the monthly ROC launch out on the Lucerne Dry Lake bed was an excellent time with near perfect weather.

Jeremy Cox flew his Estes Saber on a C6 for a good flight but did not quite have that same luck with his C5 powered Bandit as it suffered a separation. Hedi Rowe launched her C6 powered Ballistic Pencil for a nice flight, while Colin Rowe clustered three C6's in his Hope It Works scratch built rocket. Apparently it almost worked.

At the top end of the large model rocket impulse was Bob Bonar and Paul Sheffield who both used a G64 in AeroTech Initiators for a good flights. Greg Lawson used a G125 for nice flight in his scratch built Nukelegs for a decent flight. Zac Rowe and Bob Holcomb both chose G35-7's for nice flights. Zac used a LOC Graduator and Bob used a Vaugh Brothers B.O.B. Tom Dittman, Jim Bleecker and Chuck Platish all used G80's to successfully launch and recover their rockets. Jim in an Aerotech Initiator, Tom in his scratch built rocket named Mojave Green, and Chuck in a LOC Onyx.

H impulse flights invariable bring out some level 1 attempts and this was launch was no exception. John Wong was successfu using an Aerotech Arcas and an H128-10, while Robert Poirier used an H70-10 in a LOC HiTek to certify. Andy Perez chose a LOC Mini Magg and a H112 for motivation as he certified level one as well. Fortunately for Wessel Dirksen his Spontaneous Combustion did not and this H242-14 powered scratch built rocket got him his level one certification.

Amongst those deciding to use an H impulse motor for flights were Art Adler with his Space Buddy 1 a Public Enemy 4" diameter Performer on a H45. Ron and Sean McGough had a nice flight with their LOC Lil Nuke on a H128 while Greg Lyzenga had a Transovle P5 recording the 1815 foot apogee of his H180 powered Public Enemy 3 inch diameter Performer. Carl Delzell used a H123 in his LOC Expediter with a successful recovery by one of his wife's excellent parachutes from Priscilla's Parachute Pavilion.

In the I impulse range Mark Ferguson used a Dr. Hero from Rocketman Enterprises for a nice flight on a I211. John Jennings used an I154 to shred his LOC IROC when the ejection charge blew about 10 feet off the pad. Ouch! Not to be out done, Beth Holcomb and Jim Neal had their LOC Minie Magg wind up doing all sorts of landsharking and finally a lake stake on I300! Heads up indeed! Just to prove that bad luck may come in threes, John Egenberger did a lake stake with his I300 powered LOC Vulcanite named Mellow Yellow.

Kurt Gugisberg had a bit better luck with his PML Pterodactyl Jr. on a I161. The I161 gave this P'tery a great flight with dual deployment chores being handled by a Black Sky AltAcc. Kerry Garrison had a great boost and recovery using an I200 in his LOC Vulcanite called Certifiable. Paul Sheffield brought out his venerable THOY Phoenix for a super flight on an I161. Also using an I161 for a successful flight was Steve Todd in a PML Lunar Express Jr. That seemed to be a popular motor choice of for the ride to Luna as Kurt Gugisberg kicked his Lunar Express into the air on an I161 as well for nice flight. Marcia King had fantastic flight of her Lucky Ladybug, a Public Enemy Predator, on an I211.

Rick Kempiak found the true meaning of Art Deco as his scratch built 2.5 inch diameter rocket by that name shredded on I154 power! Hyam Sosnow, who's had better days than this one, had only one of the three I161's light in his Prince Viper III. This scratch built rocket was 4 inches in diameter and 6.5 feet long tipping the scales at about 7.5 pounds. Art Adler, whose H45 powered Space Buddy 1 had had a great flight, did not repeat this feat when he used an I132. Our buddy suffered a separation at deployment.

Jumping off the pads were several J impulse flights. ROC President and CEO Ron McGough hit the heights when his HyperTek J205 powered Starfire. This scratch built rocket used an Alts25 for a success deployment. Since October is Halloween month, Troy Monroe Stacy tried flying a scratch built rocket called Fright Flight. However the rocket suffered a frightful failure of the J460. Veni Van Normal flew her Rocketman Prying Mantis named Bug Colors on a J135. This rocket recovered successfully after hitting an Olsen recorded 5100 feet. Bill Huber's scratch built Sandblaster had a great flight on a J350-L. This 2.56 inch diameter, 4 pound rocket was tough to track!

Dave Rasmussen launched his 4 inch Archer on a J570 but suffered a "no deployment" and the rocket tumbled on to the playa. Jim Neal was a bit luckier as his scratch built ISQY Tomahawk had a great ride on J275. Matt Shunard gave his LOC Magnum a great boots on a J460 but suffered a separation at deployment. Matt also tried a scratch built rocket he called Threesome which used three parachutes and rear deployment. Unfortunately this flight end with the rocket into the playa as well. Just not Matt's day. But having a great day was Mark Fergusen who used the same D.R. Hero from Rocketman to get his level 2 using a J350-14. Congratulations Mark!

K is for King and K impulse flights were the kings of the October 1999 ROC launch. George Perez has a great flight of his 10 pound 5.5 inch diameter Rocket R&D SkyRaider using a long burn AeroTech K185. Ken Finwall of California High Power Rocketry launched his Optimal 150 on a K650. Ken brought the 25 pound rocket back successfully using a Black Sky AltAcc. John Egenberger's launched his LOC Magnum on a K550. John was gunning for a Tripoli Level 2 but unfortunately suffered a separation.

Motor Usage for October 1999

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