ROC December  1999 Launch

Mr. Gas Passer himself, Wayne Mrazek brought to the playa his Passing Wind. This scratch built 6 inch diameter behemoth tipped the scales at some 31 pounds! Loaded with a HyperTek L490 to heft it into the air, it put on a great show for everyone. The 10 foot tall rocket was recovered fine under the control of an Adept altimeter.

John Walquist gave the spectators two great J impulse flights to watch. John launched his scratch built J350 powered Stress Relief to an Adept Alts25 recorded 4365 feet. This rocket stands 6 feet tall, is 3 inches in diameter, and tips the scales at svelte 6.25 pounds. John also brought out his dual deployment modified PML AMRAAM 4. This 80 inch long, 9.25 pound semi-scale rocket hit a Alts25 recorded 4910 feet on a J135, and when all was said and done the Alts25 did the dual deployment job perfectly. Thanks John!

The ever popular John Van Norman brought his Y2K along to play on the playa. Using a J180 this scratch built 7+ foot tall, 3 inch diameter, 11 pound dart hit 3400 feet and then used an Olsen M2 for a successful dual deployment recovery. Ms. Van Norman, also known as Veni Van Normal, used a J90 in her Rocketman Praying Mantis but suffered a separation. Ron McGough and Greg Lawson, President and Vice President of ROC respectively, both launched Public Enemy Gladiators on J800s for thrust pounding flights. Both were recovered intact. 

Certifying level 2 in December on J impulse were John A. Kerrigan and Domingo Duran. John used a PML Quasar and a J350 to get his level 2, while Domingo chose a J180 to power his LOC EZI-65 called Red 1. Ben Payne used a J460 in a PML Aurora for a great flight, while Art "My Space Buddy" Adler launched Space Buddy V for a successful flight on a J90. Kelly Smith launched his Totaled Eclipse on a J415 for nice flight. You can contact Kelly at http://www.rockitz.com and while there browse his tips. Brad Wolff came on out on the playa to play and he boosted his LOC Magnum on a J135 for a nice flight. George Perez rounded out the J impulse flights by launching his LOC Magnum on a J800 but unfortunately suffered a separation. Better luck in Y2K George!

In ROC the I's have it and December was no exception. Terry McKiernan powered his 4 inch diameter, 6 pound, Jupiter C with an I357, while Kim McMullin, the a true pioneering spirit, launched his Totally Unproven Rocket Design II, or TURD II for short, on a I300. Though the TURD was unproven, it's recovery was an Apparently Safe Situation. 8) John Egenbuger had a great flight on his 3.75 pound PML Quasar using an I195, as did Steve Todd using an I161 in his PML Lunar Express. Calvin McAllister hit a high note with his Initiate This! a Aerotech Initiator on an I200! Bill Huber hauled on out his 4 pound, 2.56 inch diameter, 4 foot long SandBlaster, a scratch built jobbie using an I300 for a great ride. 

Speaking of hauling, you better believe John Skebbins' LOC Graduator did just that on an I200! Nice flight John! ROC regular Rick Kempiak stuck an I195 in his 6 foot long, 3.5 pound scratch built round call Light My Blue Dart. Nice flight Rick, and thanks! Dual deploys are always cool no matter how many times you see one, and that was the case with Ben Payne's scratch built Primer II. Ben used an I211 for the 4.5 pound rocket's up part and a BlackSky AltAcc for dual deployment the down part. Nice flight Ben! Joe Huber had a cool scratch built Sandhawk he launched on an I284 and used a Adept Alts25 for a perfect dual deployment recovery. 

Joel Simon, an ever popular prose generator in his own right, launched is Another Expensive Mistake, a scratch built (proving it could not have been as expensive as it might have been) 2.5 diameter rocket. The AEM stood 5 feet tall and slew great on an I211 with a yet another BlackSky AltAcc doing the dual deployment recovery chores.

Kerry Garrison brought his PML Small Endeavor he named Green Machine on out to the playa and made everyone else green with envy as the rocket had a nice ride on a H73. Jim McMullin launched his PML X-caliber on a H123 and used a chute by ROC's own Priscilla Delzell of Parachutes by Priscilla for a great flight. Jim McMullin did great job bringing his PML X-Calibur to the playa and launching it on a H123. Rick McGee likewise treated us to some nice flights using his PML Quasar with a Kosdon H105 Dirty Harry formula and a H135 slow formula for two cool flights. Both flights used a Missile Works RRC to handle the recovery chores. 

Using another PML rocket and a H180, Rick Green's Ariel had a nice ride. Tom Emerson launched his Lance Beta on a H180 for a great flight, while Wessel Dirksen brought back his scratch built Spontaneous Combustion and twice loaded a H242 for two successful return engagements. Calvin McAllister had a nice ride with his Hawk Mountain Raptor on an H128 but the Teletubbies got there revenge on Mark Britton as his LOC Mini-Magg named Teletubbie Killer II failed to deploy a chute and tumbled to the ground after a boost on a H242. Prefect Rick O'neil had warned Mark about the wrath of the Teletubbies!

Rick "I ain't got no luck" Dickinson tried twice and failed to certify level 1. But both flights were "growth opportunities" and Rick vowed to return and certify in January 2000. Mark Babinski had much better results as he certified level one using a PML Callisto named Rocket Rocket with a H128 for propulsion. He then used his newly obtained certification to launch his Lovely Lady on a H238. Congratulations Mark! Also earning their level 1 certifications were Tony Bee, whose LOC Forte named Sparky hit a high note on an H242, and Jeff Frank whose PML AMRAAM 3 rode a H238 to level 1 nirvana. Congratulations to you both!

Julie Rutten and Chuck Platisa had a drag race with LOC Onyx'. Julie's G40 powered Onyx was the declared winner over Chuck's G80 powered entry when Chuck's was disqualified as a skywriter. Not everything went wrong for Rick "Would you stop the middle name stuff" Dickinson as his scratch built P.M.R. did have a nice ride on a G35. Sam Perry had four successful flights using G80s. Two with his Aerotech Barracuda and the other two with his LOC Legacy. Great job Sam! John Wong had a few cool flights as well. One using a G75 in his Aerotech ARCAS and one using a G80 in his Aerotech Arreaux. Kerry Garrison, who with Carl Delzell of RocketRage fame bring you WildRocketry.com, had a nice couple of flights with his scratch built Playa Eater on a G80 and a G35. Zac Rowe tripled up on his LOC Graduator which he calls Zac's Zinger. He flew this rocket on a G38, a G64, and once on a G33. All three for successful flights. Well done Zac!

As is the usual there were too many flights to list them all here, but to all, thanks for bring your rockets out in December! I hope of the visions of rocket and motors dancing in your dreams come true. And your reporter of record wishes everyone a happy, healthy, and prosperous Y2K.

Motor Usage for December 1999

     Lots! 8) (I lost the list!)