April 2011 post launch report
Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 7:05AM Its time for another Post-Launch Report of the happenings this last Sunday the 17th of April.
Again, anyone take any pictures this weekend?
I always want to thank those who have provided us with photos of our launches in the past.
WE Still Want More.
Any pictures you have from a recent launch that you would like to get posted on the web site for our embarrassment and your entertainment, just contact Doc Russell at rocketrycarolina at gmail dot com or as some have done, pass it on a disk or flash drive. We can always get it back to you.
We are continuing with our Range Safety standards by making specific assignments of a RSO=, Range Safety Officer to pre-inspect rockets before flights and the LCO=, Launch Control Officer to check range conditions and control the launch’s in a timely and efficient manner. So far this has worked fine with little to no effect on launch flow.
Check both the WEB site and at the launch’s for info on volunteering for RSO (Cert Lv-2 required) and LCO (Cert Lv-1 preferred, but any responsible and experienced adult can apply).
It’s great for anybody who isn’t flying that day but wants to take part anyway.
And it’s fun to push the red button.
Sunday 17th of April.
Saturday was cancelled due to the weather conditions so we opted for a one-day launch on Sunday. The weather was forecasted to be clear with a light wind.
Actually it turned out pretty good, but that light wind kept turning on us. Normally that little of a wind would not be a issue, but with Mr. Williams “Barley” crop already 12 – 18 inch’s tall and with a grain head, we needed to keep our landings in the opposite field, left of the runway.
I had gotten a few reports of “light sunburns”, so it was sunnier than I thought it was.
We started a “KIDS” ROCKET RAFFLE.
A selection of about 17 Prebuilt, painted and ready to fly rockets to choose from.
The kid’s tickets are 50 cents each and we will keep it going at the next few launches till they are all given away. Each rocket comes with a “A” or “B” engine with plug and wadding.
Yes, parents can buy tickets and select rockets for their kids.
Young “Joe Pettler” and his sister Kaytlin both won and flew a Estes “Chrome Dome” and a colorful scratch built “Freedom”.
Ken Allen was there for our Rocketry needs and Ralph had the drinks and hotdogs.
We had 20 fliers with 52 flights burning 57 engines with multi-stage and cluster rockets.
A= 0, B= 3, C= 6, D= 4, E= 17, F= 9, G= 11, H= 2, I= 4. J= 1.
Who flew what? Remember your penmanship influences my spelling
Michael Hollowell has that really nice green and white rocket with a green shamrock on it, the “LOC 4-29SS” that flies on a cluster of four G40’s that takes it more than high enough for a successful dual deployment with main chute deployment at 500 ft.
It all worked perfectly, but wouldn’t you know it, it layed across the power lines in the front left field. Very luckily, when Ralph helped him call it in to the power people, (Ralph knows everybody), they said, hey, sure, we happen to have a truck down the road that can be there in a jiffy. Sure enough, next time I looked over there, a truck and cherry picker was under the lines getting it down.
Sandy Houston flew what looked like a “Extended Mini Magg” on a I600 for a successful drougless deployment with main chute deployment at 500 ft. He also flew the “LiL Diter” on a fast burning G115 bullet of a engine.
Doc Russell, our RSO for most of the day, found it slow enough to get in a few flights with his “Stealth FED EX” pyramid on a F20, his “Blue Ninja” on a D12 with a early ejection turning the chute into a instant streamer with only minor fin damage. His “Cross Fire” flew on a B6.
David Neiman brought out a “Ares V” on a C6, a really nice Estes re-released “SaturnV” first on a D12 that was under powered but given a feather soft landing in the barley, then again on a E9. His “Mean Machine” flew on a E9 making a tree landing that I felt necessary to try and retrieve buy cutting the tree, BIG NO NO as I found out, I should have checked first. Much embarrassed by all this but with Ralph’s help, we cleaned it up the following Satuday. We will publish more about tree retrieval rules soon.
David also had a neat Soviet looking jet fighter rocket glider, the “Nightmare” R/C rocket glider that should have flown on a F30. I hope it did well, I missed seeing that one go.
Brian Gossiaux flew a “LOC-IV” twice on a G53 FJ, first one was it’s maiden flight, his “Initiator” flew on a E30 for it’s first flight then F42’s.
Cheryl Lansford flew a very prettily pinkish and sparkle painted Estes D-Region Tomahawk that Doc properly renamed “Glitter Girl” on a D12, sadly the Estes rubber band shock cord snapped and the body was bent upon landing above the seam line where the two body tubes were joined, so actually it is a easy fix for the next launch.
David Strunk flew a “Forte 2” on a I357 for a successful drougless deployment with main chute deployment at 500 ft. It also had a video camera on the airframe. David also flew that neat blue rocket with the shark paintjob, “ Shark Brant” with TWO cameras on a J135 for a successful dual deployment with main chute deployment at 500 ft that also made a tree landing but was easily recovered with the extension pole.
Michael Strunk flew a Estes “Big Bertha” on a C6 with no recovery problems.
Roy Potter, I flew my “Stars and Stripes -F” on F52’s, the “Bumble Bee” on a F52 that just brushed the tree line. My “T-3” flew twice on D12’s, then the “Thumper” on a old F25 with a 1989 dated engine package. The 5 seconds went for almost 10 with ejection just above the ground driving the nose cone deep into the soft field dirt while the body almost just hung in the air before bouncing on the ground. After digging the nose out and scraping the dirt off, there was no damage at all. I think I will stay with newer currently manufactured motors from now on.
Bob bernatchez had a wide selection with his “Wac Corporal” on a G53 that landed in-between the high power and low power pads, he also had a “Saturn V” that flew on a F40 with a two chute recovery. He also had his “D-Region Tomahawk” that flew on a E28. His “Exocert AM 39” flew on a E18 for the next to last flight of the weekend.
Brad Shea made the last flight of the day at 6:52 with his giant finned “NANS”, Not Another Smoke on a I285 with a giant chute that drifted almost to the telephone pole near Mr. Simpson’s place.
Emily Nelson flew her “Yoga” on a E9, the nicely painted “Iron Man” on a E9 and her rebuilt “Sultans Court” on a E15 then E30 breaking the prior curse of shock cord separation.
Joe Pettler flew his raffle rocket, a Estes “Chrome Dome” on a B6 and C6, a “Mean Machine” on a E9, a “Red Max” on a C6 and the Estes “Converter” on a C6 that separated but was recovered intact.
Jason Pettler flew the “Viper” on a cluster of three E9’s and his “V-2” on a H128 for a successful L-1 cert flight.
Kaytlin Pettler flew her raffle rocket, the “Freedom” on a B6 for a good flight.
John Metcalf flew a “LOC Forte” on a Pro 29 G88 with no problems.
Scott Hunt flew a nice “Big Daddy” on a E9 with a two chute recovery.
Mark Ferrell took his time and patience to prep and fly his “Endeavor” on a I435 with a successful drougless deployment with main chute deployment at 800 ft.
J.P Appenzeller started off with a nice “AMRAM 3” on a H123 that suffered a unknown KATO resulting in some strange damage. His “SA 14 Archer” on a G128 had a great flight up, but no ejection and as it was coming in ballistic into the trees, it ejected just as it started entering the trees. Fantastically, we found it hanging within hand reach and found no damage at all. His “Bull Puppy” flew on a G76 for a perfectly boring flight.
Gary Coursey flew a Estes “Razor” on a C6 for it’s first flight.
That’s about it.
We are still planning on our regular 3rd weekend monthly launch for next month.
Keep checking the ROCC Web Site for updates.
Hope to see you on the pads and remember to keep those exhaust nozzles clear.
Roy, ROCC Sec.
Reader Comments (2)
I have some videos of past launches on my Youtube page...
For the past Loc 4-29SS launch that ended up in the power lines see:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alPCHTehbNc
I saw that one when I was posting David Strunk's videos. Great shot of the rescue! Check out David's Shark Brandt landing in the trees.
DR