We finely made it. We got a Launch! Saturday 2 February Report
Saturday, February 9, 2013 at 8:26AM It was a Saturday only launch, so not to conflict with Super Bowl Sunday, and to make up for the missed regular monthly January launch weekend.
The weather gods have really been giving us a hard time recently.
Even if the sky clears up and is sunny, if the rain is too close to the weekend, it is just not enough time to dry out the saturated ground. It is still soft and quickly gets squishy, mushy messy.
Well this time it was a really great day. The surface ground was dried by two days of sun and winds that drew off the moisture in the soil.
It was almost calm with a few breezes and a light wind towards the end of the day.
After the initial cold morning it stayed cool to chilly but with the Fire Pit going all day it got fairly comfortable until just before dusk where it cooled down as it quickly got dark.
Ken Allen of Performance Hobbies was there and really had a rush of business
There were two Rocket Teams present, Prof. Doug. Knight was there with the EHMS Rocket Team and also there was the UNCC 49er USLI Rocket Team, both doing test flights.
For our embarrassment and your entertainment, any pictures you have from this or any recent launch that you would like to get posted on the web site for everyone to see, 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.
I see we already have some pictures from the Launch, so check it out in the Photo Gallery.
We have started the ROCC club membership drive for the 2013 flying season.
Membership funds go to the NAR and Tripoli association fees and insurance and cover the costs of maintaining the launch equipment.
We have a new ROCC “T” shirts. We went through the gray shirts, then the tie-dye shirts and now by request we will be offering a gray polo shirt with collar and then some assorted solid colored shirts. All with the colored ROCC logo.
See the Web site for the Upcoming NAR Rocket Contests”
We have a ROCC Club sponsored contest going on now.
( I started it this Saturday and plan to conclude at the Regular February Launch.)(weather providing)
The “C” Motor Altitude GOLF BALL Launch Contest
Gold, Silver and Bronze “Mega Mosquito’s” Awarded. (ready to fly)
Any ESTES “C” Motor, C5, C6, C11 (recommended to keep the playing field even) or an equivalent, example, two “B’s”, four “A’s” or a mixture.
Rocket Must Pass Regular RSO Pre-launch Inspection.
Rocket may utilize any design concept that pass’s the RSO Inspection.
Rocket must have a acceptable recovery system for safety.
Jolly Roger Altimeter Ones will be provided.
You can use your own altimeter, Peanut, ect, if you have one.
Jolly Rogers are small enough to fit in a BT-20 body tube.
Jolly Rogers require air holes in the body to register air pressure change.
Jolly Rogers can be carried outside rocket body piggy-back.
Fliers can make multiple flights with highest flight scored.
Fliers can make different rockets but only the highest flight will be scored.
Only One Award per flier.
Highest scored flier gets First, Next flier gets Second, Next flier gets Third.
Brad Shea test flew his “Golf Ball” rocket using a simple BT-20 tube rocket with plastic fins with a coupler attached to the ball using a large streamer recovery. Using a C6-3 he got 595 feet.
We continue 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.
New Insurance Procedures: In order to comply with the Tripoli Rocketry Association and the National Association of Rocketry insurance requirements, our Club, “R.O.C.C.” has chosen to register our scheduled launches under the NAR flight regulations and for the insurance coverage that best meets our needs.
(NAR recognizes TRA membership and covers them under their blanket of coverage)
R.O.C.C. will still be registered as a joint TRA and NAR associated club and Tripoli flights and certifications will continue as normal.
Joining the National Association of Rocketry is quite easy.
You will find a application form in every Estes rocket kit you buy, or you can even join on-line at WWW.NAR.ORG. There are 4 yearly annual memberships.
Junior, 15 and under =$25, Leader, 16 –20 =$25, Senior, 21 and up = $62.
Family = with one regular Senior and $12 for each additional family member.
This membership completely covers you for liability, damage and injuries at our launches.
Saturday 2 February, 2013
We had 27 fliers who put up 68 flights burning 79 engines. That includes multiple flights, multi-stage and cluster flights.
A= 12, B= 1, C= 21, D= 7, E= 8, F= 7, G= 12, H= 6, I= 2, J= 3,
Who flew what? Remember your penmanship of what I can read influences my spelling.
Doc Russell Flew a “Nike Smoke” on a C6 and what could be the best upscale Estes Kit, the “Interceptor-E” which flew on a E30. Doc also did some test flights of his 1/2A3-2T boost gliders for the upcoming NAR contests.
John Bergsmith flew a classic Estes “Maxi-Alpha 3” on a E12 and his OD Green “Honest John” on a G76.
Joe Pettler flew a Estes “X-15” RTF rocket plane, a Estes “Chrome Dome”, the “Cruiser” and a “Duces Wild”,(Flis Kit or Estes?) all on C6’s.
Jason Pettler flew a LOC “Mini-Mag” on a H133 and his bright orange scale missile, the “Jay Hawk” on a G64. It really looks good under thrust.
Scott Robinson, a new visiting flier, tried out the Golf Ball contest with a Estes egg lofter with C6’s and got a height of 360 ft. Not bad using a heavy egg lofter.
David Strunk flew a nice looking “ Honest John MK-1” on a G75.
Michael Strunk flew “A Bigger Bertha”, a really upscaled Big Bertha, on a G54 then the “Slazenger Driver” on a C6.
Sandy Houston did not have a good day, first his Golf Ball rocket “Fore!” Katoed with a Estes C11 which I think is rare, then his “G-Whiz” on a G76 had a malfunction resulting in a bad landing.
Devon Tomkinson flew a Estes “Big Baby Bertha” and a Estes “Big Daddy”, both on D12’s. His LOC “Onyx” flew on a F40.
David Tomkinson flew a Estes Pro-Series II “Leviathan” on a G57.
David Popkin flew a really neat “Moon Bat” on a CTI I345, on a dual deployment with the main chute deployed at 600 ft. I’ve seen it before, but don’t know who makes it
David Reid flew a Estes upscaled “Mosquito” on a D12. He also flew a LOC “Mini-Mag” once on a G185, then on a G187 with a onboard video, did we all smile? His Aero Tech “Arreaux”, a real classic from Aero Tech’s original selection, flew on a F20.
Roy Potter, I flew my Aero Tech “ARCAS” on a new Estes Pro-Series II F50 just to show off my red and white paneled donut chute.
EHMS Rocket Team mentored by Professor Doug Knight, made test flights of a Estes Pro-Series II “Leviathan” on a F51 and a F59 for timed flights.
UNCC 49er USLI Rocket Team flew a Charlie Ogino designed and built two part rocket on a I566-15. Its like a two stage but the booster ejects the upper stage upward to continue its flight under its own momentum without the weight and drag of the booster. Charlie found both parts that made tree landings. There are pictures of it in the Gallery.
Todd Haring flew a LOC “Star Burst” on a H180 on a dual deployment with the main chute deployed at 400 ft.
Brad Shea flew his “G-Ball” Golf Ball rocket on a C6-3 for a height of 479ft. Plans on doing better at the next launch. The LOC “Graduator” flew on a F32 in honor of David Neiman who passed away but had already prepped a collection of rockets to flown and then donated to the club and then to new young fliers.
John Tolppi flew his Golf Ball rocket, the “G-Ball” on a C6-5 to 566ft, the highest so far. We will see come the 16th and 17th if he keeps the lead. He flew a “Honest John” on F40, and a Estes upscaled “Interceptor-E” on a E15. My pick of the launch was his home scratch built “Viper MK-1” space fighter from the new BattleStar Galactica TV series with a cluster of three A8-3’s. I missed the launch, but heard it got hooked up on the rod. I hope he brings it back this month.
Nick Tolppi flew the Estes prehistoric novelty rocket, “Rock-It” on a E22 and a E31.
Connie Tolppi flew a Estes “Triton-X” on a B6, a Estes “Double-D” on a cluster of two D12’s and a two stage six sided saucer the “Frick and Frack” on a C6 to a C6 that kind of worked right.
J.P. Appenzeller was busy trying to burn up a warehouse full of motors. His LOC “Athena” flew on a slow burn H90 to a estimated 1,499ft. His LOC “Tomahawk IQSY” flew on a G138 blue thunder on a dual deployment with the main chute deployed at 500ft. His LOC “Hi-Tech” flew on a G250 to a estimated 1,624ft. His LOC “S/A 14 Archer” flew on a J285 on dual deployment with main chute deployed at 500ft and a estimated 2,903ft. His LOC “Cruise Missile” flew on a J600 also on dual deployment with the main at 500ft. His LOC “Phoenix EXP” on a J355 again on a dual deployment with the main at 500ft to a estimated 2,236ft. His LOC “Hyper LOC 300” flew on a H999 very fast burn on a dual deployment with the main at 500ft.
Bad news was that one of them, not sure which, performed a instantaneous decomposition.
Charlie Ogino flew one of his carbon creations, the “Carbon Cowboy” o a very fast burning H999 with a dual deployment and main chute at 700ft.
Terry Baucom flew his upscaled “Goblin” on a H123 and his “After Thought” on a G64.
Marcus Harmon flew a “Nike Smoke” on a G138 on a dual deployment at the main at 500ft. He flew a very neat cluster rocket the “7X13 Cluster” with seven A3-4T’s. Smokey.
Bryson Smith flew “The Big One” on C6’s, that looks like a big fireworks rocket.
Emily Nelson flew her Disney themed rocket, the “Shadow Man” on E30’s.
Alex ? flew a Estes “Cork Screw” on a C6 and a Estes “Screaming Mimi” that has whistles on the fins, flew on a D12.
Thanks to everyone who helped out.
Many times some asks “Who makes that rocket?” so I’m trying to identify the kit maker in the reports so interested fliers know what kit to look for.
Hope to see you on the pads and remember to keep those exhaust nozzles clear.
Roy, ROCC Sec.