March launch reports...

A combined Launch Report for 16 – 17 March and 23 March 2019.

Saturday the 23^rd was basically for the TARC teams and a few of us who were going to out there anyway.

During the three days of launch’s we had some really great launch’s and the school TARC and School Project Teams did quite well, and as they say, Fun was had by All. But as always, no way around it, we did have some less than perfect launch’s and a few Kato’s. Some with little to no damage and those that may require a moderate rebuild.

A few J/L (Jolly Logic Chute deployment Sys) deployments were pretty close to the ground before the chutes Fully opened up (Instructions say to allow 50 – 125 ft for the chute to fully deploy and open)  and a few chutes not correctly folded tangled the J/L in the chutes. New users of J/L should read the manual and see the chute folding Videos on the J/L web site. You will be able to see pictures of many of the rockets flown in the Web Site Gallery or on the ROCC Face Book site.

Ken Allen of Performance Hobbies,

Ken was there and as always, if not providing some essential item desperately needed, he was answering questions from both new and potential fliers, or even helping out some of us older fliers.

LOST AND FOUND.

Check the box for a few nose cones, and a few other odd items.

As a note, when you are walking across the fields on the trek to locate your latest launch, keep your eyes open on the ground for anything. Not all motor casings look alike. Also there are mini altimeters, nose cones, motor retainers, ect.

Pictures. Check the Gallery for launch photo’s.    Come on, We see everyone is    taking photo’s.   Lets Get them onto the ROCC Club WEB Gallery.

Just contact Doc Russell at rocketrycarolina@gmail.com, “or” as some have done, pass it on a disk, memory card or flash drive

Saturday, 16 March, 2019.

We had a small group, mostly rocket teams and some of the regulars. Weather was sunny and clear with a chilly brisk light wind. The calm periods between the light winds increased till about 1pm when it became almost calm with a light breeze blowing mostly south east or straight down the runway. After 3pm it was almost totally calm.

We had  12   fliers , put up  45   flights burning  51   engines.

That includes all clusters and multi-stage flights

A= 6,  B= 3,  C= 6,  D= 8,  E= 8,  F= 10,  G= 7,  H= 7,  I= 0,  J= 1,  K= O.

(Remember, what I write is influenced by your penmanship and spelling.

Micheal Hollowell, after a long wedding holiday and honeymoon (Congrats by the way) came out to get in a few flights. His 3-D printed “3D Spin” spinning air drag design flew on a C6-5. His first flight for 2019.  The “Baby Purple Crayon” flew on a C6-5. Then he ramped up when the conditions got better with a LOC “Expeditor” on a H123 with a Successful J/L deployment at 400ft.

Kevin McDuffie with Hailee Campbell flew the green nose-coned “Hulk Nose” on a G33-7j for the last flight of the day at 5:30pm. And Kevin’s “Iris” flew on a H170-14 with a successful J/L deployment at 500ft but made a water landing in the creek resulting in a H2o retrieval. He laid it all out on the hood of his car to be solar dried.

Roy Potter, I flew my “Union Jack” with the British flag chute on a G79-4, the “Missile” rear ejection flew twice on E9-4’s and my “Red Arcas” twice on econo max G74-4’s, once with a J/L deployment set at 300ft. “Bits-N-Pieces” rear ejection flew also on a G79-4. “BOB” rear ejection flew twice on E9-4’s.

Pete Brennan flew a nice looking (kind of like a Talon?) “Pike” on a F67-6 then a G74-6 for two good flights.

Alexander Central H.S. TARC team flew the “Aikido” on test and record flights on F36-5’s with 3 eggs with a specific altitude and flight time goal.

UNCP Rocket team flew their team project “Second Chance” on a J500 with a successful dual deployment.

West Iredell H.S. TARC team flew “Chester” on 5 test and qualification flights.

Barb Tobin put up 9 flights herself testing some of her competition models. She goes to a lot of the NAR competion rocket meets. She flew the “Helicopter-II” on a 1/4A3-3t, “Heli-I” on a 1/4A3-3t, a “Streamer-2  duration” on a 1/4A3-3t, “Altitude Test-2” twice on a E15-7 that went out of sight but was eventually all recovered. “Chute duration test” on a 1/4A3-3t,  the “Eggster” without the egg on a A10-3t and for the fun of it, “The Bug” body lift glider on a B6-4 that kind of whipped around and a upscale of the Bug “Glider” on a C6-3.

Bill Jetton, a new flier getting started, friend of Barb, flew his first Estes “Alpha-3” twice on a B6-6. Welcome Bill.

Doug Knight when not mentoring a TARC team, flew his Estes Long/large “Mammoth” on a fast F120-7.

Eddie Haith flew “Red” on a C6-3, a Estes “Big Bertha” on a C12-6, the “Athena” on a C12-6 and a “Fat Boy” on a D12-7.

Scott Pennington flew a LOC “Stovi” with a cluster of 7 D12-5’s that with a custom igniter cluster flew with a successful J/L deployment at 300ft. His upscaled “Der Red Maxx” flew on a G74-6w with a successful J/L deployment at 300ft. His sci-fi “Cosmo-2” flew on a E12-4 and a really nice looking NASA “Saturn-5” lifted on a E12-4 that in hind sight was under powered and arched over and down into a unfortunate impact. Another payment to the Rocket Gods.

Sunday, 17 March, 2019.

A much larger group showed up, again a lot of rocket teams and a lot of the regulars. Micheal Hollowell brought out Krispy Kreme, “St Patricks Day” Green donuts and a Box-O-Joe with cream and sugar. (the green donuts were a drab olive green, but looks aside were quite tasty.) Weather again was sunny and clear with a chilly brisk light wind. But a bit calmer providing conditions for some really great flights.

We had  35   fliers , put up  85   flights burning  88   engines.

That includes all clusters and multi-stage flights

A= 19,  B= 8,  C= 14,  D= 5,  E= 13,  F= 9,  G= 5,  H= 6,  I= 3,  J= 4,  K= 2.

(Remember, what I write is influenced by your penmanship and spelling.

Jeremiah Brennan had 4 impressive flights. A LOC “Phantom Exc” flew on a I218 with a successful Missile Works dual deployment at 500ft. The “Pike” that flew yesterday with Pete flew on a I470 with a M/W deployment at 400ft. A rocket named “Level-2” (his L-2 cert rocket?) flew on a J449 with a M/W deployment at 500ft. His really nicely shark painted (see photos) “Talon-4” flew on a J380 with a M/W deployment for 600ft, but the large main chute was jerked open at apogee which is the only reason it was our only non-retrievable tree landing for the three days we flew in March. As always, it is so close. Only 30 feet to a safe landing.

Pete Brennan flew a naked “Black Brant” on a H225-9 with a J/L deployment at 400ft.

Isaac Neisler, a new junior flier flew his first flight with his “Hello Rocket” on a 1/2A3-2t of the mini “Micro-Series” backyard rockets.

Steve Brown had 5 flights. The “Runt” flew on a E18-5w, his very pretty (see pics) “LOC VII” 7in, flew first on a I600r with a good J/L deployment at 400ft, then on a J415-10 with a P-nut dual deployment at 500ft. His “Space Probe” lander with legs flew on a D12-5, (see nice pics). His “Vulcanite” flew on a H123-10 with a dual deployment at 425ft with apogee ejection and motor backup after 10sec.

Roy Potter, I flew my “T-4” on a H123-4 with a good rear ejection at apogee. I flew my “Missile” with rear ejection, on a Estes E-12-4 twice noteing that the performance was no better than the Estes E9 so then flew it on a Aero Tech E15-4 for a much better altitude. The “Bits-N-Pieces” flew well on a G79-4 with a good rear ejection.

Michael Strunk flew his naked (unpainted) upscaled “Der Red Maxx” on a G38-4.

Dave ? flew a “Raptor” on a F67-6 that required a shovel recovery after “Darting” in the field. Minimal damage I believe. Sturdy rocket.

Michael Hollowell flew his “Big Bruiser Exp” on a K805r with a dual deployment at 300ft with a drogue at apogee. His “Mirage” flew on a G76-6 but separated the front section from the back while under boost and looped over with some damage. His LOC “Shamrock 2-29ss” flew with a cluster of 2 G76’s with a dual deployment at 300ft.

Jeff Brooks team leader of the Troop #3453 Girl Scouts flew the “Big Girl Scout Rocket” on a F15-6 with a J/L deployment at 400ft. And the “Rope Rocket” flew on a B6-4.

Scout Malina flew the “pink Fury” twice on B6-4’s and “Bye Felicia” on a C6-5.

Scout Ryan flew the “Thunderbolt” on a A8-3.

Scout Elis Brooks flew a “Badmitten Shuttle Cock” on a 1/2A3-2t and a spinning “Mono Copter” on a D11-p

Scout Mary flew the ‘Derby Dragon” on a C6-5.

Scout Anna flew “Thunder” on a A8-3.

Scout Chloe flew the “Sea Turtle Kitty” on a A8-3.

Scout Lily flew “Clemson” on a B6-4.

Scout Landon flew the “Pink Dragon” on a B6-4.

Bill Jetton, Barbs friend who is getting his toes wet, flew his “Alpha-3” again on a A8-5.

Barb Tobin had 19 flights. She was pushing through all the test flights of her NAR Competition rockets she could. Plus a couple of flights just for the fun of it. Her “Astron Explorer” first stuck on the rod with a E9-6 then got airborne on another E9-6. Test of a “Swing wing glider” on a C6-3 that once in glide motion flew quite well. “Chute Test -3” on a 1/4A3-3t. The “Twin Factor” 2 stage of air drag rings (see photos) went from a A10 to A10-3t. “Chute test-2” on a 1/4 A3-3t, “Chute Duration” on a 1/4A3-3t. Her Estes “Expedition” flew on a E9-6 while her “Long Tall Stretch” flew on a F15-4 that flew fine but found the long body bent under acceleration when recovered. Her “Partizan” flew on a F23-4 and another “Boost Glider test” flew on a A10-3. “Heli Test-1” flew on a 1/4A3-3t and “heli test 2 on a 1/4A3-3t. “Snoopy” after her dog complete with long floppy ears, flew on a B6-4.

Trent Dominick flew a Estes Helicopter “Tweety Bird” twice on C6-5’s and it worked quite well once it got to spinning.

Duane Dominick flew the “American Eagle” on a H242 with a drogue at apogee and main deployment at 500ft. The “Recycle and Reuse” was really cute. Old packing tubes for rocket motors turned into a rocket body with 3-D printed fin canister and launch lug rings to fit the non-standard tubes. It flew on a E16-6 very well indeed.

Mark Bartkowiak flew a old tube designed glider effect with a boost section and a large tube that separates and glides back, originally called the “Stove Pipe”. The first try on a A8-3 stuck on the rod and the second did not cleanly separate the two sections. So it just fluttered down softly. The sub-orbital ram jet space fighter “Scram Cat” flew twice on D12-5’s. The WWII  German Rocket Fighter “Skunk Wulf” flew on a F24-7 for the last flight of the day at 5:10pm. A 2 stage “USS Joan M Gordon” a Commemorative flight for a recently departed friend flew on a C6 to A10-3t.

Lenoir-Rhyne University NASA USLI Team flew “Yogi Bear with payload Boo Boo” on a J820. This was really cool. See pictures. The cargo section had 3 landing legs for a standing landing then a hatch/ramp opens up and a rover leaves its garage and travels to a designated target area. One landing leg broke so it toppled over. But its sooo.. cool.

Allen Deal flew the “Renegade” on a E12-6 but Katoed. The “Rocket” flew on a A8-3.

Park Wood HS TARC Rocket Team did a design test flight of the “Thanos” on a F67-6 and a qualification flight on a F40 but DQ’d due to the shock cord breaking and the rocket separating. Otherwise good flights.

Sandy Houston, Hey Sandy,  flew his kit design of the “Lawn dart” because it looks just like the old Whamoo back yard lawn toss game. It flew on a C6-5 but the shock cord broke. A pyramid shaped “Stelth” air drag flew on a A8-3 then a C6-0. The “Torbo Delta” pyramid flew on a A8-3 and C6-0.

Erica Owens who designs and produces kits (Lawn Dart, Snow Flake, X-mas Tree, ect) flew a Estes “Lil Bertha” on a cluster of 3 C6-5’s, and a Estes “Fat Boy” on a C6-5.

Drew Harms flew a Test Design for a TARC rocket, “Thanos” on a F42-6. Good Flight.

Scott Pennington flew the “Arrow” on a H219-8 with a J/L deployment at 300ft. His “MB-1” flew on a H55-7 with a J/L deployment at 300ft. His “Harpoon” flew on a E12-6.

Doc Russell flew his “Megi Mossi Mosquito” on a E12-6 in a drag against Malcolm. Doc won on altitude. Docs “QCC Explorer” flew on a E9-6 and his “Goblin” flew on a D12-7 with a streamer.

Malcolm Smith flew his “Mega Mosquito” on a E12-6 against Doc but he Katoed with minimal damage. His Estes “Big Bertha” flew just fine on a C11-7 and the “In Flight Piranah” also flew on a C11-7.

The ACHS TARC Team returned for another test flight of the “Aikido” on a F36-5.

Chris Taylor flew his Estes “Red Rider” on a B6-4.

Aedan Taylor also flew the “Red Rider” on a B6-4.

Charles Ogino, master at designing and building rockets to your taste and needs flew the really big “Little John” on a K1103 with a dual deployment at 500ft with a backup charge after apogee and then any leftover on the ground. A really beauitiful flight and landing.

Saturday, 23 March, 2019.

This was basically for the TARC teams that this was the last opportunity to get in their qualification flights before the deadline. And there were a few of us who were going to be out there anyway, so it was very low key, laid back, fly’em when you got’em.

We had  8   fliers , put up  30   flights burning  31   engines.

That includes all clusters and multi-stage flights

A= 3,  B= 2,  C= 1,  D= 1,  E= 5,  F= 8,  G= 7,  H= 3,  I= 1,  J= 0,  K= O.

(Remember, what I write is influenced by your penmanship and spelling.

Scott Pennington who had 7 flights, flew his long “Maxi-Magg” on a H550-8 with a J/L deployment at 300ft. The “Scoob” flew on a I500-8 with a J/L at 400ft. His “BullPup” flew on a E30-4, “Big Bird” flew on a econo max G74-6 and the sci-fi “Cosmo-2” flew on a E12-4. The “Raptor” (Velociraptor?) flew on a H219-8 with a J/L deployment at 300ft. And then “Lil Stella” flew on a F15-6.

ACHS, Alexander Central H.S, TARC Team , flew the “Aikido” 6 times for test then qualification flights, with the last at 5:12pm with a perfect flight in time and altitude but when the cargo section landed a corn stalk pierced the side of the cargo section breaking the egg. That was pure random chance for the angle and stalk to be just right for that. Hope the other flights give a good average to make the qualification.

Doc Russell flew the “Io” on a F59-7 with a J/L deployment at 500ft. And a old Aero Tech “Initiator” flew on a G64-7 also with a J/L deployment at 500ft.

Barb Tobin had 6 flights to continue testing her NAR competition models. A “Chute Duration” flight went up on a 1/4A3-3t twice from her custom built competition launch tower. A “Egg Altitude test” flew on a B6-4 with a fire-fly altimeter.  A rocket made from a plastic “Easter Egg” flew on a A10-3 successfully with a chute deployment. Another “Altitude test-1” on a B6-4 then a “Altitude test” with a E15-7. Always using a FireFly altimeter, so small it can fit in a BT-20 body tube with chute.

Mark Bartkowiak flew his “2X4” two stage on a D12 to C6-5, almost loosing the booster as it was the same color of the corn stalks. His “Michigan St.” Mega mosquito katoed with a E12-4.

Roy Potter. I flew my “Red Arcas” twice on econo max G74-6’s with a J/L deployment at 300 then 400ft. The Jolly Logic may trigger at 300ft but it takes 50 to 125 ft for it all to happen and for the chute to fully deploy, so I went to 400ft.The “Missile” rear ejection flew on a E9-4 and the “Coke Cola” flew on a G40-4. My “Bits-N-Pieces” got more pieces. The old G80-4 I had, old style with the paper plug and no motor stop ring, CHUFFED on the pad in morse-code long enough that when it left the rail the fuel was all gone, so it nosed over, about telephone pole high, into the field then did the rear ejection thing. The motor mount that ejects with the chute binded in the tube so the over pressure popped off a section with a fin.

Pete Brennan came back to fly the naked (unpainted) “Black Brant” on a G69-7 with a J/L deployment at 400ft.

It was a good weekend and a day for flying, everyone had a good time and yes, a few paid up in advance to the Rocket gods for the future.

Hope everyone had fun and will be looking forward to our next launch, till then, remember to keep your exhaust nozzles clear and the pointy ends up.