Sunday 11/23 is cancelled because of the weather forecasted.

Ken's Sale and Launch Schedule (11/23) only

I spoke to Ken today, and he will be onsite for Sunday, 11/23 only. If you have anything you need on Saturday, 11/22 please contact him by no later than tomorrow to get your order in. He can get your order to Rodney so it can be brought down on Saturday, 11/22. 

Also, another reminder of the sale that Ken has going on. 

Aerotech & RouseTech sale:

30% off everything but the following:

18mm hardware & reloads, 18mm & 24mm single use D10W's and D21T's, E15W's and E30T's.

These items are now longer discounted to dealers.

This sale does include 24mm through 98mm hardware.

kenallen@performancehobbies.com

(202)723-8257

 UPDATE on Field Conditions 11/15: I was out at the farm today to collect all the HP heads to clean them up and I was very pleased to see that almost everything has been cleared. There was just a small patch of about 1/3 of the north west field left of the soy beans, and all the rest has been harvested. Looks like we'll be good for the 22nd.   (dr)

November Launch Update - New Date 11/22 & 11/23

After speaking with Kip, he indicated that he will start removing the beans from the field this week. Since we have to give him the time he needs we have decided to push the launch back one week to November 22nd & 23rd.

I will update you more as we get closer. 

Hey all, Doc here, just an update... we got a note that Ken Allen's dad passed away Friday. He'll be headded to DC for the weekend to deal with family stuff and will be at the launch in VA on the 22nd/23rd, so it's likely we won't see him till December. Give a thought to him and his family. 

Rodney Earp has offered to try and bring stuff from Ken to our launch on the 22nd if you can get up with Ken by Wednesday. You can email him from his performancehobbies.com website. 

dr

Farm Update

Getting closer to returning to the farm and starting the 2014-15 season. The frost will help start the drying cycle for the beans, which have to be removed before we can return. Ralph will be talking with KIP, and I will be at the farm tomorrow morning to get the rails cleaned. So I'll provide an update tomorrow. 

We might have to push the launch back to the weekend of 11/22 & 11/23 like we've done the last couple of years. 

Stay tuned for more updates!

John

Fall/Winter Season Pre-Launch announcement...

Yay!! Crop season is almost over and hopefully we can get some good flying weekends in. 

Yes! It's about time.. my withdrawal symptoms from the lack of rocket exhaust is getting pretty gruesome and I expect that I'm not alone!

Next scheduled weekend on our every third weekend of the month routine is:

When : Sat and Sun, 15 – 16 November.

Where :   The Williams Farm. See Web Site for directions if you are new.

Set Up :   Volunteers show up at 0900/0930 to help setup.

Launch Start :   As soon as set-up is complete.

Launch ends :   Approximately 5:00 - 5:30 PM so we have some light to close up by.

It will be getting darker sooner now.

ALLWAYS, Check the Web Site for any possible last minute changes.

Ken Allen, Performance Hobbies. We will update his attendance possibilities.

Hopefully Rocket Ralph will have his Grill out serving drinks, chili, dog’s and wurst’s.

Remember that this is a working farm and it is the winter season. Dress accordingly, sturdy, warm shoes and suggest you dress in layers so you can take layers off and on as the temperature changes.

When the sun is shining at the farm it is like a solar collector out there with the open field so it can be 10 degrees warmer when the sun is clear than in the city.

Anyone who runs a Grill or Fire-Pit is responsible to have a separate fire extinguishing system of their own on hand at your site.

Rocket Raffles.

We have acquired a number of small, medium and larger Low Power rockets that we will be Raffling off at almost every launch. The funds will go to the club to boost our treasury.

Pictures. WE Want More.

Any pictures you take from any recent or upcoming 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. (Remember to make the appropriate subtitutions... we don't like spam bots!) 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/ LCO = Range Safety Officer to pre-inspect rockets before flights combined with the 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 for info on volunteering.

It’s great for anybody who isn’t flying that day but wants to take part anyway.

And it’s fun to push the little red button.

ROCC Club 2015 Memberships.

Memberships run Jan to Jan with the drive starting in Oct for the new coming year.

On Site : See our Membership Officer Jason Pettler.

For MAIL-INS : See the web site for downloadable membership forms and e-mail address.

Memberships go to the club treasury to cover the NAR and Tripoli Assoc. Fees and Insurance, and also cover the costs of maintaining launch equipment and supplies.

ROCC Rocket Club “T” Shirts.

Any $20 membership includes a colored club T-shirt. (individual prices posted at the launch)   We went through the Grey shirts, the Tye-Dyes and now we have assorted solid color shirts.  Due to last summer’s ill-regular season, any “I.O.U.’s” for “T”’s, See Jason or myself.

Hope to see you on the pads and remember to keep those exhaust nozzles clear.

Roy, ROCC Sec.

Name a Droid!

Here's a cool thing... NASA is trying to name a new space station droid. It looks like a big beach ball that floats around the inside of the ISS... weird, hunh?

Get the full skinny HERE.

Contest ends on October 27th, winner will be announced on November 2nd, and first place is worth a cool grand!

dr

Probably a once in a lifetime opportunity...

It sounds like a dish at your favorite Thai resturant... or maybe a part from your car's front suspension... Comet Sliding Spring is going to make a fly-by of Mars on Sunday, October 19th at about 2:00 pm EDT. 

NASA has been prepping their array of science hardware that's available on and around Mars, and it's a LOT, by figuring out where the fragile space crafts will be when the comet comes zipping by the planet on its close approach at a screaming 125,000 mph!

I'm going to try and carry it live on the GOV channel, channel 16 on TWC cable, but it'll also be webcast on NASA TV. 

If you want all the details here's a LINK to the NASA site that has all the information. 

dr

Saturday, September 27 @ 11am - Annual Meeting

I would like to invite everyone out to the farm this Saturday, September 27 @ 11am. This is our annual business meeting that we discuss the upcoming season. Do you have some ideas about events or contests? Do you have ideas or thoughts on any changes or additions to our launch weekends? Come out to the meeting and let’s hear them. Or just come out to see the gang or showoff your latest project.

We will be meeting down by the windsock, so bring a chair. 

See you there,

John

2014-15 Launch Season posted

By Popular demand we're posting our launch schedule for the 2014 - 15 season. As you'll notice the first weekend is in November. We're on the 3rd weekend as usual, and will try to adhere to that unless there's a good reason to deviate. 

We're going ahead and scheduling a New Years Day launch, which has been very popular since we started them a few years back, as well as out April camp out launch. 

More as we get closer to the kick-off. 

dr

Congrats to John Bergsmith on his L3!

I just wanted to offer congratulations to our own John Bergsmith for having a beautiful L3 flight in O'burg Saturday!

I will post the video I have to the ROCC YouTube site the first of the week, but it was essentially flawless. I think he had the traditional sacrifice of a kevlar 'chute protector, just like Guy did...

dr