Lots of new photos in the gallery... THANKS!

Check out the gallery folks, lots of new photos from the last few months. Thanks to all. I'm still postin' 'em up.

dr

Saturday canceled due to wind

Hey folks. I'm doing this from my phone so bear with we. Saturday we're calling off due to the high winds forecasted but Sunday is a GO. I'll post more when I get to a computer.

OK, Now that I have a real keyboard... Between the rain on Wednesday night, which was a very good amount at the farm, plus the winds forecasted for Saturday, between 20 - 35+ MPH for most of the day, on top of the rain projected for Friday night, it looks like Saturday would be pretty much a bust for flying.

We're GO for Sunday, and Ken is coming to boot, so bring your checkbooks and buy some stuff.

This will be Bob Bernatchie's last weekend with us. For those who haven't heard he's taken a job in Houston, TX. that will take him away from us. (He will have the NASA folks to fly with though!)

So come on out on Sunday and have a great time...

Doc R.

Theme Event

Starting with this weekends launch we will start having a theme event added to every monthly launch. This weekend the theme will be Scale or Fun Scale. So around 2pm on both Saturday, and Sunday we will load up the pads with Scale/Fun Scale rockets only. I will be supplying a prize for the best flight on each day. So everybody bring out your Scale/FunScale rockets!

Every month the theme will change. If you have suggestions for future themes let me know.

Thanks,

John

Next launch... Saturday & Sunday!

Feb 25 – 26  Pre-Launch announcement.

When : Sat and Sun, 25 – 26 February.

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

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

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

Launch ends :   Approximatly around 5:00 PM so we have some light to close up by.

Weather at this time :  Mostly clear and sunny, 30’s in the early morning and mid/upper 50’s in the afternoon.

Check the Web Site for any possible last minute changes.

Ken Allen, Performance Hobbies, is expected to out there both days.

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

Remember that this is a working farm and it is February, so dress accordingly, warm sturdy  shoes and suggest you dress in layers so you can take a layer off when it warms up, and so you can add a layer when it gets cool later on.

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.

We will have the ever popular fire pit out to keep your hands warm just in case.

We 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 taken from this or 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.

 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 little red button.

We are continuing the “BIG BOYS” Rocket Raffle.

Aerotech “Arreaux”,  LOC “NORAD”,  Estes “Executioner”,  FlisKit “NOMAD” 2-stage, and a 4 ft “Long Sword”.

Tickets $1, with a separate ticket box for each rocket you want to draw for.

Two will be drawn at the March launch, the remaining three at the April Camp-out Launch.

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

Roy, ROCC Sec.

January 28th & 29th post-launch report

I was holding on to the January post launch report (we ought to have a catchy name for these things, like the "polrept" or "plarpt"... somebody work on that) until we got through the launch announcements for this weekend, but since we can't fly till next weekend, here's Roy's interpretation of what everyone wrote on their launch slips. (Remember, penmanship counts!) Please click the "Read More" link... Thanks yet again Roy!

Click to read more ...

Launch postponed to 25th & 26th

So the concensus of many an email flying back and forth is that we ARE going to push back to NEXT WEEKEND, the 25th & 26th (which means tomorrow will be a BEAUTIFUL day)!

 So we'll reset the calendar and go for next weekend.

 Addendum, Saturday, 8:15 am: Well, as predicted, today's a gorgeous day, sun shining and sky clear... as of even Friday morning it was supposed to be raining by noon and puppys and kittens were to be falling by the bucket load. Ah, such is the lot of the weather forecaster... I wonder, sometimes, if they still use chicken bones....

dr

Weather this weekend...

I can't think of a way that I can express this better...

First, from Roy...

Hey fellow rocket dudes at the mercy of the weekend weather gods.

 

From what I see on the TV its looking like wind and some kind of level of rain both Sat and Sun.

I know some of you have more accurate info from some weather services, so how's it looking for this weekend?

Should we put out notice of falling back to our back-up weekend?

 

Clouded over Roy.

Next, from Mark & Louise...

Hey, it looks like it's going to rain tomorrow and then likely on the weekend which does not sound good. I am in a neck brace so if there is a launch this weekend we may "pop in" only. We should be prepared to delay it.

Then, from Brad & Ralph...

Great minds think alike.  I spoke with Ken today and confirmed he is available next  weekend in case we have to push three launch out.  And then Ralph and I
Just chatted about this tonight.

We are checking on our waiver - if we don't have it yet then we will push out for sure.  Otherwise we will be watching there weather closely... decision may have to wait until Friday morning.

Now then...

I've spoken to the folks at the FAA in Atlanta and we're set to go on our waiver. I should be able to post that OK. I am looking at the weather like the rest of you and as any of you that have lived here any amount of time know this time of year is very unpredictable.

We will keep looking at the weather and try to make a call by Thursday evening.If we push back it will be to next weekend, the 25th & 26th.

Doc "look to the skies!" Russell

December & January 1st Launch reports

Once again our intrepid secretary, Roy Potter, has sifted through the cryptic scribbles on many a launch slip and come up trumps with not one, but TWO launch reports! These for the December and our New Years Day launches. Click on the "Read More" tag to send it to your monitors... dr

Click to read more ...

Members, please vote...

Members, please go over to the members discussion section and read the slate of officers. Then send an email to rocketrycarolina at gmail dot com with your pick for president. I will tabulate the results and forward it on to the rest of the club. Please try and have this done by the 15th of February.

Sorry the voting form didn't work out, but we can't do that at our level of service with Square Space.

dr

Update for Sunday 1/29

We are still under FAR 101 rules so no certification flights today.

Ralph should be at the site by noon.

Ken is coming today.

dr