Tuesday, July 6, 2010 at 12:56PM I just wanted to reiterate what Roy says in the launch report... tune in to the Science Channel and watch LDRS-29 coverage. They did a great job, it'll be broadcast several more times in the next week, and there's lots of familiar faces! DR
News Thursday, July 1, 2010 at 7:33AM Welcome all Rocket Dudes and Dudettes. MAY � JUNE Launch Report. First thing I want to mention. �LDRS�, Mondays at 9PM on the Science channel. The �Science Channel� on cable is advertising �LDRS�, Mondays at 9PM. I don�t know if it is a limited series or a one-time show, no details were given in the commercial. And no specific LDRS number or location is identified. Maybe it�s a limited series showing what LDRS is and many of the flights at the LDRS events. I�m going to check it out next Monday at 9PM. I want to again thank those who provide us with photos of our launches. If you have any and would like to get them posted on the web site for our embarrassment and your entertainment contact Doc Russell at docr@wireknot.com or jeanr@wireknot.com. Or as some have done, pass it on a disk or flash drive. We can always get it back to you.
News Tuesday, June 22, 2010 at 4:07AM It was hot. HOT I tell you, and well, that may have clouded his mind. First one went to the trees, then one went to the 7' high corn, stayed there over night, then miraculously returned through the efforts of an intrepid explorer armed with cunning and a compass. Later on that fateful second day on the field... another one went to the trees! You'll have to wait for Roy's full launch report for the rest but suffice it to say it was an interesting launch. DR
News Monday, June 21, 2010 at 3:38AM I'm told by Bob that he needs to ship the models for NARAM out to the site at the end of the week. I'm going to meet up with him and drop the ones I have from Roy and myself on Wednesday or Thursday. If you have some ready to go now is the time to get 'em to Bob! DR
News Sunday, June 20, 2010 at 6:35AM FINAL PLAN for June 19th & 20th UPDATE - More favable winds will help this afternoon with recovery in the South fields. Winds will be very light anyway. The Setup will still be toward the back of the runway. Much further than normal. Due to short corn in the very back right field and the way the corn rows are planted it may help with recovery. I would recommend you bring your shade tarp due to the heat and sun. We will fly from 3:00 till 7:00 BOTH days with the hope that winds will die down in late afternoon. We'll set up kind of 90 degrees from the runway into the field to the south to give us some drift space. If you look at the site on Google maps it's easy to see that if we don't get wind from the right direction, that is from the right (north) of the runway we can't recover. Set up will be at 2:00 - 2:30, launching to commence right after set-up. This will be a LOW POWER launch due to the restricted field size. If you come down in the corn on the north side of the runway it's very doubtful you'll see your rocket 'till the FALL! Reef those 'chutes and use streamers everywhere you can. FINAL WEATHER UPDATE:Wind forecasts as of FRIDAY NOON have pushed our favorable wind shift to Monday, which means that winds will be very unfavorable on Saturday, barely tolerable on Sunday. It will be HOTTT!! Bring plenty to drink. Temps will be into the 90's. STAY ALERT to the site for further updates, especially Friday nite.
News Friday, June 4, 2010 at 4:08PM We're still hopeful for a launch window in June, but I need some input. Anyone been out there recently to see just how tall the corn is? I wanted to let you in on a resource and some sighting opportunities for seeing the ISS fly overhead. Follow this LINK to find the next few days ops, as well as into the rest of the month of June. Remember also to go visit the ROCC Store and score some great items with the ROCC logo on them. We've got clocks, bags, hats, and my fave the Journals for all of your flight notes and designs. DR
News Sunday, May 9, 2010 at 7:32AM The May launch was windy but nice with the winds keeping to forecasts almost spot-on. They held out of the south west and west till almost 5, but were a force to be reckoned with all day. Losses were relatively small, with Brad losing track of a small rocket with (I believe) a D30 in it which we had in sight till it went through the clouds, and Bob lost his sidewinder nosecone in the barley fields. We thought Malcolm had lost his new Magnum after a ballistic decent but after about 30 minutes of looking it (well, to be honest, the remains of it) was recovered in the mid-chest-high barley about 40 yards off the far end of the runway. Otherwise it was a light turnout, but I think several folks made Ken's trip worthwhile (I'm lookin' at you, Doug). Last I saw the professor was literally stuffing a very large ammo box with motors. Thanks to all who turned up early so we could get a good flying day in under less than ideal conditions. Looking forward we might be able to get in a June launch at the farm if the wind is back to it's usual direction, the barley being out, and replanted with soybeans and the corn being not TOO tall... stay tuned. DR
News Sunday, May 9, 2010 at 7:31AM Those sharp-eyed among you may have noticed a new link on the left there, the ROCC store. Yes, we have a small selection of ROCC-branded merchandise that is for sale through the website. I tried to stay away from Mark Farrell's product line as much as possible, (turns out he can do bags as well so we might want to think about expanding our offerings that he does for us), but there are things he doesn't do in there as well so go have a look. The club will make a few bucks and you can have a nice reminder of your crazy buddies that chase rockets through the corn fields!
News Friday, May 7, 2010 at 5:47PM May 8th UPDATE AS OF FRIDAY @ 10:00 PM Current Wunderground winds forecast is still for winds from the SSW to W (210 degrees EARLY shifting to 270 degrees) favoring the un-barley'ed side of the field untill about 4 - 5 PM, then shifting from the northwest between 5 and 8 PM. The plan is to set up at 9:00, with flight ops starting at 9:30 or 10:00. We can fly till either 7:00 or until the wind kills us with the barley crop, whichever comes first. The earlier you fly the better your chances it looks like. Ken WILL be on site so BUY STUFF!
News Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 8:05AM Welcome all Rocket Dudes and Dudettes. I want to again thank those who are providing us with photos of our launches. If you have any and would like to get them posted on the web site for our embarrassment and your entertainment contact Doc Russell at docr@wireknot.com or jeanr@wireknot.com. Or as some have done, pass it on a disk or flash drive. We can always get it back to you. Saturday�s weather, temperature wise, was great with clear skies, but it came at the cost of being pretty breezy with occasional gusts pushing the last weather front out. It settled down some in the afternoon like it usually does, but not as much as we were hoping for.
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