Friday, January 1, 2010 at 9:19AM Just a heads up we are in discussions now about the field conditions and Wind forecast for this weekend's launch. Please keep checking back as we may be making changes to this weekend's launch. Thanks, Ralph
News Tuesday, December 29, 2009 at 5:51PM Make Up Launch Saturday the 2nd looks cold with a small chance of Rain and Sunday the 3rd looks warmer and dry. So the ROCC-N-Christmas was a bust but let's hope we can ROCC in the New Year with a bang! I'm not clear yet if I can make it but plenty of other Club officers are available so as far as I can tell we are go for liftoff on Saturday. I'm not clear what effect this will have (if any) on our normally scheduled launch later in the month. January 2010 - Golf Ball Loft - LPR Competition December's competition was postponed allegedly due to weather but we all know it was to allow contestants more time to tinker with their evil designs and perfect their diabolical rockets. The complete discussion is located here. The basic idea is a fun reinvention of bowling ball lofting with LPR rockets and golf balls. Key aspects: B motor, Must keep the ball on the field - no off field recovery, ball can recover by itself - only the ball is timed, "booster" must recover safely but need not be on field or returned, ball must stay with the booster even if turned upside down until the rocket is launched. Certify and FLY Remember that APCP is no longer regulated as an explosive so you are free to certify and fly up to your certification level with only minimal regulations (FAA, DOT, etc.). Remember that our field does not support motors over K. Performance Hobbies ? I have not yet talked to Ken Allen so I'm not sure if he will be on site or not. I will update when I hear from him either way. You can also contact Ken and verify he is or isn't going to be on site with whatever you are looking for. NAR HPR H Eggloft - Postponed. We have not contacted NAR and scheduled this provisional contest. This is something we will discuss and set a date for at the next launch. We need a NAR member to volunteer to be Contest Director. Wayne has suggested "H" eggloft which I am comfortable with. See discussion here. Someone will need to step up and be contest director and file for this contest with NAR - any takers? The official (provisional) rules are located here. Thanks Thanks to all who help make this a great club. We have had good participation with setup and tear down and plenty of additional help in other areas. Pat yourselves on the back - you make this club a great place to have fun. Sincerely, Brad Shea ROCC President roccprez@rocketrycarolina.org
News Monday, December 28, 2009 at 5:27PM I just heard about this, happening right before Christmas it seems, on the 21st. Erik Gates, of the Gates Brothers rocketry family team, fell through a skylight while working at his job as an electrician. He apparently fell about 30 feet and died from blunt force trauma. The story is posted here.
News Wednesday, December 23, 2009 at 5:06PM Just for kicks I did a search for Christmas Rocket" and came up with this thread on The Rocketry Forum. It's kinda cute.... Anyway, Happy Holidays, be safe, and to all a healthy and prosperous New Year.
News Tuesday, December 22, 2009 at 3:07AM So the plan is to try and reschedule the ill-fated December launch to January 2nd & 3rd as of now. More in the near future, as we firm it up, but it looks like that's the plan. Keep an eye peeled here and on ROCC's Rocketry Planet blog. Then we'll have our regular January launch 2 weeks later on the 16th & 17th. So prep your golf balls and load your range boxes... sounds like a busy month! It's kind of a nice way to bring in the new year, don't you think?
News Saturday, December 19, 2009 at 1:38PM Everyone: Update - Saturday Night 6:20PM Rain totals in Charlotte reached at least 1", no Snow or Ice at Williams Farm. Kip said this morning they had a lot, Terry Baucom who live just South of the Farm got a lot as well. He had to dig trenches to drain his driveway. Upon inspection of the grass strip this afternoon at 5:00PM from the gate to the Windsock, it is still very wet, I could feel my tires slipping and sinking while driving and the water pools around your shoes when walking around on the runway. There are also puddles along the righthand side that normally drains well. At this point Sunday is cancelled as well. We expect that that water will freeze tonight the ground will begin thawing Sunday morning and becoming soggy again on top. Driving even on the edges of the runway will create tracks and mess up Kip's Runway. Not good! What Next: We are rescheduling for Jan 2nd and 3rd? Several officers have said this is doable for them. Thanks, Ralph Roberts ROCC/Tripoli Charlotte Prefect
News Tuesday, December 15, 2009 at 1:54PM December 2009 - Golf Ball Loft - LPR Competition Paul Phillips has developed an idea that we tossed around into something workable. The complete discussion is located here. The basic idea is a fun reinvention of bowling ball lofting with LPR rockets and golf balls. The contest is planned for December but if you have time you should bring prototypes to the November launch to test. Key aspects: B motor, Must keep the ball on the field - no off field recovery, ball can recover by itself - only the ball is timed, "booster" must recover safely but need not be on field or returned, ball must stay with the booster even if turned upside down until the rocket is launched. Certify and FLY Remember that APCP is no longer regulated as an explosive so you are free to certify and fly up to your certification level with only minimal regulations (FAA, DOT, etc.). Remember that our field does not support motors over K. Performance Hobbies on Site Ken Allen is expected to be onsite for the launch. If you have any of those special projects planned now's the time to contact Ken and make sure he brings you the goods. January 2010 - NAR HPR H Eggloft Wayne has suggested "H" eggloft which I am comfortable with. See discussion here. Someone will need to step up and be contest director and file for this contest with NAR - any takers? The official (provisional) rules are located here. Thanks Thanks to all who help make this a great club. We have had good participation with setup and tear down and plenty of additional help in other areas. Pat yourselves on the back - you make this club a great place to have fun. Sincerely, Brad Shea ROCC President roccprez@rocketrycarolina.org
News Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 4:07AM This all started with a phone call from Kip.... Apparently, during our November launch, some of our flyers got a bit bored, or curious, or just didn't think about the consequences of their actions, we don't really know. What we do know is that there was some serious vandalism to Kip's property while we were there. It might have been folks that were there to watch and just took the opportunity, it might have been after we left, but on that Sunday there was a call from Kip that was a very serious ultimatum... if anything else happens on our watch we're off his property for good. I'll put Ralph's note that went to the officers group in the "Read More" link with the details of what we know, but PLEASE, if you saw or heard anything about it let one of us know. We've reviewed and revised our Range Safety and Use rules page and there is a link to it on the left pane of this page. Read it and abide by it or we're toast. I can't make it any plainer than that.
News Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 3:54AM I hope everyone had a great time at the Turkey Launch, Well, for a whole heck of a lot of us, it has been way too long since our last launch out at the Williams farm. Saturday the 21st was a great day for flying, and for our first launch since the Farms Crop Season. We had one heck of a large crowd. Just too bad that Sunday couldn�t be counted on. It started a drizzle and light rain by 1:00 in the Charlotte area just when most of the after church fliers would have started showing up. Besides our regular fliers, a Boy Scout group from Troop 91 and Prof Knights collage students, we had a number of fliers we haven�t seen for awhile and newcomers. It was really great to see everyone come out. Read More......
News Monday, November 30, 2009 at 3:15AM December 2009 - Golf Ball Loft - LPR Competition Paul Phillips has developed an idea that we tossed around into something workable. The complete discussion is located on the ROCC Rocketry Planet blog. The basic idea is a fun reinvention of bowling ball lofting with LPR rockets and golf balls. The contest is planned for December. Key aspects: B motor, Must keep the ball on the field - no off field recovery, ball can recover by itself - only the ball is timed, "booster" must recover safely but need not be on field or returned, ball must stay with the booster even if turned upside down until the rocket is launched. "Read More" for the details: January 2010 - NAR HPR Competition - H Eggloft Any interest in running something like this in the near future? Maybe January 2010? The official (provisional) rules are located on the NAR website under HPR sport rules. Wayne has suggested "H" eggloft which I am comfortable with. See discussion on the ROCC blog.
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