Hi everybody.
Well it's been a week since Freedom Launch Weekend in Orangeburg. And I just finished unloading my van. It was well stuffed and I only had the energy to take out only a few things at a time and put back into my overstuffed hobby room as I remade room for it.
Overall, the weekend was pretty good. True, it was damp, wet and a heavy rain moved into the area Saturday about 3:30 making it unflyable for the rest of the day for me. I don't know if anybody got a flight in after the rain cleared after 5:30.
Sunday was sunny and clear, and a bit breezy to windy at first (I myself lost 2 ejection charges to the wind and had go borrow some) but became very tolerable as the day later progressed. Everyone there got in at least a few
flights each. All us level ones had to get them in Sunday as Monday was L-2 and 3.
Monday was almost perfect, just a little breezy. I don't have a flight listing so I only know some of the ones that caught my immediate attention.
Besides getting flight's in of my own we ROCC club members made good showing for the whole weekend. Besides myself, there was:
Ralph Roberts, Doc Russell, Brad Shea, Mark Capaneia (who comes out a lot), Bob Bernatchez, Corky Story, Terry and Melanie Baucom, our old member and Prefect Bob Schonner, Emily Nelson, Mark and Louise Ferrell, Tony and Claudia Stitt, Jim Eddings and family, Tim Durbin and his dad, Mike Scicchitano, David Deason, Doug Knight and Todd Harring.
A pretty good showing.
There were two vendors, Ken Allen of "Performance Hobbies" was there making sales and delivering orders. And a new one to me, Dennis Tinney with "Road Runner Rocketry" from Kingsland GA. (website here, or email), with a lot of good merchandise. His single use engines have molded engine stops so you don't have to tape it in and a wide selection of kits and accessories. What he didn't have he made arrangements to ship. Everything posted at good prices.
There are a lot of story's about the weekend, some of us went out with the SOAR club Sat night for a Mexican dinner, then most of the ROCC group went out to Ruby Tuesday Sunday night.
Monday, Tony and I started out first thing in the morning helping Corky find his Black Brant that drifted into the woods Sunday and while Corky ended up finding that, Tony and I just happen to be in the right place in the woods to recover the first HP flight of the morning. The "Wild Thing" came down and landed within a few yards of Corky's backpack and climbing gear in a tiny clearing, and we freed the "Wild Thing" with a couple of tugs. Marks "Carolina Nike", I think, was the second flight for Monday, we heard it go up as we packed up the "Wild Thing" and Mark spent the rest of the day getting it back from a different set of trees. He did get a standing ovation upon his return.
There were a lot of great flights, Corky's "Wac Corporal" two stage flew a flawless flight, but did require a search to bring it back. Saturday a guy flew a GIANT 1930 style Buck Rogers style space ship on a skidmore engine that was just a picture perfect recreation of the old black and white Sat morning sci-fi tv shows. It was rigged to return in one piece horizontal with the chute deployed from the crew cabin. But it looked so cool cause the residual gasses kept a burning flame coming out of the exhaust all the way to landing.
There were a few "Instantaneous Decompositions" also of course, no injuries, safety was stressed at all times. But lots and lots of great flights.
I do plan to go back next year.
Hope to see you in October, our first chance to get back out to the farm and fly.
Take Care.
Roy, ROCC Sec.
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Sunday, October 7, 2007 at 6:48AM