Launch Report

March 8, 2003

By Don Hanson

 

Great Day For Rockets!

 

Sky was clear to partly cloudy, and for a change there was no air traffic to contend with! The field was fairly dry with only a few mushy areas. The duck pond was even dried out!  Early in the day there were light winds out of the south which gradually shifted to the east. Mid afternoon, the temperature suddenly plummeted as the wind picked up out of the north!  There were 31 flights ranging from Estes models on A thru D motors, Aerotech models on F thru G motors and High Power rockets on H thru I motors.

Marty Beck started out the day with a G33 powered Aerotech Mirage at 11AM, followed by Stephen Hacket flying an Estes Executioner on an F, and a Phantom 4000 on a G40.  Mark McGraw headed up the High Power flyers with his Super Norad on an AT H123, followed by Don Hanson with an H123 in the 4" PML Amraam4.  At 11:30, Marty Beck came back with an Estes Super Big Bertha flying on a D12, followed by Dan Schneider

flying a PML Amraam on a G33, Don Ruis (pronounced "rice") flying an Areotech Arcas on a G33, Stephen Hacket flying an Astrobee D on a G33, and Joshua Hacket flying a PAC III on an F50. At 11:50, Hazelwood West was the first up to the pad from Team America with their 2 stage Wildcat on an F50 booster and an E9 2nd stage.

Larry Mills added to the fun at 12:15 with one of his Fleet of Amraams flying on an H123. A true rocket scientist, He had altimeter deployment AND an on board

Video camera!!  Don Ruis sent up his AT Arreaux a minute later on an F20, followed by his Arcas on a G80. With the winds blowing to the east, and those nice little yellow AT

parachutes with a lot of hang time, Don had to put on his Hiking Boots!!  At 12:40, Don Hanson presented the Veteran EZI-65 flying on an H242, followed by Mark Grant's 2 stager he calls "Irrational Exuberance". The booster was an I300 with an I357 2nd stage.

The next batch consisted of Evan Howe with an Estes flash, Ryan Howe with an Estes Bullpup, Dan Schneider with an Estes Skywinder, Eric Day with an Estes Alpha

and Nathan Peck with an AT Strong Arm on an F64.Mr HIGH POWER, Rob Chapie, dazzled us with his Thoy Phoenix flying on an I161. He had his tracking antenna

and his Hiking Boots at the ready! To round off the day, Dave and John Moreton flew a

Yank Enterprises 1/4 scale Tomahawk on a G64. Then the last batch of low power flyers performed an amazing drag race with 3 Big Berthas (Marty Beck, Evan Howe,

Ryan Howe) and 3 Estes Alphas (Eric, Chrystie, and Danielle Day). All 6 rockets ignited, flew and were recovered successfully! Highlight of the day at 2:05 goes with congratulations to Brian Nessing for his level one certification flight! His Loc Precision Warlok performed flawlessly and dramatically on an I284 withal perfect parachute deployment at apogee. The wind was then coming out of the north, leaving Brian with along walk down past the barn. Welcome to High Power! The last 2 flights of the day were by the other TeamAmerica flyers. At 2:20, Althoff Catholic HS flew their Silver Bullet 2 stager with three C6's in the booster and a D12 2nd stage. And at 3:10, Clayton HS flew their 3 stager with 3 D12's in the booster, a D12 2nd stagehand an E9 3rd stage. There were more flyers ready to go, but the wind picked up and the range was closed for the day. Thanks to all members who helped with the set up, duty shifts, and tear down!