James Hollister was first off the pads with an Estes Sizzler on a C6 motor. Unfortunately the rocket suffered a separation. A little bit later in the day, he flew his Maniac on an RMS D13. This time the motor ejected during deployment. Several of us combed through the area searching for his casing but to no avail. Believe it or not, someone found the casing toward the end of the day much to the relief of James. Unfortunately, I don't remember who the Samaritan was.
We saw some of the first flights of the new Estes Dark Star motors. Or should I say North Coast Rocketry. Same difference now. Bill Hrach flew his scratch built Rockwell on an F62 for a great flight. He came back with his Launch Pad Hawk that flew on and Aerotech F24. The delay was slightly too long however. James Hollister came back with a Cheetah powered by an RMS E11. The ignitor leads failed to release from the rocket and it never did really leave the pad.
Kevin Souers came out with an Aerotech Initiator flying on an E16 motor. It was his first RMS flight and was not disappointed. It put in a great flight with successful recovery. Chris Gillham put up his Der V-3 on an Aerotech F39 for a very smooth and powerful flight.
Steve Mizerany was back with his finely crafted, scratch built X-15. Even unfinished, this is a beautiful sight to behold. It flew three times, first on a D12 for a perfect flight and glide. Later in the day it flew again on a D12 for another nice flight. Its final flight was on an E15 that James Hollister was good enough to donate. Unfortunately, it failed to eject the power pod and swooped in incredibly fast. it was by me before I knew it was coming. It landed a bit hard and suffered damage to the belly and I believe a wing. I hope Steve is able to repair it as I'd love to see it fly again.
Is it true? Could it be possible? Bruce Weidner actually flew a rocket? Hard to believe, but he pulled his Ugly Space Junk out of his car for a good flight on an Estes D12. Comments on the flight card include "...maybe last time Bruce flies until the year 2000." I didn't think you actually brought rockets to the launches, Bruce.
Steve Mizerany also flew several other rockets including his Oddball. But it wasn't to be as a strong gust of wind took the rocket just as it was leaving the rod and pretty much destroyed it. You'll have to build another one of those, Steve. I remember the first time I saw it, I made it a heads up on the far pads and started taking bets on whether it would even fly. Sorry I ever doubted it. Chris Gillham flew an Impulse on 2 D12 motors, but suffered a cato of one of the motors. Bill Hrach followed with his scratch built Ranger on an E18 for an extremely loud flight.
Aaron Edwards joined me in a little 3-motor clustering. I flew my Broadsword on D12s twice while he flew his Big Bertha on A8s then C6s. We also had two motor clusters from Bill Hrach with an Estes Optima, Steve Mizerany with his Changeling, and Chris Gillham with his ill fated Impulse. We also saw two stagers from Chris Gillham with an Estes Missile and his interesting Glass Roc that sustained significant damage when it came in ballistic, Kevin Sours with his Astron Delta and Apogee which had a horizontal second stage, and Bob Schapp's Estes X-Ray.
There were many other good flights and a few bad ones to round out the day. Most used motors were of course Estes D12s followed closely by C motors. Total impulse for the day came close to 1500, into the K range. Don't forget to stock up on those motors and see you at the next launch.