Dec. 8, 2001 Launch Report

by Michael Ludwig

Adjacent to the new pond in Elsberry, where hunters will soon shoot ducks, is the launch field where, especially during the winter months, the St. Louis Rocketry Association shoots craps with the weather.  And that is just exactly what happened on Saturday, December 8^th.  We won some and we lost some.  Considering fickle Missouri weather and the time of year, an optimist would call it a draw.

The forecast had called for a rather raw day with temperatures in the lower 40s and winds in the upper teens.  Setup was carried out with a great deal of faith as the overcast didn’t promise much of a ceiling for the high-flyers.  But soon the gloom cleared out, the sun could actually be seen where it was supposed to be and the threat of wind was proving to have been somewhat of a bluff.  So, after the greater part of the morning came to an end, it was The Weather 1 and the SLRA 1.

Little did John Buckley know, but the day’s inaugural launch, his C Rocket Glider, was taking advantage of relatively calm conditions and yet it still came to settle down in a foreign field on a spot about 100 yards past the road running some distance south of our field.  The flight card attests the loss of the glider, but I believe that it was later found.  Alex Chapie knew how to solve the drift problem as his Banshee, the first of three flights, descended without a visible chute.  Next Claude Paquin’s 1/4 A powered Quark left the pad with a bang—literally, according to the flight card.  Too much power, I suppose.  Luckily, Tom McAtee’s Moon Dog survived the previous mighty explosion next pad over  to get high enough to join the Parachute Problems Club with what is described on the flight card as a “frozen chute.”  I can’t believe it was still that cold by 10:49 AM.  The next victim was Claude Paquin’s Autozone  Special, the flying oil funnel, this time employing an Aerotech E30 power unit and ejecting its motor mount.  And finally an uneventful return of Alex Chapie’s Banshee concluded the string of one successful flight leading immediately to the first high-powered launch (and landing) of the day: Mike Walsh, slash Mike Walsh Jr.’s Ego Trip. 

I will have to reconstruct this flight as it occurred shortly before I arrived at the field.  From what I understand from legend and later saw for myself, it will be a lot easier to reconstruct the story than the rocket.  Still terrified witnesses related the tale to me during various times of the day with wide-eyed descriptions and explanatory theories, thus helping me to tell the story as best I can.  And here it is.  The Ego Trip shot violently from the pad on an Aerotech I435 at 11:23, reached the first half of its parabolic destiny shortly thereafter and then decided to remain completely intact and beautifully aerodynamic for the remainder of its arched flight  into the netherworld.  As the appropriately named rocket met its earthen nemesis it gave a mighty percussive grunt, deposited its nose cone deep in the mud and dispersed its airframe into myriad shredded reminders of the importance of an effective recovery device.  Some folks claim to have seen a substantial exodus of smoke from the rear of the rocket at apogee, giving evidence that the ejection charge did indeed ignite.  Others report having heard the charge fire.  But, whatever happened, it wasn’t enough to effect separation.  The best thing that could result from such a catastrophe would be to figure out what went wrong and apply corrective measures in the future.  But for now, we’ll settle for the makings of a swell story.

High-power flight number two honors went to new member and recent level 1 recipient Joe Towers with his D-Region Tomahawk flown on an Aerotech H123W for what I suppose was a fine flight since he flew it again later in the day.  Next came Don Hanson with an Aerotech Barracuda, an Econojet F23 in the tail end sounding a verse of the ongoing mishap litany.  This time it was a nose cone separation.  And then, evidently, with this rocket still lying in the field he immediately sent up his Initiator with an Econojet G38-4.

Skipping ahead a little and past a few flight cards we come to Michael Bollinger and his Rogue Aerospace Tse Tse.  It’s basically, if I remember correctly, a tiny affair not unlike and Estes Mosquito, but this one flies on a D12.  The comment at the bottom of the page says “high and good-bye.”  More fodder for the plows in the spring, I fear.  Oh well, they’re cheap.

And speaking of things to be plowed under.  Justin Char flew his payload rocket made of “Estes parts” a little later containing two soybeans as passengers.  The nose cone popped off unexpectedly at ejection and deposited the beans in the field   I wonder if the farmer who works the field is getting any planting ideas from watching the launches?

The next flight meriting special mention was Claude Paquin’s–ah, leave it to Claude–Claude Paquin’s Estes Mini Mars Lander (flying?) on an Aerotech F23.  Yes, I said F23!  Now, if you were not there, I know what your thinking and, if you were there, I know what you were thinking before the flight.  However, I will keep this knowledge confidential so as not to hurt Claude’s feelings, but I assure you you’re wrong or were wrong.  The flight, startlingly instantaneous from ground to apogee, was bizarrely graceful with the additional beauty of a fully successful recovery via streamer.  Amazing!  And can you believe it was a “heads up” flight?

High-power flight number three was a PML Tethys flown by Michael Bollinger on and Aerotech H123, followed by Scott Kormeier with a scratch built rocket he calls Dart Blue.

Another notable launch was by Rob Chapie, one of the club’s proponents of hybrid motors, sending his LOC EZI-65 aloft by virtue of a HyperTek K240.  This motor, producing the highest output of the day, was indeed impressive as HyperTeks tend to be, with a sound you hear and feel in a singular way.  What I liked particularly with this flight was being able to peer into the working end of the beast as it roared to its zenith and see the fiery glow of the exhaust which seemed to go on and on.  It resembled what one might see when following a liquid fueled rocket as its continues upward out of sight.  Beautiful flight, Rob.  I can’t wait until you or someone else flies an L or M class hybrid.

Not to be outdone, Larry Mills, who’s rocket exploits are always fun to write about, sent up one of his minimum diameter creations searing the afternoon air with an Aerotech I284.  He named it Glueless.  Why?  Because there was no glue used in construction of the rocket.  By glue, I assume he means any type of adhesive.  Fastenating.  Sorry, I just couldn’t avoid saying it.

The preceding took us through flight 23 of 44.  Since I have touched on only half the flights and since it would help to keep this report short enough to read in less time than it took for the launch, I had better start compacting my comments.

About sixty-six percent of the flights of the day were model rockets so lets get to a couple of them, starting with Kevin Rusbarsky’s Estes America flying on an Estes B4-4 for a nice flight followed by a LOC Graduator built and flown by Vincent Raley on and Aerotech F22-5.  Up next was a rocket by Dick Jones of Montgomery City with his PLM Patriot on an Aerotech H242.  Dick took his time wrestling with the decision to fly as the strengthening wind had by then become the dominant element of the afternoon. But I guess all went well for him as I later saw him carrying it back in one piece, his shoes all muddy giving evidence of a venture into the fields.

Variation no. 2 of the Walsh father-son teem, Mike senior and Mitchell launched their LOC Hi-Tech H-45 on an Aerotech H180 at about 1:50 PM for a fine flight.  By now the clouds had taken over the sky and with the increasingly blustery wind made for rather uncomfortable conditions.  But we carried on.  Matt Selridge launched his Alpha III on an Estes B6-4, Jack Hollister flew his 200 year old Silver Comet on the venerable ol’ D12-5 and Chad Rogers’ U.S. Rockets Banshee went aloft on and Aerotech G40-7.  Earlier he got my paralyzed attention with the scratch built chuff special called Yellow.  This rocket seems to have a specialty in that it likes to fly horizontally.  Upon ignition, there are a few chuffs enabling it to rise up about two or three feet above the launch rod, pitches to a horizontal position and then streaks parallel to the ground to far away places.  Deja vu redoux.

The final six flights of the day began with Scott Kormeier’s scratch built Stinger II on its maiden flight boosting on an Aerotech H-148.  This was followed by Don Hanson’s PML AMRAAM 4 on and Aerotech I366 and then Vincent Raley’s LOC  Graduator took to the sky on an Aerotech G64-7.  Flight number 41, once again by Scott Kormeier called Venus Project was sent on its way for a fine flight on and Aerotech I211.  Redoubtable Alex Chapie and his indefatigable Banshee burned another Estes A8-3 with success.  And as tradition has it, the Walsh family gathered at the far pads in the waning moments of the launch day to get one more shot at high-power with a rocket christened A War Against Common Sense.  Is there some furtive meaning therein? Earlier this rocket had been slated for a cluster flight, if I got my information right.  However, cutting their losses they settled for a flight using a single Aerotech I435.  All went quite well—and—far away.  We would later see them retrieving it somewhere off on the horizon.  That seems to be a family tradition also.  Finally, the closing shot was fired by an Aerotech I200 residing in the aft end of a LOC EZI-65 built by Don Hanson he calls Star Spangled Smoker.  What are all these cryptic names trying to tell us?

All in all it was a fairly successful launch for the month of December with 44 flights by 22 flyers and one Chad Ring for the shoppers.  There have been better, there have been worse days for launches.  The mud was manageable;  the wind not quite so.  The temperature tolerable;  again, the wind not quite so.  Like I said earlier, having launch dates in the winter is like shooting craps–and rockets:  you win some, you lose some.