We have never scheduled a launch as late as the weekend of December 21-22 before, so I didn?t know exactly what to expect in the way of turnout.? Would everybody stay home and prepare for the Christmas holidays, or would the unexpectedly balmy weather bring out the flyers for one last good flying weekend before the serious winter arrived?
In the end, there was a great turnout on Saturday, 8 registered adults and at least 10 kids, and a total of 62 flights.?? We will look at a small motor use summary and then describe some details.
| Size | No. |
| B | 7 |
| C | 10 |
| D | 4 |
| E | 8 |
| F | 7 |
| G | 7 |
| H | 7 |
| I | 5 |
| J | 2 |
| K | 2 |
| L | 3 |
| Total | 62 |
As before, each flight is classified for the table by total installed impulse, and a great example is Dave Morey?s? flight of his Two-Stage Upscale Arreaux, which boosted on the very stout Aerotech J820T and then the sustainer took off on an I59NW for a very long flight to about 6774?.? The total of the two motors added up to impulse in the K range, so this flight is classified as a ?K?.
There we two different occasions on Saturday in which people found rocketry-related devices in a most unlikely fashion.? Steve Polk (I think it was he) found one of those tiny little barometric altimeters that the TARC teams use, while walking back from recovering a rocket.? On another occasion, Tanner and Jannell Lovelace arrived with rocket and reload, but had neglected to pack a case for a small Cesaroni F motor, the F36, if I recall correctly.? They asked around the flight line, and Mike Collier had one that he was willing to loan them.? The flight was a success, and while walking back from that recovery, they found an identical casing lying on the ground.? As it turns out, that casing was lost several months ago by Mike Collier (!!) who had since then purchased another one.
It has been a while since we have seen Issaih Harrell, but he was back with his family (father, grandfather Tommy, and Aunt Natalie) and he filled up the C and D range with a variety of flights.? John and Ian Meredith were working on a science fair project about rocket stability, and a few additional projects, so they kept the pads busy with B and C motors and kept the crowd on their feet.
Chuck Hall introduced a new rocket, a Strong Arm kit from Aerotech, which flew beautifully on a F52T.? Theodore Lucas had two flights with his 2-stage Comicon,? that worked very well, and all parts were recovered.? ?Theodore?s older brother CJ was busy most of the day preparing his Knight Rider for a flight with the Aerotech I284W (one of my favorite motors:? back in the Whitakers days, I felt like I was keeping Aerotech and Ken Allen in business flying I284?s).? Something happened to cause a very early ejection.
Homemade motors blended in perfectly with the rest of the flights.? Ray Bryant flew his Orange Crush with a 54mm J motor made from sorbitol and KNO3.? The motor started out fast, but settled into a long ?afterburn? that went on for several seconds.? Jim Livingston pulled out his venerable Black Brant and launched it with a 38mm I motor that had been on the shelf for a few years, but worked very well.? Later on, Jim flew the Carbon High on a L1000 made from his white-smoke formula, and which also performed in very satisfactory fashion.? Alan Whitmore used the same propellant formula to push his Generic Four Inch to 5600 feet with a 4-grain 54mm motor.? Later, Alan flew Red Rudy to 7761? on a big 76mm L motor made from CP5.? Unfortunately, the main chute did not come out, and there was considerable damage.? While we were picking up the big pieces and putting them in my truck, Jim Livingston and I found the dirt road covered with bear tracks!!
Dave Morey finished the day off with a flight of his Starfire on an L1390G.? The boost made a terrific noise, and the rocket reached 7199 feet.
A great end to a fine year of rocketry activities.? I wish all of you a very happy New Year, and I hope to see you all at the Bayboro launch on January 18-19, and at the Astronomy Days event at the Museum of Natural Sciences in downtown Raleigh on the weekend of January 25-26.? Also, don?t forget that we are going to try to capitalize on any interest generated at the Museum show to bring people to a low-power launch held at the Butner Beef Cattle Research Facility north of Raleigh on Saturday, February 1, if the weather cooperates.?? Keep in touch and watch this space for further updates.
Alan Whitmore
Prefect, Tripoli East NC
