You will recall that I complained last month about the lack of kids at the June launch.? This month was an entirely different story.? A cub-scout group from North Raleigh came by with a pile of rockets they had built, and kept us and their adult supervisors extremely busy.??? Here is the motor use summary:
| Size | Number |
| A | 11 |
| B | 9 |
| C | 12 |
| F | 2 |
| G | 1 |
| Total | 35 |
The heat was a major factor.? Temperature in the upper 90?s and a heat index of 113 degrees.?? Even life-long Southerners like myself were wilting by mid-afternoon.?? Just watching the kids run across the field was exhausting.? I didn?t bring any rockets, but the heat was so oppressive that I probably wouldn?t have flown anything.
The cub scout group (pack? den? troop?? What is the proper collective noun for a group of cub scouts?) consisted of Aidan Quinn, Ben Teele, Reed Sexton, Conlan Lewis, Ethan Braun, Dempsey Lewis, and Brenner Lewis.? They were flying A?s, B?s and C?s non-stop from the moment the range opened until early afternoon.? I noticed a few broken fins and similar small problems, but everybody found their rockets and took them home.? I would call that a great success!
Emme and Joseph Moore were flying their matched Thingamajigs on motors in the A to C range also.? The kids are about the same size, and I wonder if they might be twins.
Ed Withers was flying rockets of all sizes, everything from his Viper on an A3-4T all the way up to the day?s heavyweight, the Red Max on a G76G.? The only flight that Ed attempted that was not perfect was a staging attempt with a venerable Centuri kit with no name.? The booster failed to light the sustainer, which came in ballistic on the asphalt.? Ouch.
Mike Nay is getting into clusters, air starts and staging, and so this weekend he got started with a rocket called Double Trouble which consisted of a main E12-4 and two D12-0?s in detachable side-pods that would come down under their own parachutes.? This one almost worked right ? only one of the side-pods lit up, and the rocket was not stable and did some sky-writing before crashing.? Only slight damage.
Jimmy Blackley brought out an elderly Apogee kit called the Esprite which flew fine on a C11-7.
Lorenzo Shaikewitz is participating in the TARC program this year with a team from Jordan High School in Durham.? He flew his team’s rocket, which has yet to acquire a name or a paint job, on an F39J-7.?? The flight was straight and stable, but significantly short of the contest goal.? More motor is needed for this particular application.
Everybody had a good time, and nobody needed first aid for heat stroke; a great summer launch.
Alan Whitmore
Prefect, Tripoli East NC
