NC Rocketry

This weekend was a perfect testament to how you really don’t know what the weather is going to be like until you arrive on site, regardless of what the forecast looks like. Friday night’s prediction for the weekend yielded low winds on Saturday, but an 80% chance of showers and considerable cloud cover. While the cloud cover was true, it didn’t rain at all on Saturday and we got in a full day of flying. The sun even showed its face later in the day. Sunday’s forecast was partly cloudy with moderate winds, but it was mostly sunny with very high winds(for rocketry anyway). Below is the motor table summary for this weekend’s events.

We had a very busy day in the certification department on Saturday, which is always the most important part of any launch! Nick Pyrtle made the trip down from Greensboro and brought along a finely finished 3″ Wildman kit. After passing his Level 2 written exam, Nick put up his rocket Cloud Maiden on an Aerotech J-350W for a nominal flight. Abhi Kondagunta was in search of his Level 2 certification as well and he brought along a 2.6″ diameter rocket that he called Uh.. Bee?. He chose a single use Aerotech J-250W for power and Abhi had a textbook dual deploy flight. Mike Pudlo was the third person looking for a Level 2 certification and he would not be disappointed. Mike flew his rocket Wish You Were Here on an Aerotech 38mm J-420R for a perfect flight. J.W. Mason was the last person to go for a certification flight on Saturday. He decided to go on the slightly more extreme side of things with a minimum diameter Loc Precision rocket loaded up with an Aerotech H-242T. After a long walk, J.W. brought his rocket home for a successful Level 1 certification. Congratulations Nick, Ahbi, Mike and J.W.!!!

We had some regulars join us and they were all able to get in one flight, if not more. Matt Willis put his original L3 rocket Space Dragon on an Aerotech L-850W. This was a relatively slow lift-off, but left behind a beautiful column of dense white smoke. He later flew his Punisher 3 on a CTI I-345WT for a nice flight. Mike ‘Two Stage’ Nay did something completely unlike himself on Saturday to the likes of which very few have seen.. He flew a single stage rocket! He called this project Prometheus 3 and put it up on a CTI J-380SS. Mike later fulfilled his duties as ‘Mr. Two Stage’ and flew his very reliable Double Shot rocket on a CTI K-780BS to an Aerotech K-185W which hit 13,000ft and change. Mike clearly has some seriously reliable GPS units in his rockets, and knows how to use them because he always gets every bit of his rockets back.  Joe Hill put up his 3″ Mac Performance rocket that he calls Pink Dog on a CTI K-570C for a nominal flight to just over 11,500ft. It’s always nice having Brent Bierstedt on site because he brings out some of the most beautiful rockets that I’ve ever seen. Brent had three flights – first was a two stage Terrier Black Brant loaded up with an Aerotech H-242T in the booster and a CTI H-133BS in the sustainer. 2nd was his 6″ Bullpup on a AMW K-1075 sparky, and 3rd was a 6″ Black Brant on an Aerotech M-1297W. All of Brent’s flights were perfect and he brought home each individual rocket. Dennis Hill came down to fly with us, and brought along a modern version of his very first model rocket, a Centuri Wac Corporal, which went up on a B6-4. Robbie Kirk and Sebastian Linquist also joined us and kept the range busy with several flights. 

We had two universities on site Saturday, NC State and NC A&T. NC A&T brought their Aggie Comet rocket that we’ve seen fly several times now, which is always a pleasure. They chose an Aerotech L-1520T for propulsion. I love that motor because of how percussive it is, and it’s always cool to hear the sound echo off of the woods behind the flight line. NC A&T had a nominal flight and I’m sure we’ll see Aggie Comet fly again in the future. NC State flew a couple projects – first up was That’s Hot on an Aerotech J-825R and second was Catastrophe on an Aerotech L-850W. I believe there was a slight issue with the recovery of Catastrophe, but nothing serious. I’m sure the students will take that project back to the lab and have it fixed up in no-time.

Sunday morning gave us constant 18mph winds, and it only got worse as the day went on. That didn’t keep a few hardcore rocketeers from flying though! Mark Peot brought out two rockets and despite the high winds, flew anyway. The first rocket he put up was called Cheerwine and it flew on an Aerotech DMS J-435SW, and the second was his Lydia, the Rocket on an Aerotech DMS K-535W. Paul Kraemer flew his Downscale Ultimate on a central G-145BS with three Aerotech E-30Ts, all lit on the ground. He later flew his No Name II on a CTI I-255RL. Robbie Kirk returned to the field on Sunday and put up a few rockets as well.

Duke University brought out a 5″ diameter carbon fiber rocket that they rolled themselves and planned to fly it on a CTI N-1800W. This was to be a test flight for their Space Port attempt which was expected to see 30,000ft AGL. Unfortunately, there was a forward closure issue with the N-1800, and the motor CATOed almost immediately. The Duke team is very resilient, and I’m sure they’ll have another project ready for Space Port.

For those of you who have ever helped set up or break down launch equipment, you’re no stranger to the cumbersome hand cart in the trailer that was built in the late Cretaceous period, about 70 million years ago. High power rocketry and Tripoli East NC was in its infancy when we used that cart.. I have finally disposed of it, and it no longer plagues the people who volunteer their time with range set up. May it rest in pea’ – just kidding, I couldn’t be more happy to have that thing out of the trailer.

We have one more launch of the 2021/2022 season next weekend, and I hope to see you all out on the field.

Joe Hill

Prefect, Tripoli East NC

              Those of you who elected NOT to come to Bayboro this weekend should congratulate yourselves for prudence and good judgement.   The wind forecast was extremely horrible, and that was exactly how it turned out.  Only the desperate and the incautious made the trip to Pamlico county to expose themselves to that kind of hardship.   The forecast I saw on Friday had the winds on Sunday slightly lower and the temperatures slightly lower, but the wind velocity was reversed, and the temp?s on Sunday were A LOT lower.

              However, some people actually flew rockets, and I don?t remember any rocket that did not (eventually) come home.  Everybody got some good exercise making long walks.  Here?s the motor use summary:

              We had one certification flight this weekend.  On Sunday, Greg Hanson came in from the Charlotte area to attempt a NAR Level 3 certification flight with his V3 on a CTI M1400.   The rocket performed flawlessly.  After a flight to 8800 feet, the rocket descended with a reefed 3? drogue chute to 800? and put out the main.   The rocket landed less than a mile away, but it was dragged by the main chute through that gap between the woodlot due east of our launch location and Jason Rice?s farm almost to the tree line this side of the on Bay Road.   The recovery team was gone about 1 hour, 45 min.

              The most active flyers on Saturday were Matt Willis and his daughter Morgan and Mike Nay.  [I cannot list the flights in the order they occurred, because on Sunday the clipboard holding the cards was blown off the table and flung the cards into the wind.   A team of alert sprinters went after them, and I think we got them all back, but if your flight has been left out, blame the wind.]  Matt flew the Peppa-Loc IV on the Aerotech H550ST, the Baby Space Dragon on the L1000W load, and Morgan flew the playfully painted Ferbilicious (also my favorite rocket name of the weekend) on an Aerotech K695R.  The Baby Space Dragon led Matt and his son Henry on a merry chase way out due east of the site on past that irrigation sprinkler you can see in the distance with some good binoculars.  They were gone for a full 2 hours.  Mike Nay flew the Wildman Demon on an Aerotech H128W, and the Tree Hugger {world?s densest rocket} on another AT H550ST.   All of these were fascinating flights.

              All the above participants we would classify as ?incautious? (along with Alan Whitmore and Jim Livingston) but our academic teams could only be called ?desperate?.  NASA has an April 4 deadline for qualifying flights to participate in the Student Launch Initiative at Huntsville, AL in late April.  The NC State University High Power Rocketry club made two fine flights on Saturday.  They qualified this year?s rocket ? Catastrophe ? with the help of an Aerotech L850W, and for some extra practice, flew last year?s rocket ? Dream Crusher ? on an L 1390G.   The Dream Crusher was built for last year?s competition, but did not fly because of complications of the CoViD-19 pandemic   (fever, severe cough, loss of taste and smell, etc.).

              Those members who have been with us a few years will fondly remember Tommy Harrell?s daughter Natalie, who had flown with us for years, going back to the Whitakers days.  She often baked cookies the night before, and brought them to the launches to delight us all.   Then she phased out for a while to go to college, get a job, get married and have a baby (a little boy named Brennan, I think). And we didn?t see her for a while.  She and Tommy and little Brennan came on Saturday with a huge pile of cookies.  It is a delight to see you again, Natalie!

????????????? New members are always a good sign for any rocket club, and this weekend we welcomed Ian Edgerly, a NAR member.?? Ian flew his Estes Ascender, twice, on the Estes F15 to check out the operation of the Jolly Logic parachute release device.? He must have read the instruction manual, because it worked perfectly for him both times.

              The other desperate academic team hailed from Victory Christian Center School in Charlotte, a secondary school team trying to qualify for the SLI competition.  They struggled through more adversity than I have space to list, and finally got off a flight of their rocket Faith late Sunday afternoon.  The flight was uneventful and was recovered in perfect shape as the sun ?set slowly in the west?.  Congratulations and we?ll see you in Huntsville!

              Why is Alan writing the launch report again? I hear you ask.   The event is past and I can finally let the cat out of the bag.   Saturday was Dennis Hill?s 70^th birthday, and all of his kids, including our prefect, Joe Hill, wanted to throw a surprise party for him, so Joe asked me to run this launch for him. When you see Dennis again at a future launch, be sure to wish him a happy birthday and congratulations for finally reaching actual ?adulthood?.

Alan Whitmore

Old guy

This weekend’s weather was rather brutal for rocketry, but the die-hard Bayboro rocketry enthusiasts showed up and made the best of it. While the temperatures weren’t the coldest we’ve experienced, the consistent 15mph winds made the ‘feels like’ temperature much lower and exceptionally difficult to stay comfortable. We didn’t even bother with trying to fly anything on Sunday as there was a 100% chance of rain, and the temperatures were hovering in the low 40s. Here is the motor table summary from Saturday’s events.

As always, certifications are the most important part of any launch. John Lindquist joined us on Saturday and flew his Loc Precision 4″ Hyperloc 835 on a Cesaroni I-216CL with an 11 second delay for a Level 1 certification attempt with Tripoli. John’s rocket was equipped with the Jolly Logic Chute Release and had a picture perfect flight. Congratulations John, and welcome to high power!! Tommy and Alan Harrell were on site with their?Black Leader rocket, which flew twice – the first flight was on a CTI G-57CL and the second was on a CTI G-126WT.? Mark Peot made the trek down and flew two rockets, both of which were perfect. First was his rocket named Lydia the Rocket on an Aerotech J-540R, and the second was his Orion rocket on an Aerotech J-540DM sparky motor. We’re beginning to see Sebastian Lindquist at launches more and more often, and this time he brought along a rocket named 2″ Airmail X1 which flew on a CTI H-295SS for a nice, fast flight.

Most of the regulars made the trip down to Bayboro despite the weather conditions and flew at least one project, if not two. Mike ‘two stage’ Nay(I just made that up) flew his Double Shot two stage rocket on a CTI J-357BS to an Aerotech J-180T for a wonderful flight. Blue motors in overcast conditions are always cool because you can really see the violet-blue flame against the clouds. Mike later flew his Estes Sahara on the classic Aerotech G-80T. On the topic of two stage rockets, Joe Hill put up his Terrier-Sandhawk two stage rocket on the highly regressive Loki I-405W to an Aerotech H-112J for a nominal flight. He also flew his Motorholder rocket on a central H-210R with two Enerjet G-74W outboard motors. Brent Bierstedt brought out his beautifully finished Honest John which flew on an Aerotech G-64W. Dennis Hill had 3 flights on Saturday. First up was a tribute to his favorite band, Cheap Trick. This rocket is outfitted in black and white paint (Cheap Trick’s signature colors), and has some really cool Cheap Trick decals on it. He flew it on a Loki I-377CT for a perfect flight. He later flew his Wac-Corporal rocket on an Estes B6-4, and one of David Rushing’s old Big Bertha rockets on an Estes C6-5. Kurt Hesse got the research flights going and flew his 54mm diameter Shape Shifter on a 3-grain 38mm H motor filled with Everclear propellant. Alan Whitmore followed Kurt’s flight with a research 2 grain 54mm J motor in his Astro-Mollusk 6 rocket.

We had two universities join us this weekend – UNC Charlotte, and NC A&T out of the Greensboro area. UNC Charlotte flew their project Draco on an Aerotech L-1390G for a nice, loud flight. The green flame really popped against the cloudy sky, beautiful!! They had their scientific payload tethered to their payload section, which would take images upon descent. I believe one of the sections had the main deploy at apogee, but they got the whole project back unscathed. NC A&T flew their Aggie Comet rocket on an Aerotech L-1520T, which turned in a perfect flight. A quick shout out to NC A&T’s rocketry team/department – I get so excited every time they join us because they have come so far, so quick and do a great job every time they fly something. They’re working exceptionally hard, and it shows. Love to see it! 

Even though the weather was rough this past weekend, it was still nice to see everyone nonetheless. Join us at the end of March for the next launch if you can.

Joe Hill

Prefect,Tripoli East NC