Launch Report, Spring WELD 2005

A damp cold front and numerous thundershowers passed through North Carolina in the week before WELD and I was a little worried about the condition of the field, but Saturday’s weather took care of that problem. It was windy! Constant 10 to 15 MPH with gusts up to 30 all day long. Mike McBurnett flew his Soliton to 4277’ on an I200, followed by a long walk, and Alan Whitmore attempted to fly his Smooth Green Snake on an old H motor, but it never completely lit and melted the aft end of the motor as it sat on the pad and fizzled.

Most people just prepped rockets and sat around in groups on the lee side of trucks and tried not to get blown out of their chairs, but the wind was dry and the puddles shrank steadily all day long.

Sunday’s weather was unforgettable! Skies remained clear and blue, the temperatures in the high 60’s and the wind speed fell all day long from 8 to 10 MPH in the morning to almost dead calm by 4:00 PM, out of the North all day long.

I am going to expand this report into an Extreme Rocketry launch report article, so if you have good lift-off photos or any other photos or digital graphics from the weekend, send them to me and I’ll pick out the best 6 or 8 to include. Remember that ER has gone to a majority of black and white photos so consider the contrast and clarity of each picture: how well will it take conversion to B and W?

How about a motor use summary:

I do love motor use summaries that start at H and go up from there! Also, when M motors outnumber the H and I flights combined, you know the big dogs have come off the porch. There are only 18 flights left, so I am going to tell you about all of them. I shall address these flight alphabetically by flyer.

David Cox has caught the cluster fever. His first flight was another cluster flight in the 50 pound Juggernaut with 6 38mm Ferric Fudge motors surrounding an Aerotech 54mm K1275 Redline. The rocket screamed off the pad at more than 20G, according to the ARTS unit riding along. Later, David flew his Loc Magnum on a central 54mm made with the brass formula and 2 29mm 8 grain I motors. This rocket made the fastest liftoff I have ever seen this or any other Magnum make, trailing a long lurid blue flame. The central K cato’d less than a second into the flight, causing a lot of damage.

Sterling Edmunds made the trip from Kingsport, Tennessee with his new MMX3, and upscaled Mini-magg. This beautifully finished rocket sported the logo of his company, Intellithought, Inc., who sponsored its construction. The rocket is 11 feet long, 16 ½” in diameter and weighs 220 pounds. Sterling used a 115mm N4000 for the first flight, which was perfect. The rocket settled back on the field under a 24 foot parachute. The Intellithought company is going to have an absolute gem to display in their lobby.

Mike Harris had 3 fine flights on Sunday: Periwinkle’s Pride flew on a APCP J350, while Ignorant of My Destiny flew on a sorbitol K motor and later in the day, another K, this time an Experimental Hypertek hybrid. Mike is definitely not getting into a motor rut.

Paul Hoetjes teamed up with Mike McBurnett to fly his Horizon 54 on a J265 made by McBurnett. The altimeter recorded 5180 feet.

Jim Livingston has a modular 9 ¼” diameter rocket that can be made up to about 50 lbs, 75 lbs or 100 lbs to fly a variety of motors in the L through N range and still stay under the waiver. On Sunday he flew the 9-O-Mite on a 4 grain 76mm L1750 and later launched the Extended 9-O-Mite on a 3 grain 115mm M1870 to an altitude of 5456 feet. Both flights and recoveries were perfect.

Mark Lloyd brought out a brand new rocket (without a name)for WELD: 16 feet long, 12.5” in diameter and about 180 pounds on the pad. He had prepared a 6” diameter O6000 motor for this beast that, unfortunately pushed the rocket out to where the dragon lives. A maxQ airframe failure brought the rocket down in pieces.

Mike McBurnett had 2 fine flights on 54mm motors. His IQSY Tomahawk flew on a K500 to 4193 feet, and the new Ironyx flew on a K400 to 6640 feet.

Dave Muesing flew his Moose on a 3” diameter big K motor made from a KNO3/dextrose recipe. It got off the pad in a lazy fashion and made a slow transition to horizontal, where the magnetic apogee detector popped out the parachute, but there was no damage, apparently there is a reason this rocket is named Moose.

To judge by the launch cards, Ed Rowe and Ben Russell were playing a little one-upsmanship this weekend. They both flew big, heavy rockets [Rowe’s Standard Arm – 65 pounds, and Russell’s Orange 12 – 70 pounds] on M motors, but while Ben’s was rated as an M2400, Ed’s was an M2402. Both flights were perfect, although the Standard Arm required the services of Bird Dog before it could be coaxed out of a tree.

Alan Whitmore had 3 good flights on Sunday. Red Rudy, a 25 pound 5.5” rocket flew to 7045 feet on a 4 grain 76mm L motor. The ARTS reported a Vmax of 950 feet per second (650 MPH) on that flight. The Astro-Mollusc made a successful flight on a 6 grain 38mm I motor. The ancient Transolve P4 still brings the rocket home very reliably, but the reported altitudes have long since left the realm of reality. The Generic Four Inch flew on a 5 grain 54mm K motor to 6673 feet on a very exciting flight.

I need to end this report with yet another nod to John Hamill. The ‘bird dog’ has saved so many people’s rockets that we just can’t count them all. There is no way to estimate the thousands of dollars worth of rocketry equipment that would still be hanging up in the trees around our cow pasture if John did not take an active interest in our activities. After the breakup of Mark Lloyd’s rocket, his parachute was attached to a small fragment of body tube and it seemed to drift forever. John eventually found the chute in a field more than 8 miles from the site! His perseverance and tenacity are almost supernatural, and his knowledge of the surrounding woods and fields are fully as encyclopedic as a boot-legger. He is a unique individual.

Alan Whitmore, Prefect, Tripoli East NC

Standard Arm

M2402  7000' Ride