Launch Report, March 27, 2004

    I have let myself get a little behind on writing up the launch reports so I better catch up before I forget it completely. The weather was very good for late March, perfect temperature in the mid fifties to low sixties, with increasing high clouds. The only natural conditions that created any problem at all were the stiffish winds out of the north to northwest. This did not create any serious problem, and the turnout was good, I counted 42 cars, trucks and RV's in the field at one time.
    First let's look at the motor breakdown (I forgot to pick up the flight cards for Experimental Sunday, so I will include that information with the report on WELD, next weekend.)

Motor Stats
1/4A  2
1/2A  -
A       18
B        10
C       39
D       8
E        5
F        7
G       9
H       10
I         3
J        3
K        2
Total 116

    There were 18 high power flights (H and above) which is 15.5% of all flights, somewhat less than usual, but this statistic probably reflects the huge number of kids who came to fly this weekend, and not any lack of interest in high power.
    We had two Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) teams with us this weekend, testing out their rockets and recovery systems and trying to make qualifying flights. The team of Jeff, Ryan, Jackie, and Tyler, from Green Hope High School/Morrisville,NC, brought a project called Economissile that staged 3 D12s to 1 E9, and made 3 good flights.  C. E. Jordan High School also sent a TARC team, who brought a rocket named We Can Sand That, that staged a G64W to an E9. I have flight cards for 2 good flights for this team. Congratulations to both of those teams on jobs well done!
    The REALLY exciting news was the four high power certification flights! This is very good news for the future of high power. In alphabetical order: Jim Buie made a successful NAR L1 flight with his LOC Expediter using an H180W. Joel Chauvot made a fine Tripoli L2 cert flight with his scratch-built Scortch using the Aerotech K550W. Jeff Goldstein attempted L2 in the NAR organization with a flight of his Binder Sentinal using the Aerotech J420R. {I'm sorry I missed that flight, I was deep in the 'Hellish Swamp of Grievous Bodily Harm' assisting in the recovery of Brad Dunagan's beautiful Hawk Mountain Talon III.}. Finally, we had the always-popular husband and wife L1 cert flights. Rose Ray and Jeff Ray both certified Tripoli Level 1, Rose with a rocket called The Rose, and Jeff with his rocket called Ms. Fire (great name!), and both Rays used the Aerotech H128W for these successful flights.
    Mike Harris and Mark Brown both worked very hard on a variety of hybrid rockets with only partial success, but the interest is there and growing, and it seems only a matter of time until the technology becomes significantly more reliable. If you have any interest in hybrid technology, contact one or both of these gentlemen and add your time and effort to the Whitakers hybrid technology.
    As usual, the launch was terminated early because of a local thunderstorm, but 116 flights means that a lot of flyers had a great early-spring launch. Remember that April 24 and 25 is a two-day sport launch. I hope to see you there.

Submitted by Alan Whitmore