Launch Report, Whitakers, April 26-27, 2003

            The peaceful pasture-land of Whitakers, N.C, had not been disturbed by the thunder of high-power rocketry since December 15, 2002, and the weekend began under the same rainy conditions that had washed out the first 4 scheduled events of 2003, but the skies cleared on Saturday morning and by noon we were flying again!    Rain once again shortened the day when a thunderstorm came up around 2:30 Saturday afternoon, but Sunday was absolutely gorgeous:  clear skies, warm temperatures, and calm winds over a mostly dry field of bright yellow buttercups.   We were finally back in the pasture flying rockets with good friends, old and new, and it was good to be alive!

            It was clear that the creative imagination and rocket-building skill of our members had not been inactive during our long, soggy down-time.  A series of beautiful, clever and innovative rockets appeared at the RSO table and the flights occurred with a surprisingly high rate of successful recovery.  Congratulations to all who attended for putting on a very exciting show.  Here is the motor use summary:

            A note about motor classifications:  In the past I have classified clusters and staged flights with the classification of the largest motor used.  In this report I have changed this practice to adding up the total impulse of all the motors in the rocket and reporting complex rockets under total impulse.  For example, Dave Morey debuted a fascinating new rocket that clustered a central 38mm H motor surrounded by 6 E9’s that were air-started for a lightning fast liftoff followed by a long smoky burn up to a terrific altitude.  This flight is counted under the “I” motors flown on Sunday.

            The important stuff!  There were 3 certification flights.  Gordon Agnello flew a scratch-built ‘Nike Smoke’ on an Aerotech H128W for a successful NAR level 1 certification.  Dave Jensen flew his beautifully finished ‘Tethys’ on an H motor that cannot be deciphered from the flight card.  This was another NAR certification and the flight was perfect.  Congratulations to both Gordon and Dave and welcome to high power!

            The absolute high point of any high-power launch is a Level 3 certification attempt, and we had a doozy this weekend.  Phil Gerringer brought an upscale Little Nuke that was 11’ long, 7.5” in diameter, and weighed about 43 lbs.  It was impeccably constructed and beautifully finished in that green/bronze paint that looks different from every viewing angle.  Phil chose the AMW M1850GG for this flight, which was a perfect load for the maiden flight.   He caught the corner of a stray cloud on the way up, but it soon floated back into sight perfectly deployed with the main chute still in place.   The main popped out right on schedule and unfolded without drama.  A perfect flight and the rocket was recovered in perfect shape.  This was an exemplary flight in every way.  The construction was well thought out and extremely robust.   The L3 paperwork was precise, detailed, and clear.  During the protracted rocket prep period (started on Saturday, rained out, tossed in the car, brought out on Sunday and finished up) Phil was cool, calm, collected and in good humor, even during the launch equipment failure [sorry, Phil].  All of you younger flyers with aspirations to move up to level 2 and 3 certification could benefit enormously by dropping by to visit Phil Gerringer at a future launch, and watch the way he does things.

            There were more exciting and challenging flights and overall efforts than I can recall, even with the flight cards in front of me, but here are a few of the memories that stick with me:

            Jim Flis showed up with a fabulous variety of small rocket kits that he is selling.  These are delightful new designs with a fine sense of style and humor.

            Joe Hill was a man on a mission.  He wanted to fly his ‘Baby Bertha’ as many times as possible on one weekend.   The rain interruption on Saturday probably prevented him from setting a record, but he managed to put the hard-working Bertha up 7 times on Saturday and 6 times on Sunday for a total of 13 flights.  If that weren’t enough, Joe collaborated with Dennis Hill for a flight of his ‘Black Brant” on a H180W on Sunday.

            Dick Stafford had a great Sunday, with several successful flights, but Saturday was a day he would probably like to forget.  In the most entertaining rocket fiasco I have witnessed in more than a year, Dick attempted to fly his ‘Stormbringer’ on a cluster of 4 E9’s and 4 D12’s, all starting simultaneously.  I don’t know exactly what went wrong, but the rocket caught fire and was thoroughly barbecued by the time it left the rod, laid over on its side and gently crashed while it burned to a crisp.  Ouch!

            On Sunday, the Team America Rocketry Challenge team from Jordan High School in Durham joined us for some practice flights for the upcoming national finals.  The object of this competition is to fly 2 fresh eggs to as close to 1500 feet altitude as you can get them and to recover them intact.  This group of young men and women had already won the local qualifying competition and were doing some practice flights for the finals.  They made 2 very successful flights, bracketing the target altitude and bringing the eggs back safe, but on the last flight of the day, something went wrong with the deployment on the second stage and the sustainer section came in hard.   I would not worry, though, this is a very focused and determined group of youngsters, and they will regroup and rebuild and represent North Carolina very effectively in the finals.

            Ken Parker brought back the ‘Multiplex Combat Jet” for some R/C glider action.  He made 2 very successful and entertaining flights that ended in flawless landings.  I think his son was doing the flying on the recovery phase of these flights, and I am sorry I didn’t get his name.  Can anybody help me out with that?

            By far the most creative and beautifully finished rocket on the field this weekend (in my opinion) was the ‘Sky Dart’ from Paul Hoetjes.  This rocket was an almost perfect upscale of a competition dart.   Every aspect of this project was breathtaking:  the sharp point, the detailed knurling of the bronze grip, the minimum diameter 38mm shaft, and the perfectly detailed fins.  This is one sharp rocket!  Paul used an H123W for the first flight which was ruler straight, but there was a small problem with recovery, and the 2 parts didn’t exactly come down together.  However, the rocket was so strong that a momentary burial in the mud did not harm it at all.

            Frank Terhaar-Yonkers brought out a new ‘monocopter’ design that he flew on a D11.  It is not easy to get the balance right on these designs, but Frank got it on the nose, a good flight with lots of noise and smoke.

            Finally, I have 2 propellant observations:  Cesaroni has a new black smoky propellant that is a very different formula from the old Aerotech “Black Jack”.  The new Cesaroni black smoke formula is very hot and very fast.  The other new propellant that I observed this weekend is the Super Tiger formula from Animal Motor Works.  Carl Tulanko flew his big AMRAAM on an M3000 from AMW that used the new propellant in a 3” 7600 Newton.second casing.  This is a serious, fast-burning propellant, a lot of flame and a lot of noise, it dug a big hole in the ground.  I am very impressed with the Super Tiger formula – it is as good as some of the nastiest stuff I have mixed up in my basement, the most sincere complement I can give. 

            Alan Whitmore