Bayboro 11/09 Report

Launch Report, November 21-22, 2009

We had another great weekend at Bayboro for the last launch before Thanksgiving, and the weather cooperated in a big way. Saturday was a little windy, and everybody had to do some walking to recover their rockets, but the summer crops have all been harvested, and the spring grass is still very short, so recovery was easy. The wind was damp, and my fingers were a little numb by late afternoon, but the wind began to die down around 3:00. Sunday was another Bayboro delight! Light clouds were sliding by at a very high altitude, and the sun was out for most of the day. The winds were also fairly light on Sunday. At one point on Saturday, I counted 16 cars on site, so the attendance is getting better. Our efforts to recruit local flyers is beginning to pay off with increasing attendance.

Here is the motor use summary:

Size	Sat	Sun	Total
A	1		1
B	3		3
C	7		7
D	10		10
E	10		10
F	10		10
G
H	4	1	5
I	5		5
J	1	2	3
K	1		1
L	1	2	3
M
N		1	1
Total	53	6	59

As usual, this table is intended to reflect the total number of flights rather than the total number of motors burned, so (for example), Dave Morey’s beautiful Sinister 38, which flew on a J500G ground-started, lighting up 2 H148R’s at 2 seconds into the flight, and then starting 2 G53FJ’s and 2 G76G’s at 4 seconds into the flight, is listed under the K motors because the total installed impulse in that rocket was 1552.8 N.s.

The first anomaly in the motor use list is the total lack of G motors on either day. G motors are usually one of most popular classes flown by this group, but John Hobson was not in attendance this weekend, so the biggest G-motor flyer of them all, stayed home.

The most exciting part of any rocket launch is the certification flights and we had two of them this weekend. On Saturday, Tommy Harrell brought back his recently repainted 4 inch Test Bed and first flew it on an I405 from Loki for a checkout flight (didn’t want to light, it took 3 or 4 ignitors to get it lit) which was perfect and then followed that up with a flight of the same rocket with a J285 which was exemplary in every way! Congratulations, Tommy!

On Sunday, Sam George returned to fly his L2 Mule on an Aerotech J275W. Sam put out the main parachute at apogee (which occurred at 6012 feet!!) and still could walk to pick it up. The Quantum-tube airframe had a small crack, but the rocket was otherwise undamaged and ready to fly again. Congratulations to Sam! Both Tommy and Sam are now eligible to spend a LOT of money on commercial motors or make the jump into Tripoli Research.

I learn something new at every launch! Apparently Cesaroni is now marketing the classic Kosdon Skidmark propellant . Dave Morey flew his Velociraptor on an I223SK that performed beautifully.

We saw a lot of people who had not attended in a while: Jack Allman was back with a couple of young friends – Andrew Harper and Matthew Marting, and they made 15 flights in the C through F range, staying busy all day.

Stew McNabb, a Bayboro regular, was there with his grandson, Trey Mobley, and they had several interesting flights, including a Centuri kit from 1974, the MX-774, which he flew on a A8. Stew also flew his Loc Forte on an H97, the first time I can recall Stew flying anything as large as an H! One of these days I want to see Stew’s rocket storage room, it must be a historical museum of model rocketry from the late 20th century.

Clark Moser, was back with a few more good flights including a perfect launch of the great Flis kits Deuces Wild on a pair of C6’s.

David Hash was there with a new vehicle built for the purpose of checking out the new Parrot altimeter. Unfortunately, he was the victim of the same treacherous batch of Estes E9’s that messed up his father’s Batter Up two months ago. I can think of several amusing things to do with the rest of those motors, and none of them actually involve flying rockets!

Even though the weather was much better on Sunday, only 4 flyers showed up, so I can summarize by giving you all 6 flights in a nutshell. Jim Livingston flew his 4" diameter Carolina Sky on an L2200 made by Alan Whitmore. This flight broke Mach 1 at about 1.3 seconds into the burn, and coasted up to 11,315 feet before popping the apogee charge and coming down for a perfect recovery about 500 yards away. David Cox then flew his Juggernaut on a 4.5" N3000 made with 5% aluminum and E118P (mostly copper chromite) as a burn rate catalyst. This was a magnificent flight, and recovery was perfect. Alan Whitmore then flew his Red Rudy on a full L made with Nanocat catalyst to slightly more than 8,000 feet altitude. All of the parts were not clipped together properly, so there was some damage to the fin section and the electronics bay will have to be "reconfigured" before the next flight. David Cox then flew 2 saucers, with rather indifferent success, if I recall correctly. Some motor damage, a fire, a forward bulkhead takes off for parts unknown…. You know, the usual stuff. Then, to finish off the day, Sam George made the successful L2 cert flight described above.

Dave Morey reminds me that I have scheduled a launch for the weekend of December 5 and 6, which is a "reverse" weekend. We will have a Tripoli Research event on Saturday, and a combined NAR/TRA sport launch on Sunday. Please come on out if you can.

Alan Whitmore, Prefect, Tripoli East NC

Photo's by David Cox

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