The prefects, Jim Scarpine and Dennis Hill, were kept busy all weekend with - count 'em - 14 certifications! Achieving their Level 1 stripes were Scott McCluskey, Jerry O'Sullivan, Norman Whetzel, Sean Hanlon, Bill Shamblin, Vick Hubbard, Scott Gerald and Eddie Haith. Earning the right to spend even more money on HPR activities with successful completion of Level 2 attempts were Kevin McGee, Alan Whitmore, Kevin Quire, Jerry Robbins, Lamar Blankenship and Marc Ourllette. Marc Ourllette also wins the award for greatest distance traveled. Marc is from Montreal, Quebec, Canada and was en route down I95 to his two-week vacation in Florida when the smell of burnt AP proved irresistible. You think you have it tough transporting rocketry stuff across state lines, try getting it through customs. Of course, he wasn't transporting any class B materials but can you imagine having to explain those rockets in the back seat to the border guards? Marc was totally dependent on the kindness and largesse of fellow flyers for things like black powder and igniters, and thank goodness Ken Allen had all the motors he needed. It was fun comparing notes and speaking rocketry in French. Can you say "le grande rockkette c'est magnifique"?

   Youth was well represented. The youngest flyer award goes to little David Rushing (age 2 or 3, I'm not sure which because I didn't card him). He flew his first rocket ever on a stock Big Bertha, which performed perfectly on a B6-4. Daddy David could be seen beaming proudly all up and down the flight line. At the tender age of 5, Allison Hubbard joins the hobby with two flights of her Sizzler on ½ A's. After her first flight she learned a valuable lesson about friction fitting the motor in the rocket! The weekend seemed to carry a family theme with it. Besides the Rushings combining for 3 more flights in addition to little David's first flight. The Hill boys - daddy Dennis and sons Jeff (age 12) and Joe (age 8) combined for 11 flights with mostly custom built rockets on motors ranging from A to H. The Blankenship boys managed to get dad, Lamar, certified Level 2 on his D Region Tomahawk with a perfect flight on a J90 with an 18" drogue 'chute deployment at apogee (over 3300' according to the altimeter) and main deployment at 600', dropping the rocket less than 100 yards from the pads. Son Jeff lofted his Graduator on an F20 among the total of 5 flights the Blankeships peppered the sky with.

  The Miller's - Richard, Elaine, Stephen, Chris and Brian - flew an assortment of model rockets and high power extravaganzas. Super mama Elaine manned the LCO table for a turn or two, cooked, kept an eye on the four boys, entertained the parents and a brother, and still had time to launch her Falcon on a K185 to 5824'. Daddy Richard collected an assortment of used nozzles for his experimental activity, and combined with Kevin Mitchell for the most spectacular launch of the weekend on Sunday. He/they put up a two-stage behemoth, a beautiful Terrier Sandhawk that stood 16'5" tall and weigh in at 65 pounds. They were concerned about the electronics so Kevin flew the Sandhawk upper stage on Saturday to test the electronics. The electronics performed flawlessly as a K550 took the upper stage on a comfortable and perfect flight to 1900'. On Sunday Richard prepped the M2240 booster and a repeat of the upper stage on a K550. The rocket boosted and staged absolutely perfectly. It was sight to behold the upper stage accelerate from the booster's smoke trail exactly 4.5 seconds after liftoff just as it was programmed to do. We all watched in awe as staging occurred silently, the sound of upper stage ignition reaching us a few seconds later on the ground. Against a background of Carolina blue sky, the upper stage streaked away on a column of white smoke and flame. After a few seconds, the booster gracefully arced away from the billowing pillar of white smoke that stood still against the sky. Flames still belched from the rear of the booster as the delay element burned. Meanwhile, the sustainer powered it's way above the spotty cloud cover and disappeared. (Projected altitude was 6500' but I was beginning to wonder if a few zeroes had been left off that prediction.) After the sustainer shrunk from view, all eyes returned to the booster which had continued it's slow, graceful arc downrange. We all awaited the deployment of the recovery 'chute. And waited. And waited. It never came. The booster turned over and plummeted to earth, screaming a death shrill all the way down that grew louder and louder as it accelerated into the ground. A silent explosion of parts and pieces were seen first, the dull thud of contact with the unforgiving earth being heard and felt a few seconds after impact. Attention once again returned to the sky as all eyes scanned for signs of the returning upper stage. Time passed with no sign of the rocket. After what seemed like hours but in reality was probably about a minute later, , the sonic alarm was heard almost before the rocket was seen drifting safely at about 500' under 'chute over the field. All in all, a spectacular flight replete with all the elements of triumph and tragedy. Congratulations to Richard and Kevin on their qualified success and thanks for a memorable flight!

   The weekend also saw some prolific flying if for no other reason than sheer volume by some flyers. Jerry O'Sullivan made the trek down from Virginia counts as he put up 10 flights on 6 different rockets, including his successful Level 1 certification in his custom built "Irish" on an H97. With a name like O'Sullivan, a wife born in Ireland and a rocket painted green, white and orange, I wonder why he called his rocket "Irish"? Kelly Mercer and Norris Hill should be joined at the hip. Kelly flew 7 times and Norris 6, and it seemed like every time I looked up they were turning in their launch cards together and wanted to drag race. They did manage one particularly spectacular drag race of matching Barracuda's on F-22's. It seemed like they were tethered together as they lifted off together and followed parallel trajectories. You'll have to ask them who won what because from my vantage point it was too close to call.

   Kathy Gilliand was waiting at the pads when we opened on the first day. Judging by her activity it became clear why she was so anxious to get started. After getting warmed up on her Impulse with a D12 and giving everyone a wind directional, she really got going with her "2 The Stars" on an I211 in which she tested her Pratt G-Whiz accelerometer. Later the flight line thought she was bombing them when she ejected Elmo on a streamer out of her "Sky Taxi" that was boosted on an H123. Joe May wowed the crowd with a series of high power flights launched from the away cell, using his own launch control system. He flew his Bruiser on a K900, his Magnum on a J450, and to prove he was one of us he launched his "Smokin' Plover" on an I140 and a Minnie-Mag on a merely mortal H125. His best flight of the weekend was a manufacturer's demo of an APS Red L1100 in his 50 pound rocket aptly named "Monster". You have to give it to APS, that motor burns really red!

  Bill Shamblin gave his Legacy a workout as he launched it 4 times on E's, F's and G's. Most noteworthy, however, among his 9 total flights over the weekend was his NAR Level 1 certification in his L'il Nuke on an H124. David Bustetter was even more prolific as he flew his "Big Daddy" 7 times on 2 D-12's each time. For a little variety, he launched his "F-22 Assault Fighter" 3 times, twice on a B6-4 and once (really mixing it up now!) on a C6-3. Ted Proseus came down from Delaware and was active with a variety of rockets, motors and airframe components. His all PVC "Pipe Dream 38" flew on a G75, and his Rigel flew twice on Ellis Mountain I's (150 & 230). The Ellis Mountain motors are really beginning to proliferate at Whitakers, and so far have proven to be as reliable as they are economical. By the way, if anybody finds Ted's PVC rocket, he can be reached at tproseus@udel.edu. Norwood Truitt flew his "Camraam" on an I284 and his "Endeavor" on a J180, each mounted with a 35mm camera in the payload. Hopefully he will have some great shots to share with us. (Hey Norwood, send those picture into Ed Rowe at edrowe@erols.com so he can post them on our web site.) Norwood had an interesting flight with his Astrobee 1500, launching it on an I195 and air starting 2 G's. He experienced a bit of bad luck as the G25 in his Patriot chuffed on the pad and never fully pressurized enough to allow for 5 seconds of delay. It fairly crawled off the pad and arced sickly over the field whereupon it lawn darted to Norwood's dismay. But he came back later with Paul Parsons to cap off a spectacular weekend with an equally spectacular final flight - the "Big Green Viper" flew perfectly on a cluster of 4 H124's to finish up the weekend.

  Ken Lake is proof that you don't have to fly big to pack a lot of fun and skill into your rockets. His custom-built "Flash Point" is a beautifully finished 2 motor cluster rocket that he flew on 2 E18. The rocket sports a really neat motor retention system and an airframe design that transitions the 2 motor tubes neatly into a smaller diameter main frame. You have to see it to know what I'm talking about, but when you do you will appreciate the engineering and craftsmanship that went into it. Kevin McGee broke out of the mid-power range in a big way. After five flights in as many rockets, mostly on F and G motors, Kevin certified Level 2 in his custom built "Black Jack" on a J350. Mike Henry made some noise in his upscaled Mustang on a J330. Doug Gamber resurrected his Triton on a K1050 with successful 2 event electronic recovery. Jim Scarpine wowed everyone - again - in his "Star Leopard". You know Jim. There's nothing worth flying unless it's big and kicks butt. True to form, he had a beautiful flight and electronic recovery on a Kosdon M2240. He says he already has his next M motor so be sure to stay tuned for more big stuff from Jim. Todd Weaver is going to have his name changed to "J90". He has pretty much stuck exclusively to J90 motors and the design of his "Quantum Hop" and "Passing Glass" are suited perfectly for his addiction. Those long burns are real crowd pleasers and apparently he continually finds new ways to enjoy them, too. Between gigs at the LCO table and helping with the equipment, Ed Rowe made an impression with his Standard Arm on a K550. As usual, his 2-event electronic recovery system worked flawlessly. Jeff Taylor flew his Sandhawk on an I150 for the first time with a paint job. He gave himself heart flutters as it appeared for a few seconds that he must have painted the booster and payload shut when it took longer than he would have liked for ejection to occur. Bill Mantell kept the away cells occupied with a series of exciting and successful flights on J's and K's. His PML Eclipse - not to mention his construction skill - was tested to the max when he launched it from a tower with a Kosdon K350. David Morris finally got that 2 stager he calls "Work in Progress!" to work. It is constructed out of the PhlexPhenolic and carried a Cambridge IA-X96 on board to handle the 2nd stage ignition, apogee drogue deployment and main 'chute. The rocket boosted on an I357 and staged to an I161. An achieved altitude of less than 4000' was below his expectation of 4500' feet, but all things considered, it was a perfect flight and he was very pleased with the results.