Launch Report - 9 May, 1998

First, I'd like to thank everyone for making my son, Aleron, welcome at the launch. He was home from the Navy for four day weekend. We had a great time during his visit home.

The wind had seemed to die down around 10 in the morning, so it looked like we'd be OK for the launch. After we did some morning chores, Aleron and I picked some rockets to bring along. I was a little disappointed that he didn't decide to bring along his Estes Patriot. I wound up bringing along a few that I decided NOT to launch, due to the wind, but at least it wasn't so windy that we couldn't launch anything.

We arrived on Wisconsin Ave. about 12:55 and it looked like we were the first ones there. Soon, Kurt Schachtner arrived and showed off his Sky Slash. Too bad it was too windy to test it out. Then we saw Scott Hanson, his daughter and Mike van de Bunt and decided to set up out in the 'bowl' in the northeast end of the park.

Scott's daughter had the first launch of the day with an Estes Flash. Her reaction to the launch was just GREAT! It looks like you may have hooked one, Scott. ;-)

Our first launch (Aleron and I) was my Estes Turbo Copter conversion on a 1/2A6-2. This will definitely be my backup (on a B6-6) for B HD at AL14-98. I *could* use my Skywinder on a B6-2, but I think the altitude difference (wRasp says the Turbo-Copter should get up to about 880 foot altitude) will give an advantage to the Turbo Copter. My primary copter will be the Apogee Heli-Roc. I wanted to try it out (I was going to use an A2-3), but I just didn't want to chance it in the wind. If I had had a 1/2A2-2 rather than 1/2A2-4s, I still would have given it a try, but...

Mark Smieske's new Cherokee D with Kurt's decals looked great and flew just as good as it looked on some 18mm motors (used an adapter). Boy, I want to see one of these go up on a D.

My Sputnik-Too went up on a B4-4. This is a great windy day model. The delay is long enough to ensure the model is heading back down when the motor ejects, so the casing is not shot at the ground.

My Quest HL-20 seems to have a slightly tight launch lug. We launched on a B6-2 and it seemed to hang a bit on the launch rod, just like it did last month. After it whipped off the rod, it corkscrewed up as usual (except at a bit more angle than desired). The 'glide' wasn't too bad, though.

Aleron sent up my Estes Bail-Out! on an A8-3 for its first launch (no passenger yet). He asked how much wadding to put in after telling me he had put in one piece. I told him 3-4 pieces were about right for that rocket. After I went downwind to retrieve the pieces, Aleron launched. I thought it was a good flight (not *quite* as good as the Big Bertha on a 1/2A6-2 <VBG>) but Aleron claimed the chute didn't deploy until the model was back down to about twenty feet. It turns out his 'piece' of wadding was 4 squares worth, to which I added three more squares. The wadding didn't eject, but the parachute *did* deploy (just barely). Anyway, both parts of the rocket (BT and nose cone) were recovered with no damage.

My old reliable Estes Sea Dart went up on a 1/2A6-2 (to minimize wind drift on the 12" chute). This is the model that was my first launch in June of '97 when I got started again. It flew just as well as ever and was recovered about 30-40 yards downrange.

While I was prepping my Apogee Centrix, some dogs ran thru our set-up, destroying the Sputnik-Too and breaking a fin on the Sea Dart (already repaired). Then the owners just walked on by and didn't say a word! Oh, well, it *is* the park where dogs are allowed to run loose. I just wish some owners would take their responsibility to control their animals more seriously.

We made the maiden launch of the Centrix on a 1/2A2-4. I had a little trouble getting the motor to light-off. The ignitor didn't burn on the first try. Possibly the leads may have shorted together below the pyrogen, but when I spread the legs apart a bit more it lit on the second attempt. It was *way* up there, about 800 feet according to wRasp. Fortunately, I had a good line on it coming down and we recovered it from the top of the hill - almost over the far side. I'm not used to climbing hills any more - I was aching a bit last night from the recovery walks <:G>.

I liked Mark's Quest DC-Y Space Clipper flight(s). The first C6-3 had a bonus delay and arced over the hill but was recovered undamaged. The second C6-3 flight was picture perfect. This is a neat model and I'm going to have to order one.

Scott kept sending up his daughter's Flash all afternoon and she loved every flight. "Go ROCKET!" A fin broke off on its last flight of the day, but he DID find it so I expect we'll see this bird at many future launches.

Aaron Lyle and his friend sent up their Skywinders several times. This is another good bird for breezy days. All their flights were great.

Kurt's Sidewinder flew a couple times on a B and a C. Both flights were very good. I've heard that this model is underpowered on a C, but I can't believe it after seeing Kurt's bird fly. The B flight was low (under 100 feet), but that just meant everything happened down where you could see it. The C flight was a good bit higher and Kurt had a bit of a trek, but recovered the model undamaged. He also tested his Estes Scout for the B Alt event.

I missed Mike van de Bunt's Estes RTF mini-X-Wing launch - probably a good thing. ;-) As with mine, the streamer did *NOT* deploy. The power pod streamlined in and stuck pretty firmly in the ground. I found the pod as I was coming in from looking for Kurt's Scout. Aleron reports that the X-Wing itself didn't tumble, but dropped in with a neat horizontal attitude.

The winds picked up and we decided to stop flying around three o'clock. All told, everyone attending had a good time. The only loss that I'm aware of was Kurt's Scout. It flew nicely, but was lost in some of the long grass. I thought I had a line on it, but we didn't find it before closing up shop.
Late good news! On his way back to the car, following my line, Kurt found the Scout!

Anyway, we all had fun and I'm looking forward to the 14AL-98 contest.