CATO 31 Launch Report - 10 June, 2000
Durham
CATO 31 was marked by hot, sunny weather. We had about 2 dozen flyers out for the day. Rockets were launched at a leisurely pace, with many club members taking a "time out" under Paul Welling's tent. The theme for the day was "Classic kits". Several members brought out some old favorites for this occasion. The wind was blowing in an undesirable direction for much of the day, several members lost rockets somewhere over Rt. 17.
Paul Welling, the Hogan family and Dave Sousa (hidden behind Sean) prep Silver Comet rockets for a drag race. Joe Roberts also had a Silver Comet in the race. Upon ignition (see below), Dave's entry suffered a motor CATO (the rocket basically blew up on the pad). The motor CATO caused such a distraction that no one noticed who won the race!
Joe Roberts' original 1973 Estes Scrambler "came out of retirement" for "Classic Kits" day. The rocket had a nice conservative flight on 3 A8-3 motors, the rocket's first flight in about 24 years.
Two more "Classic Kits" on the pad. At left is Jay Calvert's Mercury Redstone; at right is Joe Roberts' Estes Demon (bottom half of rocket is a clone).
John Fullmer poses with his "Big Ugly" (actually an ARCAS). This rocket had a nice flight on a G40 motor.
Alysia Hogan prepares her LOC Aura while Sean assists. John Fullmer's "Big Ugly" is seen to the left.
Keith Smith and his Rogue Aerospace "Space Needle". This rocket had a very respectable flight on a D12-5!
CATO members take a break from the heat and sun under Paul's tent...
Les Kurz' LOC Starburst rocket lifts off. Unfortunately, only one of the two E motors ignited, resulting in a crash. The rocket was saved from extensive damage by the soft muddy ground it plunged into. It will fly again...
Paul Welling assists Bill Havens with his first reload assembly. Bill's first reload flight was perfect!.
Today's launch had 25 registered flyers and a total of 82 flights. Les Kurz and Keith Smith were tied for the most flights by an individual (7 each). Les Kurz burned the most propellant (347.5 Newton seconds), just edging out John Fullmer (345 Newton Seconds). Today's theme was "Classic Kits"; the following people flew such kits (either original or clones): Jay Calvert, Joe Roberts, Michael Kluck, John Poulin and Paul Welling. Collectively we burned a total of 1710 Newton seconds, equal to a
mid "K" motor. Clusters: Les Kurz flew his LOC Starburst rocket, unfortunately only a single motor ignited (see photo caption for more detail); Joe Roberts flew his Estes Scrambler on 3 A8-3 motors. John Poulin flew his Little Clus on 3 A10 motors for a nice flight.
Classic Kits: Joe Roberts flew several original classic kits, including an Estes Scrambler, a Tartar, and a Centuri Orion. John Poulin flew an Estes Cherokee-D. Paul Welling flew his upscale Mosquito. Jay Calvert flew his Estes Mercury Redstone, and Michael Kluck flew an Estes Alpha. Multi-Stage Flights: Les Kurz and Tom Ouellette had two stage rockets in the air today. Les flew his Aztec 2 and Tom flew his Custom Aztec (this was one of Tom's NARTREK Bronze flights).
Notable Flights: Marc Smith and Gregors Walker had a drag race with a Code Red and an Ionizer (respectively). This was perhaps the most symmetrical drag race we have seen... both rockets lifted off simultaneously and flew straight and true, almost as if they were tethered together. This race was clearly a tie! Motor CATOs: One: Dave Sousa's Silver Comet on an Estes D12-5 (the motor most likely to CATO in my experience...). Top 5 Hot Shots: Total Impulse (NS) 347.5 345 193 128 117
Anyone wishing to contribute images please
e-mail them to Joe Roberts
LAUNCH HIGHLIGHTS and STATS:
Name
Breakdown
Les Kurz
G64, F50, E28, 2xE18, D12, 2xB6, A8
John Fullmer
2xG40, G35
Dave Sousa
G64, E18, D12, C6, B6, A8
Jay Calvert
F22, E18, C6, C5, A10, A8
John Simmons
F40, E23
Anyone wishing to contribute additional images please
e-mail them to Joe Roberts
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