Finally! During the coldest and wettest summer on record, we actually got a DECENT day for a CATO launch! The weather was near perfect... sunny, mild, and light winds. The field was somewhat wet, but not nearly as bad as the July launch. We had a good turnout, a fair number more than the usual CATO regulars. Eighty five rockets were flown today, only a few were lost or damaged. The "B" streamer duration contest was also held. Those who came out for today's launch witnessed (or participated in) a wide variety of cool flights!.

Joe Lee and the Annialator (a very stretched LOC IV). Joe was 3 for 3 on successful flights under G35 power today!

Anyone wishing to contribute images please e-mail them to Joe Roberts

LAUNCH HIGHLIGHTS and STATS:

Today's launch had 22 registered flyers and a total of 85 flights. Joe Lee had the most flights by an individual (9 flights) and also burned the most propellant (365 Newton seconds), the vast majority of that number in three launches of his Annialator (a stretched LOC IV). Joe barely edged out John Ritz, who trailed closely with 357 Newton seconds of total thrust. Today's contest was a "B" Streamer Duration contest. Collectively we burned a total of 2828 Newton seconds, equal to a small "L" motor.

Clusters: There were quite a few cluster rockets flown today! Among the most unique was Alex Calvert's Tootle MacDoodle; this rocket uses a cluster of 3 mini motors, Alex used this in the B streamer duration contest (unfortunately Alex was DQ'd due to a motor ejection). Jay Calvert had a very successful (and powerful) flight of his LOC 4-29SS; with 240 Newton-seconds of thrust, this was the single most powerful flight of the day. Alex Immerman flew an "unnamed" rocket on a D12 and two B4 motors. Ejection was not proper, however the rocket made a very cool "reverse glide" recovery (this rocket glides backwards better than many gliders glide forward!). John Poulin flew his LOC Viper IV on 4 D12 motors. Similarly, Joe Roberts flew his LOC Viper III on three D12-5 motors. Walter Salazar had probably the most interesting cluster flight of the day: he flew his Pro 3 rocket on a cluster of three E15 motors. The flight was more like an airstart than a cluster... one of the motors did not fire until the rocket was near apogee! Unusual (but quite cool). Jeff Thomas flew his Astron Cobra on three B6-4 motors (not sure if this was an original or a clone). Finally, Jonathan Stevenson had a cluster of three D12 motors in his magnificently crafted Mercury Atlas. Unfortunately, one D CATOd and one other sure sounded like it was not happy. The rocket suffered a rough landing, but will fly again.

Classic Kits: Spencer Poulin flew his Estes Sprint on a C6-5 motor. Sean Hogan flew his 7.33x Mosquito on a G75 motor. Joe Roberts flew his upscale Sky Hook (which unfortunately busted a fin upon landing). Jeff Thomas put up his Astron Cobra on 3 B6-4 motors. Cody Calvert flew an Alpha and took home a prize in the B streamer Duration contest!

Multi-Stage Flights:Jay Calvert flew his ASP WAC Corporal on a D and a C motor (with successful gap staging). The only other two stage flight was from Rick Polzello, who flew an Estes Mongoose on two C motors.

Notable Flights: A number of notable flights today. Joe Lee (with a little help from his Uncle Joe Roberts) successfully flew his Annialator (a stretched LOC IV) three times on G35 power. John Ritz flew his mini Tetrahedron several times. One of the flights was to include an airstart of three C motors (after boost on an E), however the airstart did not occur (the flight was cool anyway). Walter Salazar's Pro 3 (described above) had a very unusual (but interesting) "airstart" despite no electronics! Doug Horn flew his Estes TieFighter twice on C power. Apparently not satisfied with the altitude, he slammed it with an Aerotech D21 motor (the rocket held together but Darth Vader sure got one heck of a ride)! Paul Welling blasted his LOC Little Nuke with a G55 motor... what a flight! Keith Smith had a nice flight of his Rogue Aerospace Space Needle on a D12-5 motor. A second flight was made using an E6-6 motor; unfortunately the rocket arced over and headed for the swamp (not sure if it was recovered). Keith also flew a scratchbuilt rocket called CD Special (the rocket's fins are made out of an unwanted AOL CD-ROM disc). It flew great!

Contest: Today's contest was the "B" Streamer Duration contest. Both senior and junior divisions were held. At least 9 people participated in the contest. Jay Calvert won the senior division, blowing away the nearest competitors with his Hang 11 rocket. Jay used a minimum diameter rocket with an Apogee B2-7 motor (this Apogee micromotor is only 10.5mm in diameter). Jay kept his rocket in the air for nearly 95 seconds, about 3 times longer than the nearest best time! The secret to winning these contests: use a minimum diameter rocket! Jay's victory came at the expense of his Hang 13 rocket, which was lost in the contest attempt. The second place winner in the senior division was Joe Roberts, using a B4-4 motor in his Estes Yankee. The Yankee is a minimum diameter (18mm motor) bird, and no slouch on a B4-4, but still no match for the 11mm and 13mm class birds. In the Junior division, Marc Smith came away the winner with a flight of his Wildfire using a B6-4. Cody Calvert took home second prize in the Junior division with a B4-4 powered flight of his Alpha. A tabular summary of the contest winners appears below:

Motor CATOs: Definitely one (possibly two) CATOs of the Estes "D" motor.
 
 
 
 
 

Top 5 Hot Shots:

Name	Total Impulse (NS)	Breakdown
Joe Lee	365	3xG35, 5xC6, B6
John Ritz	357	G64, F25, F24, 2xE28, 3xC6
Alex Immerman	291	2xG35, E15, D12, C6, B6, 2xB4
Jay Calvert	278	2xF39, 2xF23, D12, C6, 2xB2, A10
Walter Salazar	265.6	G75, 3xE15