CATO XLVIII Launch Report - 14 July
2001
Durham
Another great day at Durham. It
was a "Not too" day. Not too hot, not too cold, not too wet, not
too dry, not too windy. The morning was sunny with a slight breeze,
and the afternoon had scattered high clouds and a moderate breeze out of
the west. There were CATO and NAR contests for "super rocs" ( very
long, skinny rockets), and a drag race to achieve Mach 1 with rockets contructed
entirely of paper, plastic, and balsa wood and using G80T motors.
Jeff's Domain. Jeff Thomas'
little buddy catches some rays while waiting for his master to return from
a flight. Jeff's Maxi Cobra Cluster is on the table, soon
to fly on four B4-4s, and Black Hole (left) will take to the sky
on a G80-4T with a beeper on board. Unfortunately, Black Hole
deviated from a vertical flight path and ended up hanging (and beeping)
from a tree.
Are we ready yet? The gang
gathers around, anticipating the start of a full day of rockets.
Dave Sousa is mannning the LCO table, while Rick Polzello is reminding
us of the extraterrestrial origin of Rob Bazinet.
Hey Dude! The incredible,
inflatable, Estes Dude made it's CATO debut today. The seven
foot tall by six inch diameter rocket is full of hot air (courtesy of Rick
Polzello)! The first flight (left) was on an Estes D12-3, the recommended
motor. The second flight (right) used an Aerotech E15-4W.
The Dude moved out too fast for the cameraman! This rocket
can have a perfect flight and still leave crowd laughing out loud!
A fine rack. An interesting
collection of model rockets. Greg Briden's Estes Sidewinder
(C5-3) is on the far left. In the middle is an assortment of scratch-built
rockets by the Frost sisters (Katy and Kristyn). In the background
is Sergey Semenov's super roc entry, "Orange", about to go on an
Aerotech D9-4W reload (and a second place finish in the CATO contest).
On the far right is Jim Zamecnik's Sprint ABM on the pad, and lifting
off under E18-4W power. According to Jim, the Sprint
has been plagued by a gremlin for it's last few flights, and may have to
be retired.
Blue and White. Eric Knight's
Aerotech Mirage on an F50T Blue Thunder motor (left).
Steve Sabatino's Aerotech IQSY Tomahawk on an F25-6W White Lightning
motor (right). On the red rack you can see Rick Polzello's super
roc CSRD#1 (Apogee C6-10), or is it CSRD#2 (Apogee C4-5)?
On the blue rack is Len Haze' Quest DC-X (C6-3).
Dig it! Josh Drummond's Mini
Sky Digger blasting on a G35-4W Econojet. On the left is
Les Kurz' Initiator two-five-three (F20-4W), which served him well
in the FSRD contest due to it's sturdy design (basicly a stretched LOC
Initiator). In fact, this was the only FSRD entry to survive it's
first flight and make a second (F40-4W)!
Three Rings for the Elven Kings.
Jim Zamecnik's Lord of the Rings, a three-staged, ring-finned, scratch-built
beauty with a magnetic apogee detector on board. The booster uses
three C6-0s, the 2rd stage uses a D12-0, and the sustainer uses a D12-7.
Nominal flight to an impressive altitude, with all three stages recovered.
Way Cool. On the right is Sergey Semenov's Orange super roc,
bending in the breeze. The second flight of Orange was a problem.
When the wind finally allowed a vertical launch, it flopped on the
ground and the F12-5J motor did a slow CATO kind of thing (possibly a blown
closure).
Drag Race to Mach!
Five guys showing off their missiles. From the left: Sean Hogan
with White Rocket, Mike Casey with Mach or Bust, Jay Calvert
with Maching Bird#1, Rick Polzello with Mach Machine,
and Rob Bazinet with the prophetically named DTM Winner. According
to the gentlemen's agreement, constructing was limited to cardboard tubes,
balsa or plastic nose cone, and balsa fins (no fiberglass!). Most
of these rockets weighed only 2 ounces or less without the motor, and about
7 ounces with the G80-10T motors installed. Any rocket that survived
suspersonic speeds and was sucessfully recovered (from 3000 to 4000 feet)
would be declared the winner. Only Rob's rocket met these criteria.
Congrats Rob!
Speed Kills. Jay's Maching
Bird #1 was recovered, but not intact. It shredded at MaxQ.
The laminated balsa fins were firmly attached to the tube with hefty epoxy
fillets. Rather than breaking or detaching the fins, the transonic
slipstream decided to simply strip off the outer layer of the airframe
tube, taking the fins with it! Check out the nose cone. The
blast of air stripped the outer layers of balsa wood from around the hardwood
dowel core of the nose cone, where the screw eye was attached!
Super Roc City.
LEFT: From the front, we have Jay
Calvert's C-per Roc #1 (C6-5), John Poulin's Benz-a-lot (F12-5J),
Jim Zamecnik's Waste of Good Tubes (E15-7W), and Les Kurz' Initiator
two-five-three (F40-4W). At the far end, Mike Casey is hooking
up a non-super roc. John had the best super roc flight of the day,
and Les had a good flight. Jay's and Jim's crimped in flight.
RIGHT: Jay Calvert holding his 13-foot
long FSRD entry 3FN, Stretched. The lower 5 feet are heavy
duty 38 mm tubing, while the upper 8 feet are BT60. Next: On the
rail. Next: Launching on an F32-5W. It crimped too!
There goes a Waste of Good Tubes.
Jim's E15-7W powered super roc crimped.
Slow Hand. John's 9-foot
Benz-a-lot
had a safe boost and an 87 second drift for an outstanding flight.
A slow and gentle motor like the F12-5J seems to be a key to avoiding a
bad case of the crimps.
Another view of Jay Calvert's C-per
Roc #1 (C6-5), on the left, and Jay's 13-foot long FSRD entry 3FN,
Stretched (F32-5W), on the right.
Left - JimZ's Lord of the Rings 3 stager.
Middle - Jim's SR71 Blackbird on a C6-3.
Jason Hicks' LOC Graduator on an F23-4FJ
(?).
Left - A white rocket on a White Lightning
motor. The two rockets in the foreground recently cato'ed on D12s
(see the hanging nose cones).
Right - A big orange rocket on a White
Lightning motor.
Here is JimZ's view of the Drag Race to
Mach.
Two Cool Dudes. Left: Rick
Polzello's Estes Dude on an Aerotech E15-4W. Right: Tom Ouellette
and his NARTREK Silver flight for boost glider (a Holverson Designs Zoomie
on a 1/4A3-3T).
Crimp THIS! Les Kurz with
his Innitiator 2-5-3. Les' strategy was to use a fat, sturdy mid-powered
rocket to avoid crimps and to ensure two qualified flights on F motors
(F20-4W and F40-4W). This cautious game plan paid off as the high
performance models began buckling left and right, and was good enough for
Les to place second in FSRD.
LAUNCH HIGHLIGHTS and
STATS:
Today's launch had 27 registered
rocketeers, making 118 flights, and burning 131 motors. Total impulse
burned was 3610 Newton-seconds (equivalent to a mid "L" motor).
Clusters:
Rob Bazinet flew his LOC Viper III on a cluster of three D12-5s.
Les Kurz launched his LOC Starburst on a pair of E18-4W reloads.
Jeff Thomas' Maxi Cobra Cluster flew on four B4-4s.
Multi-Stage Flights:
Len Haze flew his Lil'Augie and Lil' Augie II, both on B6-0
-> B6-6 combos. Spencer Poulin flew an Estes Nova Payloader
with an extra booster (C6-0 -> B6-6). Jim Zamecnik's Lord
of the Rings executed a perfect 3xC6-0 -> D12-0 -> D12-7 flight sequence.
Other Notable Flights:
Nine year old Spencer Poulin finished up his NARTREK Bronze achievements
with three good flights: Streamer duration (Hang Time S on
an A3-4T), two stage Nova Payloader (see above), and D-powered rocket
(Estes Python on a D12-5). Way to go spencer!
Motor CATOs:
Sergey Semenov's F12-5J reload fizzled on the ground for a very long time,
while producing very little thrust.
Contests:
CATO
Contest: Open Super Roc Duration
| SENIORS: |
|
|
|
| NAME |
SCORE
length
(cm) x duration (sec) |
PLACE |
PRIZE |
| John
Poulin |
23,751
273 cm x 87 sec (F12-5J) |
1st |
Aerotech
24/40 hardware and pack of E18-4W reloads |
| Sergey
Semenov |
19,244
283 cm x 68 sec (D9-4W) |
2nd |
Pack
of G38-4FJ Econojets and $10 PML gift certificate |
| Jay
Calvert |
15,496
149 cm x 104 sec (C6-5) |
3rd |
Pack
of Estes D12-3 |
| Rick
Polzello |
15,045
177 cm x 85 sec (C4-5) |
4th |
- |
| Les
Kurz |
9108
253 cm x 36 sec (F20-4W) |
5th |
- |
| Les
Kurz |
6831
253 cm x 27 sec (F40-4W) |
- |
- |
| Rick
Polzello |
6688
176 cm x 38 sec (C6-10) |
- |
- |
| Jay
Calvert |
800
50 cm x 16 sec (1/4A2-4) |
- |
- |
| Rob
Bazinet |
637
49 cm x 13 sec (1/4A2-2) |
6th |
- |
| John
Poulin |
392
49 cm x 8 sec (1/4A2-2) |
- |
- |
| John
Poulin |
392
49 cm x 8 sec (1/4A2-2) |
- |
- |
| Jay
Calvert |
DQ
396 cm x CRIMP! (F32-5W) |
- |
- |
| Rick Polzello |
DQ
350 cm x CRIMP! (F25-6W) |
- |
- |
| Jim Zamecnik |
DQ
316 cm x CRIMP! (E15-7W) |
- |
- |
| Sergey Semenov |
DQ
283 cm x CATO!! (F12-5J) |
- |
- |
| Jay Calvert |
DQ
249 cm x CRIMP! (C6-5) |
- |
- |
| Les Kurz |
DQ
195 cm x separation (C5-3) |
- |
- |
| Jay Calvert |
DQ
33 cm x kicked motor (1/4A3-3T) |
- |
- |
|
|
|
|
| JUNIORS: |
|
|
|
| NAME |
SCORE
length
(cm) x duration (sec) |
PLACE |
PRIZE |
| Alex
Calvert |
1812
151 cm x 12 sec (C5-3) |
1st |
Estes
Mini X-wing starter set |
| Alex Calvert |
DQ
50 cm x kicked motor (1/4A3-3T) |
- |
- |
| Alex Calvert |
DQ
27 cm x separation (1/4A3-3T) |
- |
- |
NAR-sanctioned
CATO 48 Open Meet
| 1/4A
Super Roc Duration (combined divisions): |
| NAME(division) |
SCORE
length
(cm) x duration (sec) |
PLACE |
CONTEST POINTS |
| Jay
Calvert(C) |
800
+ DQ = 800 |
1st |
260 |
| John
Poulin(C) |
392
+ 392 = 784 |
2nd |
156 |
| Rob
Bazinet(C) |
637
+ 0 = 637 |
3rd |
104 |
| Alex
Calvert(A) |
DQ
+ DQ = 0 |
- |
0 |
| |
|
|
|
| C
Super Roc Duration (combined divisions): |
| NAME(division) |
SCORE
length
(cm) x duration (sec) |
PLACE |
CONTEST
POINTS |
| Rick
Polzello(C) |
6688
+ 15,045 = 21,733 |
1st |
300 |
| Jay
Calvert(C) |
DQ
+ 15,496 = 15,496 |
2nd |
180 |
| Alex
Calvert(A) |
1812
+ 0 = 1812 |
3rd |
120 |
| Les Kurz(C) |
DQ + 0 = 0 |
- |
0 |
| |
|
|
|
| F
Super Roc Duration: |
| NAME(division) |
SCORE
length
(cm) x duration (sec) |
PLACE |
CONTEST POINTS |
| John Poulin(C) |
23,751 + 0 = 23,751 |
1st |
380 |
| Les Kurz(C) |
6831 + 9108 = 15,939 |
2nd |
228 |
| Rick Polzello(C) |
DQ + 0 = 0 |
- |
0 |
| Jay Calvert(C) |
DQ + 0 = 0 |
- |
0 |
|
|
|
|
| NAME |
TOTAL
CONTEST POINTS (starting 2001-2002 contest year): |
| John
Poulin(C) |
536 |
|
|
| Jay
Calvert(C) |
440 |
|
|
| Rick
Polzello(C) |
300 |
|
|
| Les
Kurz(C) |
228 |
|
|
| Alex
Calvert(A) |
120 |
|
|
| Rob
Bazinet(C) |
104 |
|
|
Our next NAR Open Meet
is CATO 50 (September 8 at Durham). There are three events: (1) 1/4A
Boost Glider Duration. (2) A Boost Glider Duration, and (3) C Boost
Glider Duration (Multi-Round). Good Luck to all.
Top 10 Hot Shots
| NAME |
NEWTON-SECONDS |
MOTORS |
| Josh Drummond |
370 |
2xG35W, 2xF32W |
| Rick Polzello |
357 |
G80T, F50T, F25W,
E15W, D12, C6, C4 |
| Mike Casey |
344 |
2xG80T, F20W, E30T |
| Jason Hicks |
335 |
G80T, F50T, F23FJ,
E18W, E15W |
| Les & Matt Kurz,
Tommy Ouellette |
286 |
F40W, F20W, 2xE18W,
D12, 2xC6, C5, 2xB6, B4, A8, 1/2A3, 1/4A3 |
| Rob Bazinet |
262 |
G80T, F20W, 4xD12,
C5, 1/4A2 |
| Jay & Alex Calvert |
230 |
G80T, F32W, 2xC6,
C5, 3x1/4A3, 1/4A2 |
| Steve Sabatino |
202 |
G35W, F25W, D12 |
| Eric Knight |
200 |
F50T, F40W, E15W |
| Jim Zamecnik |
181 |
E18W, E15W, 2xD12,
7xC6, B6 |
Motor Breakdown
| Micro Max |
0 |
| 1/4A |
8 |
| 1/2A |
1 |
| A |
6 |
| B |
20 |
| C |
42 |
| D |
17 |
| E |
10 |
| F |
17 |
| G |
10 |
| TOTAL |
131 |
Next Launch is August 11
at Durham.
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