Today’s weather was sunny and cool, but the afternoon sun warmed things up nicely. The wind was pretty breezy at times and unfortunately out of the West (short direction of the field) all day. The launch theme was “Clusters” and quite few were flown. No contests were flown today, but the next launch will have NAR E helicopter duration and G streamer duration contests. We had 28 flyers make 113 flights. We flew 5,020 NS of propellant, equal to a full “L” motor.

Launch Photos

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Jay Calvert with Rick Polzello's LOC Starburst and Jay's LOC 4-29SS before their cluster drag race. Rick's Starburst flew on a pair of F32-10Ws and Jay's 4-29SS used a pair of G64-7Ws. The RRC2 altimeter in Rick's Starburst reported 1,741 feet. At right Jim Z (in VT) preps his "Poor Man's Dual Deployment" for a flight on a C6-3 and C6-7. This interesting cluster rocket deploys a drogue with the short delay and the main with the long. Too bad you can't get a C6-15!

Rick Polzello's "LOC n' Load" waiting for liftoff on a G80-7FWL and 2 x E18W cluster. At center John Poulin is prepping his LOC Viper IV for a flight on four (4) D12-5s. After some igniter trouble, all the motors lit for a cool flight. D12s make great cluster motors. At right is Jason Hicks with his LOC Minnie Magg before his L1 certification attempt. He was successful! Welcome to the expensive world of high power rockets!

Jim Z (inVT) with the remains of his modified Mean Machine that he recovered from a tree. The rocket has been there since April, but hopefully with the help of Peter Lawall the altimeter will fly again. The new rocket recovery pole is a marvel and this rocket was recovered from more than 40 feet up in a tree. At center Tony Brewer prepares his Mean Machine for launch on a D12-5 while nephews Tyler and Andrew observe. At right Tony DiPietro prepares his AMRAAM for flight on a G64W. Also, Rick Polzello's upscale Heatseeker awaits flight on an H128W.

Jay Calvert with the remains of a helicopter duration practice attempt. As usual with Jay's helicopter crashes, it came in ballistic 10 feet from Rick Polzello. The contests at the next launch are G streamer duration and E helicopter duration. You might want to miss that launch Rick! At right Alex Dejong preps his “Metal Core” for a flight on a D12 .

Byron and Hadrian Kim with their SOJU and AMRAAM rockets (respectively).

Blast off assortment: At left is Hadrian Kim’s “7 Barq’s-Up” on an Estes E9, at center is Hadrian’s Nike Apache on a G75. At right we have Ulf Jonsson’s Fat Boy on a C6.

Blast Off Assortment Number Two. At right we have Hadrian Kim's AMRAAM lifting off on an F40-4W. Next is John Poulin’s Small Endeavor on a G64W followed by Tom Jardine’s Phantom 4000 on a G35W. Finally, we have Ulf Jonsson's PML phobos on an F50T practice run for his L1 attempt.  Also: Hadrian Kim has his own report with more great photos, visit it at http://www.rockettech.s5.com/photo2.html.

John Daley is shown with his “Double Trouble”. At right, CATO members enjoy the day while the American Flag shows the wind direction.

John Daley's Double Trouble on a D12 to D12, followed by Ulf Jonsson's Mercury Redstone. Next we have Jim Z's “Two Fat” boosted Fat Boy. The booster has a cluster of a D12 and (3) C6 motors. The Fat Boy stage flew on a C6 for an awesome cluster multistage flight! At right is a close up view of Hadrian Kim's Nike Apache .

Tom Jardine's NCR Archer on a G35-4W, followed by Hadrian Kim and his Nike Apache. At right, Ulf Jonsson prepares for his Level 1 flight.

On the left is Tom Jardine's Archer on a G35W. Les Kurz poses with his Excel +. Tom Jardine's Phantom 4000 rips skyward on a G35W. At right Sean Hogan readies "Ring Thing".

Sean and Jay feast on some homemade chili, while Ulf looks inside his PML Phobos.  "No chili in here!"

Mark Severance standing by his LOC IV prior to his NAR level 1 certification flight.  Liftoff, on an H128-6W.  Success!

1) Jesse Zamecnik's TLP Exocet missile launching on a pair of D12 motors.
2) John Poulin's LOC Viper 4 shooting skyward on a cluster of 4 D12-5 motors.
3) Rick Polzello's LOC'n'Load on a G80-7FW and twin E18Ws.

1) Rick Polzello with his LOC Starburst and Jay Calvert's LOC 4-29SS before the drag race.
2) Rob Bazinet's red Fat Boy starts its run up the rod on an Estes motor.
3) A cluster of clusters.  Two LOC rockets, each with two Aerotech White Lightning motors.  Rick's jumped off the pad first, while Jay's cruised to a slightly higher altitude.  Jay's ended up in a tree, and is waiting for the Tazmanian Tree Devil to come to the rescue.

First we have Rick Polzello's upscale Heatseeker ripping on an H128W. Next is Rob Bazinet's Viper 3 with all its D12 motors burning; at right Len Haze's Mosquito lifts off on an E9.

Jim Z's Jim's PMDD lifting off on a pair of C6s; next Jason Hicks' Minnie Magg burning an H70W single use motor on his way to his L1 cert. Next, Tom Jardine's NCR Archer lifts off on a G35-4W.

Jay Calvert's 4-29SS and Rick's Starburst in a drag race; Rick is winning off the pad. Next is Alex Giosa's V2 on an E9. At right we have John Daley's "Double Trouble" on a D12 staging to a D12.

First off is Rick Polzello's "LOC n' Load" on a G80FWL and 2 x E18W. I don't think the E18s are lit yet? Next is another cluster rocket, John Poulin's Viper IV obscured by the smoke from its (4) D12 motors. Finally we have Hadrian Kim's "7 Barq's-Up" on an E9.

Alex Giosa, Jim & Jesse Zamecnik and young master Jonsson posing with a nice rack of rockets. On the left is Alex's V-2 ready for a better flight on an E9 than last time. Jim's "Too Fat" boosted Fat Boy is next to Jesse's Sidewinder.

First is Jason Hicks' Minnie Magg under chute for a successful L1 attempt. At center is Rob Bazinet's Fat Boy at ignition. At right Sean Hogan sports the latest in rocket headgear.

Anyone wishing to contribute images please e-mail them to astroman@cshore.com (Joe Roberts). PLEASE limit messages e-mailed to me to no more than 3MB at a time!

LAUNCH HIGHLIGHTS and STATS:

1. Tom Jardine       11 flights
2. Chris Lundquist    8 flights
3. Ulf Jonsson        8 flights
4. Michael Lundquist  7 flights
5. Len Haze           7 flights

Certification Flights: We had lots of successful certification flights today. Jason Hicks made Tropoli L1 with his Minnie Magg on an H70W. Ulf Jonsson was able to demonstrate his skills with a PML Phobos and a H70W for NAR L1. Mark Severance also made NAR L1 with his LOC IV on an H128-6W reload. Congratulations guys and welcome to high power!

Cluster Flights: Lots of cluster flights were made as the theme of the launch was “Clusters”! Rob Bazinet, Jay Calvert, Les Kurz, Rick Polzello, John Poulin, Barry Wilcock, Jesse Zamecnik, and Jim Zamecnik all made cluster flights today.

Contests: None this time.

Catos: Jesse Zamecnik had an Apogee D10 grenade his Estes Sith Mk.2 at about 30 feet. Cool motor right until it let go. It blew the case apart. Chris Lundquist experienced a problem when a B6-0 Cato’ed about 10 feet off the pad in his SAM-X.

Notable flights: Jim Zamecnik flew his “Two Fat” boosted Fat boy. The booster stage has a cluster of a D12 and (3) C6 motors. The Fat Boy that rode on top had a C6 and the rocket staged perfectly. Jason Hicks stripped the fins off of a Maxi Alpha III with an E30T. Hadrian Kim flew his “7 Barq’s-Up” on an Estes E9. This rocket is primarily made from empty soda cans! John Poulin flew his Nike Hercules on a cluster of four A3-4Ts.

Multistage Flights: Chris Lunquist tried to fly his SAM-X on a B6-0 to A8-3 combo. (See Catos above) John Daley flew “Double Trouble” on a D12 to D12 combo for a nice flight. Alex Giosa flew his Comanche on two stages with B6’s providing power. Len Haze launched “Lil’ Augie” with a B6-0 staging to a B6-6. Tom Jardine flew his Mongoose on a pair of C6s. Barry Wilcock flew his shortened Mongoose on two C6s. Finally, Jim Zamecnik flew his two stage Fat Boy with a clustered booster and a C6 in the upper stage.
 
 

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