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CATO LVIII Launch Report - 24 March 2002
Sterling, CT
Rick Polzello's Onyx on an E16W. Next is Joe Robert's Blue Bird Zero Upscale on a G80T followed by Derek Buchard's Mongoose (B6 -> A8). At right is Alex Dejong's Fat Boy on a C6.
Brad Dibble's ARCAS on an F20W. Next is Todd Harrison's yellow and blue Banshee on G-64 followed by Joey Bender's Super Big Bertha on a D12. Finally we have Rick Polzello's "GSD" on a G80FWL.
Josh Drummond's Stretched Mirage heads out on a G35W. and Brad Dibble's Super Big Bertha lofts on an E9. Next is Eric Stackpole's Flying Pyramid of Death on an F20W. At right is Eric Spain's LOC Lil' Nike on one of the new F21W motors. Three eggs inside. None survived the crash (see below).
Josh Drummond walks out to the away pads with another great flight of the Jupiter II soon to take place. Josh used a Cesaroni I360 and also had a superb home made parachute (8 foot). The "Master" of large diameter rockets has another great flight!
Rick Polzello's 1/4 Patriot blasts off on a H123W while Joe Robert's LOC IV Plus explodes off the pad on an H238T; next is Jay Calvert's "The Dirty Dozen" on a G80FWL. Finally, we see Todd Harrison's Standard Arm ripping away on an I300T. Both Joe's and Jay's rockets were headed for disaster (see below)...
The most powerful rocket flown today was a beautiful 4" Sandhawk owned by Mark Stackpole. This rocket had a spectacular flight on the crowd pleasing J570. Note the length of the flame on this motor! A perfect Dual Deployment landed the rocket on the field despite the higher than desired winds. Great flight Mark!.
Joe Robert's Estes Scrambler in the ELD contest on a C6. Next is Mark Stackpole's "?" on an H97J. Unfortunately, the rocket came in a bit hard and the PML tube broke upon landing (the rocket is repairable). At right was a large scale drag race (Pro 38 motors in both birds). Josh Drummond's Jupiter II on an I360 vs. Alex Immerman's Rocketboy on an I285. Josh won the "off the pad first" title but Alex's rocket took off and overtook Josh's larger and higher drag rocket. A great set of flights for both!
Today's disasters... Todd Harrison and Eric Spain with Eric's Lil' Nuke and a payload bay of eggs that certainly smashed... (the ejection charge went off after the rocket had stuck in the ground, note the hunk of dirt on the cone). Joe Robert's LOC IV Plus carcas after a "bonus delay" on an H238T. Note the unusual failure of the nose cone! Next is the aftermath of Jay Calvert's "Dirty Dozen" flight. This payload bay went up with 12 good eggs, but due to a malfunction things did not go as planned. At right Jay says "See I got ONE good one out of the dozen!!!".
Got Gas? Rob Bazinet helps John Poulin with his custom built Hypertek launch rail. John built his own pad and rail to accomodate the Hypertek set-up. It's absolutely immaculate and very well thought out and put together. The Hypertek system uses both NO2 and oxygen to get things going. The rocket is retained by two nylon ties until it comes up to pressure. On the right, John's "NOS Cruiser" is trying to develop thrust. Unfortunately, the rocket never developed enought thrust to move it off the pad. John suspects that the stem assembly was not properly seaded in the motor and the tank was never fully filled with NO2. The motor managed to burn completely through the $90 stem spoiling any further launch attempts. Ouch!
The damage to the stem is comprehensive. John vows to be back.
Perfect Staging! Derek Buchard's Estes Mongoose can be see staging from a B6-0 to an A8-3. Jeff Thomas readies his "Flying Candy Cane of Doom" for a flight on a C6. Liftoff of the FCCOD and it's already headed for it customary "Bellyflop" recovery.
WARNING: Smoking is hazardous to your health! Jay Calvert's Folding Wing Rocket Glider can be seen burning a 1/4A3 without moving. The glider got bound on the rod and never lifted off. After the rest of the rack lifted off, Jay was surprised to find his glider was smoldering where the engine exhaust had scortched it. The balsa had been burning the whole time fanned by the brisk winds. Jay can be seen using the glider to light a Marlboro. Jeff Thomas's Flying Candy Cane of Doom and Garret Dejong's Nova are also pictured.
Jay Calvert's Dirty Dozen, with a full dozen eggs on board being readied for flight with the help of Sean Hogan. Next, Jay has yet another entry in the ELD contest. At right, LCO Sean Hogan announces another flight.
Frequent Flyers: Jay Calvert, Alex Dejong, and Sean Drummond all made five flights.
Multistage Flights: Derek Buchard flew his Mongoose twice with B6's boosting an A8 and a C6. Eric Stackpole "railstarted" two D21's for a safe flight after his Upscale Rattler 7 failed to leave the rail on a cluster of a D12 and two C6's.
Cluster Flights: Brad Martin flew "First Class" on three C6's and Eric Stackpole flew his Upscale Rattler 7 (see above).
Contest: Open Egg Loft Efficiency Duration
(number of eggs returned intact x duration in seconds) divided by total impulse of motor(s) = efficiency score)
| NAME | ROCKET | MOTOR(S) | EGGS LAUNCHED | EGGS RECOVERED INTACT | DURATION (SECONDS) | TOTAL INSTALLED IMPULSE | EFFICIENCY SCORE (EGG-SEC/NS) |
| Senior Division | |||||||
| Ulf Jonssen | Eggstravaganza | B6-2 | 1 | 1 | 36.17 | 5.0 | 7.23 |
| Jay Calvert | Un-Elite | C6-3 | 1 | 1 | 54.27 | 9.0 | 6.03 |
| Ulf Jonssen | Eggstravaganza | C6-3 | 1 | 1 | 52.95 | 9.0 | 5.88 |
| Jay Calvert | Un-Elite | C5-3 | 1 | 1 | 16.94 | 9.5 | 1.78 |
| Joe Roberts | Scrambler | C6-3 | 1 | 1 | 15.26 | 9.0 | 1.70 |
| Alex Immerman | Arcas | G80-4T | 5 | 4 | 50.06 | 120.0 | 1.67 |
| Ulf Jonssen | Eggstravaganza | C6-3 | 1 | 1 | 13.68 | 9.0 | 1.52 |
| Mike Casey | Shell Shocked | C6-5 | 1 | 1 | 11.91 | 9.0 | 1.32 |
| Jay Calvert | QCR No Break | B6-2 | 1 | 1 | 6.52 | 5.0 | 1.30 |
| Todd Harrison | Banshee | G64-?W | 7 | 3 | 43.71 | 120.0 | 1.09 |
| Jay Calvert | Dirty Dozen | G80-4FW | 12 | 1 | 15.41 | 120.0 | 0.13 |
| Ulf Jonssen | Short Elite | C6-3 | 1 | 0 | 17.47 | 9.0 | 0 |
| Eric Spain | Lil Nuke | F21-?W | 3 | 0 | 9.78 | 55.0 | 0 |
| Junior Division | |||||||
| Troy Heidtman | Custom Elite | C6-3 | 1 | 1 | 84.75 | 9.0 | 9.42 |
| Eric Jonssen | Custom Elite | C6-3 | 1 | 0 | 200+ (thermaled away) | 9.0 | 0 |
| Spencer Martin | Hopefully Survivable | E6-8 | 1 | 0 | ??? (where'd it go?) | 40.0 | 0 |
| Troy Heidtman | Custom Elite | C6-3 | 1 | 0 | separation | 9.0 | 0 |
Congratulations to the prize winners:
Troy Heidtman: Estes X-wing / Tie Fighter starter set with 6 motors.
Ulf Jonssen: LOC Viper III kit (Sponsored by Countdown Hobbies).
Jay Calvert: Apogee Heliroc kit (Sponsored by Countdown Hobbies).
Top 10 Hot Shots
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| Mark & Eric Stackpole |
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J570W, H97J, F32W, F20W, D21T(2), D12, C6(2) |
| Josh & Sean Drummond |
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I360(2), G35W, F25W, D12, C6, B6(2) |
| John Poulin |
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Hypertek J250 |
| Alex Immerman |
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I285, G80T, C11 |
| Todd Harrison |
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I300T, G64W |
| Rick Polzello |
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H123W, G80FWL, E16W |
| Joe Roberts |
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H238T, G80T, C6, A8 |
| Jay Calvert |
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G80FWL, C6, C5, B6, 1/4A3 |
| Brad & Spencer Martin |
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E6, D10, C6(5), A10, A3 |
| Brad Dibble |
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F20W, E9, A2 |
Motor Usage
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Anyone wishing to contribute images please e-mail them to Joe Roberts
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