CATO LXVII Launch Report - 6 October 2002
Sterling, CT

CATO 67 was a wonderful day to return to our larger high power field in Sterling Connecticut.  The sky was mostly clear, the temperatures were mild, and the ligt wind was out of the East for a change.  The theme of the launch was "Clusters!", and the contest was "Half Mile Challenge" (precision altitude for altimeter-equipped rockets, closest to 2640' wins).  We had 37 flyers made 96 flights and burned 12,279Ns of propellant. This is the second best total for a Sterling launch ever, and equal to a low "N" motor.

Launch Photos


Photos by Les Kurz. Composition by Rick Polzello

1) Joey Whalen (left) and Tom Ouellete get ready to launch. This is Joey's first rocket EVER.
2) They recover "Payload Pete" after his flight in Les Kurz's H128W powered "America One".
Photos by Les Kurz.


Photos by Les Kurz. Composition by Rick Polzello.

1) Mark Severance's  LOC I-Roc on a Pro38 H153 motor.
2)  Len Haze's Big Daddy on a pair of D12s.
Photos by Les Kurz.


1)  John Poulin's NOS Cruiser on a Hypertek J315.  Beautiful and LOUD flight to 3300'.
2)  Jay Calvert's Shadow Technology flew on a Pro38 J360, airstarting twin Aerotech H128W.  Good flight to 2450'.
3)  Lift off of Shadow Technology.
4) Yellow and black rocket lifting off on a white lightning motor.
Photos by Jay Calvert.

Photos and composition by Joe Roberts

1)  Jay Calvert's stretched LOC 4-29SS on a pair of H180W motors. The second motor finally came up to pressure just after this photo was snapped.  The flight reached and altitude of 2084'.
2)  Rob Bazinet's LOC EZI65 flying on a Kosdon By Aerotech (KBA) I310S reload.
3)  Josh Drummonds Jupiter lifts off on a cluster two Pro38 I205 motors and a single Aerotech J350W (which came up to pressure late).
Photos by Joe Roberts.



NAR Level 1 Certifications:
1) John Lombardi with his BSD Horizon.
2) John's Horizon boosting on a Cesaroni Pro38 H153.
3) Don Steven's Super Chicken (modified LOC Graduator) on an AT H128W.
4) Greg Briden's PML Cirrus Dart on an AT H73J motor.
All three certs were successful!
Photos by Zack Lau.


1) Big rocket with altimeter (Jay Calvert's Shadow Technology on a J360 and two H128Ws).
2) Little rocket with an altimeter (Zack Lau's A Payload on an A10-3T).
3) Tim Polonis' Blue Thing on a cluster of four Estes D12s.
4)  Tube fin rocket .
Photos by Zack Lau.


1)  Chris Masullo's Estes V2 on an E18-4 White Lightning motor.
2)  Recovery of the V2.
3)  Len Haze's Quest DC-X Space Clipper on a C6-3.
Photos by Zack Lau.

1)  Tim Hetland's PML Bulldog boosting on a Pro38 J330.
2)  Peter and Jeannine Lawall's IRIS on an I211White Lightning.
3)  Tim Hetland's Spudnik on a G38 Black Maxx Econojet.
4)  Greg Briden's PML Cirrus Dart thrusting on an H73 Black Jack..
5)  Rob's Bazinet's LOC EZI65 on a KBA I310 Slow.
6)  Don Steven's Super Chicken on an H128 White Lightning.
Photos by Jay Calvert.



1) Joe Robers holding the tail end of Josh Drummond's Jupiter.  Still beeping out 1872'.
2) Dead PML Bullpuppy.
Photos by Don Stevens

Photos and composition by Joe Roberts

Jeff Thomas' blue rocket is inspected by Sean Hogan and John Poulin prior to flight.
Photos by Joe Roberts.

Photos and composition by Joe Roberts

1)  Les Kurz's PML Sudden Rush is RSO'd before pad assignment.
2)  Jeannine Lawall holding husband Peter's shortened IRIS, now simply "IS".
Photos by Joe Roberts.

1) Les is being LSO'd again by John Poulin and Joe Roberts, this time the rocket is America One.  Cody Calvert checks for positive motor retention.  It looks like the Hogans have superglued their lips together somehow.
2)  Sean Hogan's Ring Thing boosting on an F12J motor.
Photos by Jay Calvert.



1) From left: John Poulin, Les Kurz, Les' America One rocket, Tom Ouellete, Joey Whalen, Cody Calvert.
2) Les Kurz' Sudden Rush cruising skyward on an I357T motor, to 2490'.
Photos by Jay Calvert.

Anyone wishing to contribute imagesplease e-mail them to JayCalvert

LAUNCH HIGHLIGHTS and STATS:

Certifications:  Congratulations to the following for successful NAR level 1 certification flights:


Frequent Flyers: Eric Weaver and Len Haze each made 7 flights. Hadrian Kim managed 6.

Clusters:  Rob Bazinet flew his LOC Viper III on a trio of Estes E9s. Jay Calvert flew his 4-29SS on a pair of H180Ws. He also clustered Shadow Technology (see below). Josh Drummond flew his Jupiter into a different zip code on a J350W and a pair of I205s. Len Haze was busy flying his Big Daddy on pairs of D12s (twice) and C11s (once). Tim Polonis flew "Blue Thing"on four D12 motors.

Multi-Stage Flights: Jay Calvert flew Shadow Technology on a J360 and airstarted two H128Ws.Toby Schneider flew "Lean Machine" on a D12 to D12 combo.

Classic Kits:  None today.

Motor CATOs:  None.

Other Notable Flights:  Zack Lau was busy working on NARTREK Gold, and made a number of flights on "A Payload".  This tiny rocket flew on A10-3T or A3-4T motors and carried a PerfectFlite altimeter.  Altitude were in the 200-300 foot range.

Contests: Today's contest was Half Mile Precision Altitude, for altimeter-equipped rockets.
NAME ROCKET / MOTOR ALTITUDE DIFFERENCE PLACE/ PRIZE
Todd Harrison /Rob Bazinet Yank 2" Iris / Kosdon H135S 2657' +17' 1st / PML 2" AMRAAMkit
Rick Polzello PML Endeaver / Pro38 I286 2566' -76' 2nd / G64-7W reload
Les Kurz PML Sudden Rush / AT I357T 2490' -150' 3rd / Estes DroidFighter
Jay Calvert Shadow Technology / Pro38 J360 + two  AT H128W 2450' -190' 4th / Estes C6-3motors
Rob Bazinet LOC EZI-65 / KBA I310S 2277' -363' 5th
Mike Casey PML Eclipse / Pro38 I285 2161' -479' 6th
Jay Calvert LOC 4-29SS / two AT H180W 2084' -556' 7th
Rob Bazinet VB Extreme 54 /Kosdon I145DH 2026' -614' 8th
John Poulin NOS Cruiser / Hypertek J315 3300' +660' 9th
Josh Drummond Jupiter  / AT J350W + two Pro38 I205 1872' -768' 10th

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