It was perfect today at Durham. It reached 81 F, the skies were blue, the winds only ranged from 3 - 10 m.p.h. out of the West. Almost everything came back on the field regardless of the altitude flown. We hosted a NAR open meet, with three events: A Altitude, B SuperRoc Altitude, and C Dual Eggloft Altitude. Our new Theodolites worked quite well and 24 flyers made 136 flights and burned 1,772 Ns of total impulse equal to a typical "Shadow Technology" flight.
At left, Ross Tracey's Harpoon lifts off on an Estes C6 motor. Jeff Thomas' Red Crayon can be see screaming skyward on an Aerotech G35W EconoJet. At right, Shawn DiBella's Estes Skywinder slides up the rod on a C6 while a 3FNC rocket waits its turn.
There goes the 3FNC on black powder power. Zack Lau's Helicopter is waiting on red 5 for liftoff on an A8 motor. Zack's rocket gained remarkable altitude for only flying an A motor and successfully deployed its blades for a long helicopter duration.
Tom Ouellette's Mongoose takes off on a B6-0 staging to an A8-3. Joey Whalen's waits with the same motor combination. Joey and Tom made quite a few Mongoose flights today. Jeff Thomas connects the clips to his Alien Space Probe. The rocket flew well on a C6. Jessica Ristow's "Pink Popper" waits on red 5 for a flight on an A3. This rocket had several entertaining flights today.
The E9 in Eric Jonsson's Big Daddy is just up to full power and is deflecting the blast plate. The clips can be seen falling away just to the right of the rack. Rick Polzello's Amraam 2 boosts at center on a G35W. Alex Weissman's Blue Ninja lifts off on Estes D12 power.
Getting Buggy. Dom & Joey LaCava pose with their Mean Machine. Its been modified with a clear payload bay. You can see the "Buganaut" that they have put aboard for launch. They found it when it flew into their house and terrorized Joey's sister & mom. Unfortunately, the bug expired before it had the chance to fly as a result of several failed igniters. Liftoff on an Estes E9!
David Ristow prepares "Ring Thing" for launch on an E9. The 1st flight of this rocket left a very cool split smoke trail. It flew great several times on E9 motors. At right, David's two stage Fat Boy boosts on its 1st and only flight. In typical Fat Boy style the rocket arched into the wind and when the 2nd stage lit it proceeded directly over the swamp. A nice yellow rocket sits on blue 2 while Ross Tracey's nicely painted Ariel waits to burn a Cesaroni G69. Brian DiBella's Initiator can also be seen waiting. It flew on a G38 Fast Jack motor.
Poised for intercept! Sean DiBella's Estes Heatseeker waits for a flight on a B6. Rick Polzello's Heatseeker 2X upscale can be seen on the away pads. It flew on a G35W EconoJet. An unidentified dark green rockets burns White Lightning on the away pads.
The day was so perfect that we were even blessed with a rainbow during the afternoon.
Our new altitude tracking theodolites worked very well today. We had three NAR altitude contests and most of the tracks were closed. Not bad for a 1st attempt! Much thanks goes out to members of the contest committee and Zack Lau for their great work making the theodolites.
The end of an era. Jay Calvert works the CATO controls for the last time. Jay will be in Kalamazoo Michigan by August 1st. To commemorate all that Jay has meant to the club and to express our gratitude for all the work he has done, Jay was honored as CATO Lifetime Member #1. CATO Section Advisor Les Kurz can be seen handing Jay his certificate.
So long and good luck. We sure are going to miss you...................
LAUNCH HIGHLIGHTS and STATS:
Certifications: None today.
Frequent Flyers: Zack Lau made 10 flights today. David Ristow managed 8.
Clusters: Jeff Thomas flew his Astron Cobra Cluster on four A8 motors. Jay Calvert, Zack Lau, David Ristow, & the "Sally Drive Flyers" all flew 1/2A3 clusters in the altitude contest.
Multi-Stage Flights: Tom Ouellette & Joey Whalen flew Estes Mongeese. David Ristow flew his two-stage Fat Boy on D12 to D12 power. Ross Tracey flew his Navaho on a B6 to B6 combo. Max Holl flew his Cobra on an A10 to A3.
Classic Kits: .
Motor CATOs: Happily, none.
Other Notable Flights:
Contests: Today's NAR events were A Altitude, B SuperRoc Altitude & C Dual Eggloft Altitude.
CATO 78 Meet Champions
| Place | Contestant | NAR Number | Section | Total Points |
| C Division | ||||
| 1st | Calvert, Jay |
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| 2nd | Hung Tan Lau, Zachary |
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| 3rd | Ristow, David W. |
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| 4th | Kurz, Leslie |
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| T Division | ||||
| 1st | Sally Drive Flyers |
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| Sections | ||||
| 1st | CATO |
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| 2nd | IND |
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CATO 78 Points
| Contestant | NAR Number | Section | 1/2A CA | C DELA | B SRA | Total |
| C Division | ||||||
| Calvert, Jay |
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| Hung Tan Lau, Zachary |
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| Kurz, Leslie |
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| Ristow, David W. |
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| T Division | ||||||
| Sally Drive Flyers |
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| CATO |
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| IND |
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1/2A Cluster Altitude
| Place | Contestant | NAR Number | Section | Flight 1 | Flight 2 | Total | NAR Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Division | |||||||
| 1 | Calvert, Jay | 71767 | 581 | 124 | 63 | 124 | 280 |
| 2 | Hung Tan Lau, Zachary | 80361 | 581 | EJ | 113 | 113 | 168 |
| 3 | Ristow, David W. | 79216 | ind | 60 | 60 | 112 | |
| T Division | |||||||
| 4 | Sally Drive Flyers | T-581 | 581 | 22 | 22 | 56 | |
| Place | Contestant | NAR Number | Section | Flight 1 | Flight 2 | Total | NAR Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C Division | |||||||
| 2 | Hung Tan Lau, Zachary | 80361 | 581 | 81 | 81 | 81 | 360 |
| 3 | Calvert, Jay | 71767 | 581 | 61 | 58 | 61 | 240 |
| -- | Kurz, Leslie | 74240 | ind | EGG | 0 | 0 | |
| T Division | |||||||
| 1 | Sally Drive Flyers | T-581 | 581 | 89 | 89 | 600 | |
| Place | Contestant | NAR Number | Section | Flight 1 | Flight 2 | Total | NAR Points |
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| C Division | |||||||
| 1 | Calvert, Jay | 71767 | 581 | 25800 (129 m) | 28400 (142 m) | 28400 | 300 |
| -- | Hung Tan Lau, Zachary | 80361 | 581 | NC | UNS | 0 | 30 |
| T Division | |||||||
| 2 | Sally Drive Flyers | T-581 | 581 | 18400 (92 m) | 18400 | 180 | |
Top 10 Hot Shots:
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| Ross & Ryan Tracey |
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G69 (2), F50T, C6 (3), B6 (2) |
| Rick Polzello |
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G35W (2), F20W |
| Jeff Thomas |
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G35W, F50T, C6 (2), A8 (4) |
| David & Jessica Ristow |
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E9 (4), D12 (2), C6 (3), B6, B4, A10, A3 (2), 1/2A3 (3) |
| Brian, Chris & Shawn DiBella |
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G38FJ, E16W, C6 (2), B6 (2), A8, 1/2A3 |
| Al Gloer |
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F50T, E9, C6, B6 |
| Joey Lacava |
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E9 (3) |
| Zack Lau |
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C11 (2), B6 (3), A10, A8, 1/2A3 (9) |
| Alex Weissman |
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D12 (2), C6 (2) |
| Tom & Nathan Ouellette |
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C6 (2), B6 (4), A8 (4) |
Motor Summary
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Anyone wishing to contribute additional images please E-mail them to Rick Polzello
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