It was a nice day at Durham. It reached 87 F while the skies varied from blue and sunny to cloudy and threatening. We never had rain and finished the launch under blue skies. Winds were around 5 m.p.h. for most of the day, but did get to almost 15 m.p.h. on occasion. The scheduled G Altimeter Altitude contest was postponed so that more people could participate. 15 flyers made 58 flights and burned 1,064 Ns of total impulse equal to an Aerotech J570W.
At left, Ryan Tracey connects his Estes Flash while his Dad's Harpoon waits on Red-1. There goes Ross' Harpoon on C6 black powder power. Ryan's Flash just clears the rod on a C6-5. John Rowan-Stern's Black Shadow can be seen on Red-3 waiting to fly on a B6.
Ross Tracey slides his Ariel onto the rail for a flight on a Cesaroni G69. There goes his Ariel on a pillar of flame. John Rowan-Stern checks the clips on the C11 in his Cherokee-D. Unfortunately, the nozzle of the motor eroded and underpowered the rocket. The ballistic recovery did only a little damage to the body.
Contest animal Zack Lau loads his EC-13 canard rocket glider onto the rod for a flight an Estes 1/2A3. Of course the next CATO launch has an A rocket glider contest. At center & left, Jeff Thomas' "Der V-3" can be seen waiting with a D12-3 hanging waaayyy out of the back. Liftoff!. The rocket had a nice clean flight.
Ron Verrilli made it out to the launch today and brought his latest rocket "Fin Tab". This interesting rocket has 45 deg spin tabs on each of its fins. Ron flew it today on a G35W Econojet. The rocket started to spin at what looked like 1,000 rpm about 1 foot off the rod. The drag of the spinning and tabs kept the altitude in check, but it was a very cool flight. An unidentified purple rocket lifts off while Zack Lau's "B Chopper" waits for a test flight. Our next launch will also have a B helicopter duration contest. Two more rockets await flight as well.
Curveball. Zack Lau's rocket glider "Fred" doesn't quite reach its maximum altitude potential on a 1/2A3. At right, the E11 in John Rowan-Stern's Cherokee D starts to spit nozzle clay while Dana Ouellette Bandit waits with Ryan Tracey's Flash.
CATO President Sean Hogan helps Jim Oslander hook up the E15 in his Initiator. At right, CATO 1st lady, Jeanne Hogan, relaxes with a loyal companion.
Several nice rockets wait their turn while a yellow rockets boosts on Estes power. An orange rocket zips off the rod and almost clears the tent in the foreground while Zack Lau's "JV-1" a copy of Jeff Vincent's slide wing RG waits on Red-3.
Liftoff. A white rocket boosts off the Blue pads while the launch crew and spectators look on.
LAUNCH HIGHLIGHTS and STATS:
Certifications: None today.
Frequent Flyers: Zack Lau and John Rowan-Stern managed 9 flights each today while Jim Oslander & Al Gloer each made 7.
Clusters: None today.
Multi-Stage Flights: Ross Tracey flew his Navaho on a B6-0 to B6-6 combination.
Classic Kits: .
Motor CATOs: Happily none! Although, John Rowan-Stern has the nozzle of an Estes C11 erode and underpower his Cherokee D and Zack Lau had a zero delay in a 1/2A3.
Other Notable Flights:
Contests: Today's G Altimeter Altitude contest was postponed.
Top 10 Hot Shots:
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| Ross & Ryan Tracey |
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G69 (2), F50T, C6 (2), B6 (3) |
| Ron Verrilli |
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G35W, F39T (2) |
| Jim Oslander |
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E15W, D12 (3), C6 (2), B6 |
| Steve & Susie Young |
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E30T (2), C6, B6 |
| John Rowan-Stern |
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D12 (2), C11, C6 (2), B6 (3), A8 |
| Dana, Nathan, & Tom Ouellette |
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D12, C6 (5), B6 |
| Al Gloer |
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C11 (2), C6 (3), B6, A8 |
| Randy Holl |
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E9, 1/2A3 |
| Jeff Thomas |
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D12, C6 |
| Zack Lau |
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B4 (2), A8 (2), 1/2A3 (4), 1/4A3 |
Motor Summary
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Anyone wishing to contribute additional images please E-mail them to Rick Polzello
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