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Sunday November 1, 1998
Clarks Falls, CT
Whoa, who ordered this wind?!? Well, we're legal for a launch (barely) with winds in the 15 to 20 mph range all day. Let's look on the bright side: at least it's cold and cloudy! What a wonderful day for the pumpkin lofting parachute duration contest!
Some flight stats and highlights:
- We had 48 registered flyers, up from 44 last launch. (+9%)
- We flew 124 different rockets, down from 154 last time. (-19%)
- We logged 167 flights, down from 208 at CATO VII. (-20%)
- We burned 181 motors, down from 224. (-19%)
ENGINE USAGE:
| 1/4A | 0 |
| 1/2A | 13 |
| A | 9 |
| B | 20 |
| C | 58 |
| D | 29 |
| E | 8 |
| F | 16 |
| G | 14 |
| H | 9 |
| I | 4 |
| J | 0 |
| K | 1 |
| TOTAL | 181 |
- There was one level 1 certification attempt. Ray Ramsdell flew his Minnie Magg on on H123-6W sucessfully, then followed up with an H128-6W in his LOC IV. Congrats Ray!
- Cub Scout Den 8 from Pack 55 in Gales Ferry stopped by in the afternoon to fly their Estes Gnomes that they had built earlier. They had their own little 1/2A streamer duration contest and a drag race.
- The largest motor to date was flown at the Clarks Falls site. Louis Discko burned an Aerotech K1100-14T reload in his Rocket R&D Sky Raider. Great flight!
- Crash 'N' Burn. Bill Piedra tried out his latest black powder cluster/staged rocket "T-3 Procrastinator". 4xD12-0 in the first stage, 3xD12-0 in the second stage, and 3xD12-7 in the third stage. All 10 engines fired on cue, but the overall result was not pretty due to severe weathercocking.
- Paul Welling flew something a little bit...different. His 1/2 scale Spudnik (an unpainted Styrofoam ball with dowel rod legs) flew well on a D12. Next flight used a G35-7W. Coool! Loud and obnoxious, but stable (more or less). Unfortunately the ejection charge did a number on the styrofoam, and Spudnik returned to Earth in two somewhat melted pieces. Nothing a little masking tape can't fix. Third flight was also on a G35.
- Hot Shots:
| Louis Discko | 1704 NS | K1100T, G35W |
| Sandy / Glenn Alonzo | 1060 NS | I211W, I161W, G35W, F20W, E30T, 3xD12, 2xC6 |
| Paul / Aaron Welling | 833 NS | H123W, H180W, 3xG35W, 2xD12 |
| Bill Piedra | 721 NS | I211W, G35W, 10xD12 |
| Jay Calvert | 616 NS | H180W, H220T, 2xF39T, E18W, 2xC6, 2x1/2A3 |
| Robert Lee | 536 NS | I161W, G80T, F50T |
| Ray / Brian Ramsdell | 482 NS | H123W, H128W, E16W, D12 |
| Dave / Eric Sousa | 465 NS | H123W, G64W, F40W, 2xC6 |
| Jim / Brian Stuckman | 384 NS | G64W, F20W, F22J, 2xF24W, D12, 2xC6 |
| Paul Schoen | 357 NS | H180W, G80T |
| Joe Roberts | 355 NS | H128W, F50T, D12, 6xC6, 3xB6, B4, 2xA8, 1/2A6 |
| Walter Johnson | 264 NS | G80T, F25W, F20W |
| Richard / Aaron / Amanda Daines | 257 NS | F22J, 2xE30T, D15T, 3xD12, 4xC6, B6 |
| Heather / Greg / Samantha / Ryan Kluk | 238 NS | G40W, D12, 9xC6, 4xB6 |
| Chris Natale | 173 NS | G35W, E15W, 2xC6, C5 |
| Paul Ludwig | 160 NS | F62DS, F50T |
| Erik King | 117 NS | G125T |
Jay Calvert
Secretary, CATO
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