Total impulse expended: 210 N-s, that’s mid - ‘H’ impulse range (but assumes all motors burned were full in their respective impulse range, and doesn’t count George’s flights since the logs are incomplete.) There was one clustered flight (#6), and one staged flight (#15). There were 4 rocketeers — John launching; Bob, George & Tim manning the three pads; and Barry, Josh, and Natalie recovering.
This was an exciting opportunity for the club to visit with kids and teachers. We were very glad to be invited to demonstrate model rockets for this group of youngsters.
The exhibitors were allowed access at about Noon, and we arrived a little after that time and set up some rockets for the indoor display. Besides several rockets, Bob brought his motor display and some photos of rockets in action. We also had some fliers and club cards to pass out.
The exposition started at 1:00 with the indoor display. Erin Wingate handled the booth and answered a lot of questions while the rest of us went to work getting ready to launch. The Channel 9 News Chopper made an appearance at about 1:30 landing in the parking area and allowing the kids a chance to see the machine and speak to the fliers. They took off at about 1:45 and buzzed the crowd a few times, and then everyone made their way out to the fields behind the buildings. In the meantime, we had been setting up a range area and making ready to fly some rockets. At a little after 2:00 we were given the all clear and began launching. John ran the show by flipping the switches and announcing each rocket to the crowd, with comments on the motor and recovery system being used before counting down. Bob, George, and I made sure a rocket was ready on one of the three pads and kept things running smoothly. Barry, his friend, and Natalie recovered the rockets as they landed. We launched until we ran out of time at about 2:30.
We tried hard to provide a variety of rockets and recovery methods; helicopter, streamer, parachute, glider, and even drag recovery. We also attempted to show the variety of the models available from scale to small high performance competition rockets. There was a successful stage flight, and a (sort of) successful cluster — only two of the three motors lit, but the rocket flew OK and recovered without damage. We only had one or two problems with a failed deployment and those came out more or less OK by not returning in balistic mode and by being far clear of spectators anyway.
Our many thanks to the sponsor, to John for organizing for doing the legwork and preparation that made it a success and to all the helpers!
Please send e-mail if any corrections need to be made to this launch report.
| Launch | Flyer’s Name | Rocket Name | Motor(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tim Burger | Quest Astra | B6-6 | Sounding flight for the launch |
| 2 | Tim Burger | Estes Saturn V | D12-5 | Short Arcing flight. |
| 3 | Tim Burger | Sparrow III | 1/2A2-4 | Another high performance Sparrow flight. |
| 4 | Bob Wingate | Apogee Blue Streek | 1/2A6-2 | Nice flight. |
| 5 | Tim Burger | Tangent | B6-4 | Good flight. |
| 6 | Tim Burger | Ranger | 3 x A8-3 | Two of three lit — low and slow |
| 7 | George Scheil | UFO-51 | ? | Lot’s of fun. |
| 8 | Tim Burger | Wizard | A8-5 | |
| 9 | Tim Burger | Sparrow IV | 1/2A2-6 | |
| 10 | Bob Wingate | Estes Tomahawk | D12-5 | Great flight. |
| 11 | Tim Burger | Sprint | B6-4 | Great flight. |
| 12 | Tim Burger | High Rotor II | 1/2A3-2T | One of the blades was a little late, but it recovered. |
| 13 | George Scheil | Miss Silver | ? | |
| 14 | Tim Burger | Super Bertha | E28-7 | Didn’t deploy — nose came out but no ’chute. |
| 15 | Tim Burger | Mongoose | B6-0/B6-6 | Very high flight. |
| 16 | George Scheil | Deep Surface Probe | ? | |
| 17 | Tim Burger | Maxi-Alpha | C11-3 | Good flight. |
| 18 | Tim Burger | Snitch | C6-0 | |
| 19 | George Scheil | Interdicter | ? | |
| 20 | Tim Burger | Silver Comet | D15-4 | |
| 21 | Tim Burger | Lamp Shade | D12-0 | |
| 22 | George Scheil | Geminee Glider | D12-5 | |
| 23 | Tim Burger | Big Bertha | C6-3 | St. Louis Arch attempt — streamer tore at about 20 feet. |
Total engines by class:
| Type | Qty. | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| MM | 0 | |
| 1/4A | 0 | |
| 1/2A | 4 | |
| A | 4 | One three motor cluster. |
| B | 5 | One two stage flight. |
| C | 3 | |
| D | 5 | |
| E | 1 |
No Rockets made more than one flight.
Number of flights per rocketeer:
| Flights | Rocketeer(s) |
|---|---|
| Tim Burger | |
| George Scheil | |
| Bob Wingate |
Submitted by Tim Burger, NAR 78486.
Last updated: October 27, 2004
