September 9th Mill Springs Launch Report
The September 9th Mill Springs Launch had twenty-seven participants launch eighty-one rockets. Comfortable temperatures and sunny blue skies prevailed throughout the event; although there were gusty winds, these were directed down the length of the field which kept almost all recoveries just an easy walk.
Most participants took few risks with reasonable motor selections, but not all. Lee Childers took an Estes Alpha III to maximum altitude with a D10-5 and then brisk upper-level winds proceeded to take the little Alpha far afield. Glenn Harper also considered his LOC Graduator expendable and selected a G74-6 for its thrilling ride and a long drift down to the lower edge of the field just out of reach. With better success Kevin Scholberg fired off his LOC Arcas powered by a F44-4w and Steve Bellio had his Raven launched with a F50-4T. We also enjoyed seeing James fire off his three-stage Estes Mini Commanche with a successful recovery. These were great spectator launches.
Also of interest were some older rockets making their way back out to the field. Kevin Scholberg launched a Centuri Mercury Redstone on a C6-3 and his Estes Sizzler Classic (rear chute ejection worked wonderfully) on a C6-3. Roy Green loaded a scratch built Mercury Little Joe on the pad and launched it with a C6-3 as well. It was a very successful day with lots of other cool stuff to watch as always. Event Photos by Kevin Boyd
Motor Ignition Counts:
- 1/2A – 2
- A – 13
- B – 24
- C – 22
- D – 12
- E – 7
- F – 2
- G – 1
The August 12th launch event at Mill Springs had twenty-eight participants launch eighty-three rockets. Following a few days of scattered showers, the day turned out to be mostly calm with favorable winds and partly cloudy skies, although heat and humidity was a factor later in the afternoon.
On a typical midsummer day where relentless heat and humidity came early and spent the day at the July 8th Mill Springs Launch Event there were thirty-seven rocket enthusiasts ready to launch ninety-one rockets and saucers. We had many first-timers who braved the heat to come out and watch, learn, and participate in an exciting day of rocketry.
Light winds and summertime temperatures helped bring out thirty-six participants to launch 123 rockets at the SoAR June Launch event at Mill Springs. Activity at the pads was steady throughout the day. Jacob Schwartz filled the skies with rocket boosted gliders by launching his Estes Astron Skydart II with a C6-3 and a B6-2 as well as a simultaneous launch of his Fliskits Tri-Glide (three gliders) on a C6-5 and an Estes Shuttle Express (two gliders) on a C6-3. Steve Bellio got his LOC EZI-65 to roar off the pad with a G75-4M, got in two flights of his Estes Partizon with F44-4Ws, and sent his 9” Pyramid of Doom downfield on a G77-4R. Kevin Boyd flew his LOC Star Fighter on a E30-4 and his Estes QCC Explorer on a D12-5 – always beautiful going up.
The May 27th Dawsonville Launch Event had twenty-five participants launch sixty-two rockets. The field having received plentiful rain in the preceding weeks was in healthy growth mode, which although beautiful in a nature-loving way, made some recoveries search and rescue missions. Some of the highlights included Andrew Robinson’s heads-up Grits Blitz (scratch-built from round grits containers) which was attempted on a B6-4 (too long of a delay), a C6-3 (oops… unstable), and finally successful on a B6-2. For mid-power excitement, there was Lee Childers’ Estes Goblin going up on an E9-8, David Sleeman’s Estes Leviathan sent up on a G40-7W, and Jeff Eshbaugh’s Estes Argent powered by a G76-7G. We also enjoyed seeing some rare models such as Ken Frye’s Shrox Stiletto flown on a D12-5 and his Estes Exo-skell on a D12-3.