Apr 23, 2016
The April 23rd SoAR launch at Dawsonville was held under sunny skies with steady winds and mild temperatures. Against a scenic backdrop of rolling pasture lands and the north Georgia mountains more than forty-five participants launching 129 rockets into the blue skies. We saw six cluster launches; one of these was Jeff Eshbaugh’s LOC Viper III that contained three E9-6s for a spectacular flight. Other remarkable flights were Steve Bellio’s Pyramid Rocketry 9” Pyramid lofted by a G75-4M and his LOC EZI-65 powered by a G79-4W. Glenn Harper launched an Aerotech Mirage on a F59. I also enjoyed watching Marcus’ Estes Condor with two parasitic gliders, one gliding far afield and Ron Stancil up-scaled a Gyroc and flew it on a C6-3. The most unique scratch-built rocket was “Hairy Situation” launched by Jay Hargis. For this event the total engine ignition count was as follows:
- A – 12
- B – 18
- C – 39
- D – 25
- E – 26
- F – 18
- G – 2
Link to some additional event photos here.
Mar 12, 2016
Finally, weather did not impact our launch event at Mill Springs as it did the previous two months. It turned out to be a warm day with moderate winds that calmed by midafternoon. Twenty-four participants launched a total of 102 rockets, pyramids, saucers, gizmos, and an hour glass by the end of the day. Crosswinds created some difficult recoveries and a few sacrifices for those choosing to reach higher altitudes, but overall the day provided much enjoyment and spectator action.
Motor ignition counts were as follows:
1/4A – 1
1/2A – 5
A – 26
B – 20
C – 23
D – 16
E – 10
F – 2
Additional photos provided by Kevin Boyd: Photos from Mill Springs March Launch
Feb 7, 2016
The February 6th launch event at Lilly was held under mostly cloudy skies with brisk moderate winds. The midwinter chill did not deter twenty-one hardy participants who were encouraged by the large open field to launch ninety-three rockets. Motor ignition counts were as follows:
- 1/2A – 1
- A – 0
- B – 7
- C – 23
- D – 16
- E – 15
- F – 18
- G – 8
- H – 8
- I – 6
- J – 2
- K – 2
The many mid to high-power rockets were thrilling to watch (and hear) while all eyes anxiously monitored the dual deployment used on many of these larger rockets. Glenn Harper had a spectacular launch of his Polecat Aerospace Woket on a J244. Mario had an awesome flight with his larger CTI K-powered Horizon (4.8 second burn) and Paul Farmer flew his LOC Phantom on a K500 Red. T.J. Frishe launched his Madcow Minion Missile with a J270-W. Chris Short provided a demo of the Jolly Logic Chute Release on a PML Phobos lofted by a H250G. The device worked perfectly.
Kevin Scholberg brought out an assortment of unique paradigm-changing creations that were fun to watch; the scratch-built Shining Star being my favorite. Also of note was Eric Bessman’s Aerotech Arreaax (pronounced “Arrow”) with onboard GPS and HD camera powered by a G64W-10. David Barber brought out a nicely finished Space X Falcon 9 Cargo and Tom Thurmond wowed us with a not so perfect flight of his Semroc Mars Lander but the stuck-landing brought out much applause. So much more to mention, but need to get this posted today. Some additional photos here.
Nov 14, 2015
The launch event held at Bert Adams Scout Camp was fortunate to have perfect November weather with very light winds, mild temperatures, and plenty of blue sky. The field was easy to navigate and presented very few recovery challenges. There were just over 200 launches accomplished with over one hundred total participants loading the launch pads.
T.J. Frishe helped get spectators excited with his Estes Leviathan on a F20-4. Jim Cain brought out an interesting scratch-built X-Wing design with a 3-D printed nose cone with helicopter recovery boosted skyward on a D12-5 and also wowed the crowd with a Mean Machine on an E9-4. Monica Helms launched her heads-up flight of the scratch-built Serenity on an F15-6 (SoAR members can see photos of this unique model in the SoAR Business Group Discussion) and the Space X Dragon on a G79W. Kevin Scholberg brought out many Art Applewhite saucers and other unique rockets including a scratch-built Day Glow II that was eye-catching (which was fortunate for the successful tree recovery team). Steve Bellio launched his 9” Pyramid on a F23-4FJ which was awesome to watch (twice), had a successful flight and recovery of his LOC EZI-65 on a G78-4G, and an Estes stretched-out Argent on a E30-4T. David Fields arrived with a selection of his own designs including his three stage (D12-0, B6-0, A8-3) F-7 that arched out over the tall trees in the distance and seemed to leave earth’s orbit (okay, slight exaggeration) but was soon returned by a scout from a neighboring field. Wow – merit badge! David also had a great spectator flight of his F-13 R/C boost glider.
And these were just some of the standouts.
Motor ignition statistics: Six 1/2A, thirty A, seventy-nine B, fifty-four C, eleven D, nine E, eight F, and three G.
Sep 12, 2015
Moderate temperatures and mild northwesterly winds pushed away morning clouds to make for a very delightful day for our September 12th Mill Springs launch event. We had sixteen participants loading the pads at a leisurely pace to launch sixty-two rockets. Motor selection included five 1/2A, sixteen A, nineteen B, fourteen C, six D, four E, and a single G. The B6-4 was the most prevalent selection.
Of special interest was Gabriel’s New Way Sky Spike shaped like a railway spike but actually flew straight and true on a C6-3. There was Joel Downs Estes MIRV with a spectacular flight starting with a B6-0 booster stage igniting three MIRV rockets each on A3-4T separating into their own trajectories. Glenn Harper tempted fate with his One Big Rush on a G74 which was recovered successfully with a little help from the SoAR tree recovery team (a.k.a. Jorge with a long stick), and we had a few CATOs that provided some ground-level drama. Kevin Scholberg launched an Estes Ascender on an E15-4W and completed a dozen other flights while Marcus had an excellent flight with his Sky Dart II glider as well as his Space Shuttle.
So a moderate-size turnout making for a very comfortable and relaxing day to participate and to be a spectator on a late summer afternoon.
Photo coverage provided by Kevin Boyd: Mill Springs September 12th photos
