Oct 25, 2024
SoAR’s next launch happens this Saturday, October 26th at our Dawsonville/Ball Ground site from 9AM – 2PM.
This is our mid-power field, where rockets up to G power can be flown. It is very hilly, and cow-patties abound, hidden in the tall grass in the recovery area, so pick your shoes accordingly. Spectators are always welcome. If you’ve got a rocket, come fly it with us.
The latest forecast shows light winds from the northwest with clear skies and no chance for any precipitation and temperatures reaching the mid to upper 70s by afternoon. This should be a spectacular launch event against the backdrop of Fall colors. Setup begins at 8:00 and help is greatly appreciated.
Oct 12, 2024
On a perfect (especially for rocketry) Fall day, SoAR’s October 12th launch event at Mill Springs Academy, there were 127 launches accomplished. The early morning participants included cub scout members who were very enthusiastic about getting their rockets into the blue sky, and this kept the launch pads very busy. As the day progressed, there was still steady activity and many interesting rockets being launched.
Steven sent up his handsome Mad Cow Patriot on a F67-6 which did make it off the field to the other side of Little River but ultimately recovered successfully and with just some scuff marks as it came through the trees. Very fortunate. Other remarkable flights included Sean’s Estes two stage Solar Flare that was launched on an A8-0 booster with an A3-4T for a sustainer to a good altitude and then successful recovery on the field. Jorge flew his FlisKits Tres on a cluster of three A8-3s for a short but successful flight. There was also an attempted drag race of nine Baby Berthas on B6-4s (ended-up six initially launching then three to follow) which was quite a sight. One of these Baby Berthas by Dennis Walker took up an Astrocam [video here]. A great flight was achieved by Rick Young with an Apogee Mini-Copter lifted by a 1/2A3-4T and successful recovery with a slow helicopter descent. Fun to watch! Another Rick and his family accomplished three Estes Payload flights on D12-5s with an Eggbert (hard boiled) going along for the ride. Eggbert was only a tad anxious the whole time.
Event photos by Kevin Boyd [here]. Some additional event pictures [here]
Motor ignition count:
A – 32
B – 63
C – 22
D – 9
E – 4
F – 1
Oct 11, 2024
SoAR’s Mill Springs Academy launch event is this Saturday, October 12th. The weather forecast calls for clear skies all day with mild winds and temperatures reaching the mid 70s by the afternoon. So, make plans to come out early and enjoy a wonderful day of rocketry where we will be launching from 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Remember to bring water to help stay hydrated. This is our low power launch, where we recommend altitudes no higher than 1000′ (usually no more than D power level).
As always, the public is invited to watch, or join in!
Sep 27, 2024
SoAR’s next launch happens this Saturday, September 28th at our Dawsonville/Ball Ground site from 9AM – 2PM.
This is our mid-power field, where rockets up to G power can be flown. It is very hilly, and cow-patties abound, hidden in the tall grass in the recovery area, so pick your shoes accordingly. Spectators are always welcome. If you’ve got a rocket, come fly it with us.
The latest forecast shows winds from the south with cloudy skies but little chance for any precipitation until after the event and temperatures reaching the 70s. Setup begins at 8:00 and help is greatly appreciated.
Aug 10, 2024
The August 10th launch event at Mill Springs Academy was held under mostly sunny skies with mild winds that helped (at times) moderate the summer heat. Turnout was moderate but busy with a total of ninety-six launches accomplished – mostly during the cooler morning hours. With the calm winds, most rockets were launched straight up with no angle needed to ensure recovery back on the field.
Notable flights included Darren’s first flight of his scratch-built Biggs Revenge powered by an E12, and Kevin Scholberg’s Art Applewhite UFFO with Streamers on an E12 – quite the crowd pleaser. Kevin also flew his scratch-built Captain America’s Shield with a cluster of three D11s while Darren was able to successfully ignite all four C6-3s on his scratch-built X-wing (and a prayer). David Cain brought out an updated scratch-built UNICON that launched on a C11 and features a unique break apart recovery method. The calm winds also enticed some to try rockets with parasitic gliders with many great flights with long-lasting glide patterns. Terry Bliss experimented with a number of spinners (and “brain pans”) with various balance points set by engine placement to evaluate stability of these inexpensive scratch-built designs. The event also included some nice scale model rockets including an Estes Saturn V launched by Santwan with a C6-3 and an Estes Mercury Redstone by Marcus sent up on a C5-3 and recovered with twin parachutes.
Some photos from the event [here].
Motor Ignition counts:
A – 22
B – 26
C – 38
D – 11
E – 4
