Launch Reports

We did indeed have a launch at Mill Springs Academy on Saturday the 24th, with about a dozen people showing up to brave the temperature and the wind. The school that was going to be there did not come due to the wind, and we’ll reschedule them for a later launch, but those that did show up had a pretty decent day despite the wind.  By the time I left we had only one or two rockets that were lost due to wind, and one boost glider that splashed down in the drainage lake, but was retrieved.  Dan McMahill and family returned after being absent a year or so and flew a few odd rockets, including one that looked to me like Tom Servo from the old Mystery Science Theatre 3000 show.  We didn’t bother with flight cards or record keeping today, so I have no idea how many rockets were flown, but I’m thinking close to forty by the time I left at 3:30PM.

Next launch at Mill Springs is on Valentine’s Day.  Hope the weather starts to get warmer by then!

The January 10th launch event at Mill Springs was conducted under blue contrail crisscrossed skies with light and variable winds. There were twenty-five participants making a total of 69 launches. The motor selections were as follows: 1/2A – 4, A – 8, B – 31, C – 14, D – 5, E – 7. We saw many excellent flights including Gabriel’s Estes Astron Skydart II making two very nice flights, March Briner’s Applewhite saucer with great flight performance, and Oliver Long’s Estes Leviathan flown by Nathaniel on an E16-6 with impressive results. There were fifteen rockets being launched for their first flight. Steve Bellio hovered nearby with his new camera drone taking launch videos and snap shots with results to be viewed later (pictures must be copied from the memory card). All in all it was a beautiful day with lots of moments enjoyed by all participants and their family members who came along to support them.

Fair autumn skies saw ninety launches by twenty-two participants at the SoAR November Mill Springs Launch.  Moderate and sometime variable winds provided ample opportunity for many successful flights and recoveries with motors ranging from 1/4A to F32.  The favorite choice was the B6-4 which boosted fourteen rockets skyward while C6-5 saw eleven launches.  A three stage launch (A8-0/A8-0/A8-5) was successfully flown and recovered by Warren with his retro Farside.  Steve successfully launched and flew two remote control boosted gliders for four spectacular flights with motors ranging from E12 to F15.

Throughout the day we saw many parasitic gliders and space planes with some really good results.  A Space Shuttle scratch built by Marcus was remarkably realistic in its lift off, booster separation, and especially with how the Space Shuttle glided down back to earth with a very flat glide angle.

So all-in-all we had another good turnout of participants, many with family and all enjoying a variety of interesting launches on a beautiful autumn day.

A cloudy morning started with a just a few launches between the rain drops, but the weather slowly improved and by mid-morning blue skies began to appear and activity on the launch pads picked up.  There were a total of 60 launches made by 26 participants including members from the Georgia Perimeter College Space Club.  There were twenty rockets being flown for the first time; six of these were scratch built.  We saw our first 3D printed rocket engineered by Denmark Hodges that completed two successful launches with an onboard GoPro HERO camera on Aerotech E28 motors (very extraordinary). Steve Bellio successfully launched and recovered four rockets that completed six total launches powered by everything from E15-4W to G77-4R.

Otherwise the B6-4 was the most often used motor throughout the day with twelve total launches followed by the D12-5 and B4-4 with six launches each.  Oliver Long was the most active participant with a total of fourteen launches including a return of his Estes Leviathan sent skyward on an E16-6 and successfully recovered.

So what began as a dreary start became an enjoyable outing with visitors arriving throughout the day to enjoy the October skies and many impressive flights.

A cloudy morning started with a just a few launches between the rain drops, but the weather slowly improved and by mid-morning blue skies began to appear and activity on the launch pads picked up.  There were a total of 60 launches made by 26 participants including members from the Georgia Perimeter College Space Club.  There were twenty rockets being flown for the first time; six of these were scratch built.  We saw our first 3D printed rocket engineered by Denmark Hodges that completed two successful launches with an onboard GoPro HERO camera on Aerotech E28 motors (very extraordinary). Steve Bellio successfully launched and recovered four rockets that completed six total launches powered by everything from E15-4W to G77-4R.

Otherwise the B6-4 was the most often used motor throughout the day with twelve total launches followed by the D12-5 and B4-4 with six launches each.  Oliver Long was the most active participant with a total of fourteen launches including a return of his Estes Leviathan sent skyward on an E16-6 and successfully recovered.

So what began as a dreary start became an enjoyable outing with visitors arriving throughout the day to enjoy the October skies and many impressive flights.

A cloudy morning started with a just a few launches between the rain drops, but the weather slowly improved and by mid-morning blue skies began to appear and activity on the launch pads picked up.  There were a total of 60 launches made by 26 participants including members from the Georgia Perimeter College Space Club.  There were twenty rockets being flown for the first time; six of these were scratch built.  We saw our first 3D printed rocket engineered by Denmark Hodges that completed two successful launches with an onboard GoPro HERO camera on Aerotech E28 motors (very extraordinary). Steve Bellio successfully launched and recovered four rockets that completed six total launches powered by everything from E15-4W to G77-4R.

Otherwise the B6-4 was the most often used motor throughout the day with twelve total launches followed by the D12-5 and B4-4 with six launches each.  Oliver Long was the most active participant with a total of fourteen launches including a return of his Estes Leviathan sent skyward on an E16-6 and successfully recovered.

So what began as a dreary start became an enjoyable outing with visitors arriving throughout the day to enjoy the October skies and many impressive flights.

A cloudy morning started with a just a few launches between the rain drops, but the weather slowly improved and by mid-morning blue skies began to appear and activity on the launch pads picked up.  There were a total of 60 launches made by 26 participants including members from the Georgia Perimeter College Space Club.  There were twenty rockets being flown for the first time; six of these were scratch built.  We saw our first 3D printed rocket engineered by Denmark Hodges that completed two successful launches with an onboard GoPro HERO camera on Aerotech E28 motors (very extraordinary). Steve Bellio successfully launched and recovered four rockets that completed six total launches powered by everything from E15-4W to G77-4R.

Otherwise the B6-4 was the most often used motor throughout the day with twelve total launches followed by the D12-5 and B4-4 with six launches each.  Oliver Long was the most active participant with a total of fourteen launches including a return of his Estes Leviathan sent skyward on an E16-6 and successfully recovered.

So what began as a dreary start became an enjoyable outing with visitors arriving throughout the day to enjoy the October skies and many impressive flights.

A cloudy morning started with a just a few launches between the rain drops, but the weather slowly improved and by mid-morning blue skies began to appear and activity on the launch pads picked up.  There were a total of 60 launches made by 26 participants including members from the Georgia Perimeter College Space Club.  There were twenty rockets being flown for the first time; six of these were scratch built.  We saw our first 3D printed rocket engineered by Denmark Hodges that completed two successful launches with an onboard GoPro HERO camera on Aerotech E28 motors (very extraordinary). Steve Bellio successfully launched and recovered four rockets that completed six total launches powered by everything from E15-4W to G77-4R.

Otherwise the B6-4 was the most often used motor throughout the day with twelve total launches followed by the D12-5 and B4-4 with six launches each.  Oliver Long was the most active participant with a total of fourteen launches including a return of his Estes Leviathan sent skyward on an E16-6 and successfully recovered.

So what began as a dreary start became an enjoyable outing with visitors arriving throughout the day to enjoy the October skies and many impressive flights.