Launch Reports

At the (rescheduled) June 1st Dawsonville Launch Event, there were ninety-one launches by twenty-one participants.  A partly cloudy sky and not-too-troublesome winds provided for a great day to enjoy rocketry.  The launch pads stayed very active up to the final minutes with some spectacular flights.

Standouts included Leaor’s Estes Mercury Atlas powered by a D12 that provided a tinge of full-scale excitement as it lifted-off the pad.  He also launched a Rocketarium Turbo Vortico with a G74 (wow).  Herb Howe sent up some beautiful Semroc models (Explorer, Skyhook, Jaguar SLS) on D12s reaching impressive altitudes and an upscale Fat Boy with a G40.  From a craftsman perspective, we were also amazed by Mark’s Apogee Flying Machine that made a spectacular flight on a cluster of an E12 with two strap-on boosters with C6s.  There was so much more – some captured here in photos.

Engine ignition counts:

• A – 14
• B – 15
• C – 27
• D – 17
• E – 12
• F – 3
• G – 6

It was a gorgeous day for rocketry at the April Dawsonville Launch event where sixteen participants performed seventy-one launches into a cloudless azure sky.  Winds were barely a factor for the morning and first part of the afternoon.  Many took advantage of these ideal conditions for their mid-powered rockets.

Ray Lecture flew his impressive new LOC Goblin on a F67 then again on a G77.  Joseph Barrett launched his North Coast Rocketry Archer XL on a G64 and his Binder Jackhammer with a G80.  Katie Isdell had an excellent flight with her LOC Magnum on a G54 and launched “Fred” on a G61.  Mark Bowen sent up his Aerotech Mirage on a F50 and David Tripp launched his Mad Cow Solar Express on a F67.

Tom Thurmond launched his well-crafted Estes Outlander on a D12-3, had another excellent flight of his Estes Shuttle boosted by a D12, and launched a beautiful Estes Interceptor E on an E9.  Kevin Scholberg provided some thrilling flights with his boosted glider on multiple flights.  Jose Morales flight tested his Roswell Rockets Hawk MIM-23 and Patriot Missile on numerous flights.  [Event Photos]

Motor Ignition Counts:

• 1/2A – 7
• A – 7
• B – 12
• C – 9
• D – 18
• E – 11
• F – 6
• G – 5

At the April 13th Mill Springs launch we had twenty-five participants accomplish 114 launches.  The event began with very light winds which provided excellent conditions for boosted gliders and seeing many parachute recoveries return close to the launch pads.  Winds from the south picked up in the afternoon and made the day a little more challenging for those wanting to reach higher altitudes.

Marcus had excellent success with an Estes A.R.V. Condor powered by a B6 with its twin gliders performing lazy circles as they glided down, and he also launched an Estes Sky Dart II with a B6 then a C6 that took the glider far down field.  Kevin Scholberg also had great success with his scratch built NLR flown on an E30 with a parasitic foam glider that after a few test flights and adjustments made some outstanding flights with long duration glides.  Allen Isdell came out with a LOC Phoenix that thundered off the pad with an E30 and was successfully recovered.  Another standout was the scratch-built Micro Scud by Jose Morales that was launched multiple times with A8 motors.

The entire day maintained a steady pace of activity and provided spectators many thrilling flights.  Coyote Rocketry was in attendance to provide supplies and refreshments.

[Event Photos]

Motor ignition counts:

• A – 19
• B – 42
• C – 40
• D – 6
• E – 10
• G – 1

The March 24^th launch event at the Creekside Firing Range in Taylorsville had over thirty-four participants and 138 total launches.  Good field dimensions and very agreeable weather encouraged many participants to get the most performance from their low to mid-powered rockets.  Up until early afternoon the recovery walks were fairly short, but as winds picked up later in the day, some recoveries involved a bit more effort.  The overall consensus was that the field provides ample room for minimum high power consideration.

The large number of mid-power launches (and a few low H) was certainly the highlight of the event.  Applauses were also provided for Tom Thurmond’s successful Estes Shuttle launched on a D12 with a spectacular glide return and Leaor Schwartz’s Saturn V launched thrillingly on an E30 with perfect parachute deployments.  There were many other craftsman standouts that compelled a photo like Leaor’s detailed Mercury Atlas, Kevin Scholberg’s Pot Metal and Spaceship X (with rear ejection).

For making this event possible, a special thanks to Allen Isdell (who is now a LOC Distributor) and all of those who helped with setting-up, running the event, and getting everything back in the trailer.

[Event Photos] [Photos by Kevin Boyd]

Motor Ignition counts:

• 1/4A to A – 10
• B – 23
• C – 27
• D – 25
• E – 23
• F – 27
• G – 12
• H – 3

At the February Mill Springs launch event there were 110 launches accomplished by twenty-three participants. Very light winds, cool temperature, and slightly overcast skies encouraged a steady pace of activity out on the pads throughout the afternoon.

Mike Nehez launched his unique Apogee Long March CZ-2E and Long March Three (scale models of China’s satellite launch vehicles) and an impressive scratch built Little John. John Lawrence brought out some very distinctive models including a Squirrel Works sci-fi classic Spacecruiser FFE and an Excelsior Gooney Bird Zero each flown on B6-4s.

Kevin Scholberg conducted drag race comparisons of Estes C6 versus Q-Jet C12 motors to determine characteristics that may be suitable for his many unique launch vehicles (a full report expected at the upcoming Rocket Talk meeting).  [Event Photos]

Motor Ignition Counts:

• 1/2A – 1
• A – 26
• B – 46
• C – 25
• D – 6
• E – 6
• F – 2

2019 finally got off to a roaring start with a great turnout for the January SoAR launch event in Dawsonville. Participants were met with a sunny blue sky but gusty chill winds from the west. Nonetheless there were seventy-two launches by twenty participants that included many mid-power rockets that streaked skyward to some neck challenging altitudes.

Of special interest was Dan’s spectacular flight of his Apogee “F With Multiple D Pods” that blasted-off with a cluster of F and D motors and T.J. Frishe launched his striking Deuces Wild with a pair of B6s. Pierce sent up a two stage Estes Spirit on a D12/B6 then again on a D12/C6 that was likely seeking 1000 feet or more.  Leaor returned with his Fliskits Decaffeinator and challenged the gusty winds by installing an E12 and then attached a glider to the contraption. All went exceptionally well and was great fun to watch in flight.

For other mid-power action,  Chris Ruthruff brought out his scratch-built AN-01 with a G78 (unfortunate CATO), Allen Isdell and Kevin Scholberg had their LOC IVs on G54 and G74, Joseph launched his Binder Design Jackhammer with a G70, and Dan flew his LOC ISIS with a G54. [Photos by Kevin Boyd]  [Additional Event Photos]

Motor ignition counts:

• 1/4A – 1
• A – 8
• B – 21
• C – 8
• D – 15
• E – 13
• F – 7
• G – 5

The 2018 Turkey & GRITS launch is in the books! Nearly 50 registered flyers came out over the two day event and 253 rockets took to the air in what was one of our most successful launches to date. Highlights included Joshua Finn who smashed two NAR glider records (1/8A and F duration) with his beautifully engineered switchblade gliders, the long awaited first (and last) flight of Jorge Blanco’s upscaled Rubicon on a K780, a pair of very successful two-stage high power flights from Gary Dahlke & Greg Hassler, Steve Pollak’s huge pool-noodle covered saucer, as well as several other odd-rocs and saucers.

There were also eleven L1 and five L2 cert flights for the weekend and most of them were quite successful. Congrats to all those flyers who are now cleared to spend even more money on their rocket motors!

Event Photos by Kevin Boyd [Saturday] [Sunday]

And speaking of motors, the breakdown of those used during the event was as follows:

• 1/8 A – 1
  1/2 A – 2
  A – 15
  B – 29
  C – 46
  D – 17
  E – 29
  F – 35
  G – 29
  H – 23
  I – 14
  J – 14
  K – 8
  L – 1

The November 10th Mill Springs launch event was held under sunny skies with a cool breeze from the northwest. Twelve participants came out to enjoy the outdoors and launch forty-five rockets while many other family members came to provide encouragement and recovery support.

We had a good range of  rockets powered by 1/4A (Estes 220 Swift) to Roy Green’s Estes Prowler launched with a E16. Joseph flew his Estes Rubicon on an E11 to impressive altitude, but upper-level winds did not favor a recovery – ouch. Kevin Scholberg had a scratch-built SNXL (likened to a shortened Super Neon) which flew on E9s and flew a baseball bat shaped Estes Pop Fly that had a baseball nosecone that released at near apogee for a freefall recovery. Amilia and Mike Huggins duked it out drag race style with a couple of Estes Mini Max rockets which are always fun to watch. [Event Photos]

Motor Ignition counts:

• 1/4A – 1
• 1/2A – 8
• A – 5
• B – 13
• C – 10
• D – 4
• E – 5

At the October 27th (Halloween) launch event at Dawsonville, the dreary grey skies and bone chilling winds frightened away all but our most ardent participants. Nonetheless, these determined few got to achieve some important required flights for Civil Air Patrol and school science projects with the help of our dedicated launch crew (well, mostly Jorge). As the weather situation persisted, and once all highly anticipated flights were successfully accomplished, the event wrapped up early to allow wet feet and cold hands to recover while enjoying the colorful Fall foliage on the drive home.

[Event Photos] and [Photos by Kevin Boyd]

Important reminder – Launch events at Mill Springs and Dawsonville during the upcoming months will revert to our Winter schedule (12:00 to 5:00).  However, this does not apply to GRITS.

Motor ignition counts:
B – 13
D – 4
E – 2

At the September 22nd launch event in Dawsonville we had nineteen participants launch sixty-one rockets. Light southerly winds, a few puffy clouds, and summertime temperatures made for ideal conditions that encouraged many to reach for the higher altitudes at SoAR’s mid-power field. Taking a few risks set the stage for some fun rocketry, but there were some launches that didn’t go quite as planned, so it is with a degree of empathy to those who lost a prized rocket that we must still mention how exciting the day turned out to be.

The Jolly Logic chute releases are becoming more common on the mid-powered rockets and this proved to be both thrilling to watch (as many selected their chute release to occur at 200 feet) and very advantageous for those who were retrieving their rockets.  There were numerous outstanding launches like Allen Isdell’s LOC IV launched on a G67 Redline and Kevin Scholberg’s majestic Silver Surfer that went up on a G74. Joseph Barrett launched his North Coast Rocketry Archer XL on a G64 and Jim Cain launched an Estes Nike Smoke powered with a G64. There was also this thing called Decaffeinator (FlisKits) that Leaor Schwartz boldly sent up on a D12-3 with great success, and then reloaded another D12-3 and attached a parasitic glider for another wild ride, but very successful. Great stuff!

[Event Photos]  [Photos by Kevin Boyd]

Motor ignition counts:
A – 2
B – 6
C – 13
D – 12
E – 13
F – 12
G – 6