Launch Reports

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

At the September Mill Springs Launch event we had twenty-two participants launch a total of ninety-five rockets, saucers, and boost gliders. Although hot and humid the mild winds and partly cloudy skies provided an excellent day for rocketry.

Josh Finn of J&H Aerospace demonstrated numerous boost gliders. Some of these were guided by R/C and performed very well with long duration glides around the field before landing. Each boost glider exhibited remarkable engineering in the way the wing deployments were designed and in many details that kept each glider light and graceful in flight. [J&H Aerospace]

Other standouts were Leaor Schwartz’s Estes Juno-I Explorer I that was flown with a C6 with excellent results and Paul Doreika’s Super Big Bertha with a payload of three cameras looking out each 120 degrees and flown on an E20 (two times). David Cain used a Jolly Logic parachute tether set to release at 100 feet on his SpaceX Falcon 9 with a D13 for a very impressive flight and exciting recovery. [Event Photos] [Photos by Kevin Boyd]
Motor Ignition Counts:

• 1/4A – 1
• 1/2A – 3
• A – 15
• B – 28
• C – 34
• D – 11
• E – 3

Typical summertime temperatures and partly cloudy skies greeted thirty-two participants at the August 11th Mill Springs launch event. For the day we had a total of ninety-two launches. A mild cross-wind made recoveries after reaching higher altitudes a bit challenging at times.

Chris began the day’s action with his Fliskits “Nell” launched on a C6 with impressive results. Kevin filled his Estes “Dude” with air and launched it on a D12 to the delight of all spectators. More impressive flights by Kevin included his scratch-built saucers (DT-08, Black Web, and Safety Disk) on E6 and E7 motors with 7 and 6 second burn times – very fun to watch. Joseph launched his Madcow Phoenix on an E39 which streaked over the adjacent field with authority and David used a parachute tether (set to release at 100’) to get his Space X Falcon 9, launched on a E13, back to the field safely. Allen brought out his LOC IV and flew it with a G54 for very impressive flight.

Chris also made an outstanding presentation under the rocket prep tent of the OSIRIS-REx NASA mission that will travel to a near-Earth asteroid called Bennu and bring a small sample back to Earth for study. He demonstrated how the sample will be acquired. Fascinating! The mission launched Sept. 8, 2016. The spacecraft will reach Bennu in 2018 and return a sample to Earth in 2023.  [NASA Link]

[See Event Photos] [Lost & Found]

Motor ignition counts:

• 1/4A – 1
• 1/2A – 4
• A – 28
• B – 19
• C – 21
• D – 13
• E – 9
• G – 1

The July 14th Mills Springs launch event started with a thirty-minute delay as dreary skies and rain slowly cleared the area. Once the field was setup, the morning continued to improve and before long the launch pads became very busy. There were over thirty-two participants (and an assembly of cub scouts) who accomplished over 130 launches. Coyote Rocketry (Keith) also supported this event.

Roman sent up his Estes Goblin on a D12 into the lower troposphere to check the cloud deck and help determine that conditions were safe for the subsequent onslaught. Gabriel’s scratch-built Sputnik was launched on an A10 and made an impressive three-point landing. Joseph tried-out his 3D printed Whirl and Hurl on an E11 and had such success that it was followed by two more launches. Glenn flew his Aerotech Mirage on a G77 which really impressed the scouts to see such a large rocket leave the pad. Kevin also took advantage of the improved weather conditions with his LOC IV launched on a F50.

Bill provided a much-improved sound system for this event and spent most of the day at launch control. Thanks Bill! And much thanks to all of those who helped setup and take-down the equipment.  Pictures from the event.

Motor ignition counts (does not include some of the scout launches)
A – 25
B – 26
C – 21
D – 13
E – 9
F – 3
G – 1

The June 9th Mill Springs launch was fortunate to have very calm winds and partly cloudy skies throughout the entire event. Rockets were aimed straight skyward and most returned very near the pads, even those reaching higher altitudes had very little drift. This brought out more D12s than C11s for some truly spectacular flights. Overall, we had twenty-nine participants accomplish a total of eighty-two launches.

Standouts included Chris’s Estes Space Ship One flown with a B6-2 and his Estes Sky Dart II also powered off the pad by a B6-2 and gliding down gracefully. Wade Kovalik chose a D12-3 for the first flight of his Estes Cosmic Interceptor and launched a beautifully built and finished Semroc Laser-X for its first flight on a B6-4. Benjamin sent up a Rocketarium Mega Vortico on an E9-4 while Jacob went with a D12-5 for his Estes STM-012 and Estes QCC Explorer. [Event Photos] [Lost & Found]

Motor Ignition Counts:

• 1/2A – 3
• A – 7
• B – 52
• C – 15
• D – 7
• E – 1

The May Mill Springs launch event was held under blue skies, summer-time temperatures, and mild (finally) but variable winds. A late update regarding a shift in the event’s start time caused inconvenience to some (our apologies); but for those seventeen participants who were able to accommodate the afternoon start, there were good flying conditions to enjoy. We accomplished a total of seventy-one launches. Coyote Rocketry attended with needed rocket supplies and cold refreshments.

Of special interest was Jacob’s beautifully detailed Fliskits Borealis that was flown with a B6-2, then launched again on a C6-3. Kevin had two impressive flights with his 13mm Superoc on a A10-3T, and his 18mm Superoc on a A8-3, each ejecting the parachute at perfect apogee. Jim’s Semroc Sprite flown on A10-3T was also notable as was Katie’s Tiny Bob that was sitting on the launch pad with an A10-3T one moment and gone the next (see Lost & Found). Roman blasted his Estes Green Goblin off the pad with a D12-5, not once but twice.  See these pictures from the event.

Motor ignition counts:

A – 15
B – 16
C – 21
D – 11
E – 9
F – 3