At the March 23rd Mill Spring Academy launch event SoAR hosted a large group of over 50 participants from the FIRE Rocket Challenge led by Robin Houston. Activity started at around 10:00 a.m. and then was winding down just after noon with a hamburger and hotdog lunch provided. Many SoAR members arrived early and helped set up 40 launch pads, tables and chairs, and a large tent over the eating area. The participants arrived with Estes Generic E2X rockets ready for final prep and safety check and flew them on mostly A8-3 motors. Winds were a bit of an issue with some rockets drifting into the adjacent field or getting snagged in a tree, but with some adjustments to the parachutes and launch angles the recovery success rate was improved.
In the afternoon there were our usual attendees and some first-time families getting to launch rockets at a slower pace. Some standouts included Steven’s Aerotech HV Arcas flown with a F67-6 for power, Kevin Scholberg’s Art Applewhite Priority Stealth roaring up on a G77-10R (red flame) and his scratch-built Space-X Starship with a C11-3.
Special thanks for supporting this busy day includes:
Keith Frazier and his brother for preparing the excellent food, Allen Isdell for providing and setting up the dining tent. Jorge Blanco for organizing the event and picking up the rented tables and chairs. Tom Thurmond for being Launch Control for the entire event. Many other volunteers were helping out at the prep tables and launch pads to keep the event progressing smoothly.
The final launch count for the day totaled 126. Event photos by Kevin Boyd [here]. Some additional photos from the event [here]
Engine Ignition Count:
A – 94*
B – 16
C – 10
D – 1
E – 3
F – 1
G – 1
* includes 30 unknowns that were most likely A or B
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