I Waters Rocket Club

[Andy Greene]

We had a nice launch this weekend..

We had a NAR contest and I won two of the three classes. B Boost Glider, B Super Roc Altitude Altimeter and Parachute spot landing.

I also lost my best Highflyer XL on a E28-7.. not sure what happen but the laundry did not come out.. PRANG.. TOAST!

Pics are

Highflyer XL

Super Roc on the tower and piston (125m or 410')

My boost glider “Wiskers” 2 min flight one and a wrap up 25s on the second flight (rats.. I was fixing to bust it loose!)

Grim

Ouch, I always liked the paint on that bird Grim - sorry to see it meet its end like that.

 

[Grimracer]

hated to loose it too.. but its all in a days work.. we have more hotrods...

ROCK AND ROLL!

Grim

 

[Ray Sametz]

Funny chit.....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vlOGJhVbhrs

 

[Grimracer]

that's why we do not RC our launch control system...

Grim

 

[Andy Greene]

that's why we do not RC our launch control system...

Grim

Yeah that could have been REAL ugly on a large impulse motor

I would assume he was going to attempt to fly the shuttle back in after separation - thats fine, but WHY use the transmitter to launch it ?????

 

[Andy Greene]

Saw this elsewhere and had a good laugh-

 

[Ronald van Essen]

Saw this elsewhere and had a good laugh-

like that....

 

[Chilli]

First Launch of the season yesterday. Had a great day with four high power flights. First launch was a maiden flight on the new thin walled Madcow Twitch. I put a H125 in her. Not enough kick off the pad and she wind cocked resulting in a long walk to recover. I tried her again late in the day with a H400. Needless to say she had a bit quicker boost and a nice flight to about 2000 feet. Second flight was on my LOC Mini Magg. Nice straight boost with a I287 Smokey Sam and I didn't even break any fins when she landed.. LOL. My other maiden was the Rocketry Warehouse Formula 98 which I picked up for $99 on sale.What a great deal that was!! She had a very nice flight with a pretty red flame on J410 Red Lightening up to 2300 feet. Dual deploy worked perfectly on the Missleworks RCC2 and with the light wind she landed about 150 feet from the pad.

All in all a great day. After rushing to get my Level 1 and 2 this past spring, I'm going to relax and take it easy this year while gaining more experience. Maybe try some K motors a bit later in the season.

 

[Grimracer]

Great news.. nice to see some flying going down.

Any pics or place to see some pics?

Glad to here the maidain on the 98 went well.. and that you did not break a fin on the Magg..lol

I too got some flying in this weekend. 4 flight as well but all mid and low power.

hum.................. K MOTORS!.... ME LIKE!

Grim

P.S. Was that your first DD flight?.. if so CONGRATS!

 

[Chilli]

Only took a few boring pics of my rockets on the pad. My wife snagged the good camera this weekend and I need to grab it for the next launch.

Here is one pic I took of the biggest rocket that flew on Sunday. That sucker had a four L cluster first stage with an air start to another L. That's one expensive launch!!

This weekend was my third DD. I did two in the spring at Red Glare. It's allot more prep and stress but I'm slowly getting comfortable with it. So many things that can go wrong, but it beats the heck out of walking a half mile in a muddy rutty corn field. LOL

Red Glare 2015 is scheduled for the April 10-12. You should get some friends and take a road trip east. It's a great time!!

 

[My Gypsy]

Thinking about going for my L1 in 2015. Actually, I have already selected a kit and it's on the way. Should I join TRA or NAR? Would be really cool to head up to Champaign and fly with Grim and the CIA. However, there is an NAR club about an hour away from me. I attended one of their meetings this past weekend and have a few reservations about joining. So I am still on the fence about which organization would be best for me. Not looking to compete, just fly for sport.

 

[Grimracer]

Both are good.. I like the NAR but then again.. I do compete. And.. the Sec of the NAR is an old buddy of mine from back in the EC days. We use to hang out and fly from time to time. He moved to Iowa.

You will need to belong to one of them to cert.

If you have a local club do what most of them are doing regarding a org. It just is a good idea so you can learn the talk.

The CIA is a GREAT club.. best I have ever belonged to on ANY club.

Our website

http://www.ciarocketry.org/index.html

Our smug mug

http://cia-rocketry.smugmug.com/

Most of what we do is low to mid power but have 4 months set aside for High Power (10,000,AGL)

You can cert L1, 2 or 3 as a NAR member here is push comes to shove.

Grim

 

[Chilli]

Both organizations are good. I'm Tripoli L2. NAR has Competitions, Tripoli has research launches where you can make your own propellant. I've been to three venues and all will let you fly no matter what organization you belong to. Even the special research launches allow NAR members to fly. The only restrictions during these events are no one under 18 allowed on the high power pads and NAR members have to use certified commercial motors. Once you get certified in one organization, your certification will carry over to the other should you jump ship. Also I believe NAR certs are good for life while Tripoli members have to recert if their membership expires for more than a year. My buddy let his Tripoli L3 ,membership expire for a couple years when his kids kept him busy, Now he is going though the recert process again. Not a big deal for L1 and L2 but a PITA for L3. He should of joined NAR before he went on his hiatus. LOL

So pick which ever organization is easiest for you to get your certification. You can always switch to which ever group suits your needs down the road. What are your concerns with the local club??

 

[My Gypsy]

It seems the club is very centered around one individual. When I offered to join and pay my membership fee, this person refused to allow me to join because I was not already a NAR member. I am not sure if this is typical for rocket clubs or not. With our boat club, anyone can be a member whether they are an IMPBA member or not. However, in order to operate a boat on the club pond, you have to be an IMPBA member. Maybe I just assumed a rocket club would be the same way.

 

[Ray Sametz]

Dennis, don't have to be a rocket scientist to find another club.

 

[Chilli]

Some people are just sticklers for the rules. Nothing wrong with that if safety or liability are a concern but I know some are a little overzealous. I've seen it in boating too. If the person runs around at a launch like a dictator and is going to curtail your enjoyment of the hobby. Look else where. If it appear your dealings with him will be minimal after your certification flight, give the club a shot. ,

 

[Grimracer]

You do not need to be a member of the CIA to fly at our launchs OR of the NAR or Trip... IF you are going to cert however you need to be eather NAR or Trip.. still no need to be a CIA member.

JUST FLY!

We have members that have been doing this for over 40 years and they roll with the times quite well. Not saying we dont have our "moments" but all in all very good.

We have a new guy prepping for his cert 1 now.. (Loc EZ-I).. he is having a ton of fun getting ready.

Grim

 

[My Gypsy]

Going to join NAR. Will likely join the local club anyway. However, I probably won't be very active in it. Seems odd because I have always been very active in our boat club. We have those members who never show up for work days nor help out at the races but always seem to show up and run boats. It's just not my nature to be one of those guys.

Going with the Mad Cow Little John 4" fiberglass kit for my L1. Starting to get really pumped up for the build.

Dennis

 

[Chilli]

I really like that choice for a L1. Good size and weight giving you a wide variety of motors to use and fiberglass fins reduce the chance of fin breakage (sometimes ruining an otherwise good cert attempt). On a calm day and large field, you could probably do a L2 cert with the same rocket. To keep costs down and to give you a wider variety of motor choices for that size rocket, consider getting a 38mm motor adapter to slide in the 54 mount. http://www.aeropack.net/ makes them as well as some nice motor retainers.

 

[My Gypsy]

Already there. I ordered that adapter when I placed the order for the kit.