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Launch Reports
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August 26, 2007
Flyers: 10
Flights: 23
Motors: 25
1/2A:1 A:2 B:1 C:4 D:3
E:1 G:1
H:4 I:4 J:4
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Erik Derohanian - 3 flights
Rick Dunseith - 3 flights
Lawrence Engel - 2 flights
Rose Lisle - her first NAPAS launch - 6 flights
Jeff Mensch - 1 flight
Eric Pearson - re-joined - 1 flight
Bob Pouliot - 2 flights
Martin Racine - 1 flight
Jim Smith - 2 flights
Chris Thomas - re-joined - 2 flights
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August 13, 2007
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Those of us from NAPAS who
attended BuffRoc '07 had a great time. Overall attendance was
significantly lower than usual, but the weather was spectacular for
three straight days, and those of us who were there took full advantage
of it. With the light turnout, the launch was held with a very casual,
local club launch feel, which was nice. The three NAPAS members alone
had 15 flights over the course of the weekend. It's too bad the "usual
suspects" from NAPAS weren't able to make it, because if we'd all
turned up I think the Canadians on the field would have out-numbered
the Americans.
EX day had no EX flights, unfortunately, which are usually a lot of
fun to watch. But now that L2's can fly commercial motors on EX day,
Lawrence and I got a number of our flights in on Friday. Speaking of
L2 and Lawrence, he obtained his TRA L2 certification on Friday
morning (congrats, Lawrence!), and by the end of the weekend he'd made
his inaugural L2 flight in his Kid Canuck on an AMW J440, and a
perfect flight it was.
Despite our best efforts, we were unable to lose any of our rockets.
Landing in corn fields (in one field, the corn was at least 8 feet
high), in bean fields, on the other side of the airport, and even
draped over power lines, we still managed to bring all our birds home.
We have the radio and location transmitters to thank for a lot of that
- there are some rockets we probably would not have been able to find
at all without the use of the club tracking system. It's probably time
to put in another club order for transmitters - believe me, for only
about $75 each, for many of us those transmitters have already paid
for themselves many times over.
Some notable flights include a couple of PML X-Calibur drag races
between me and Lawrence, first on AT H123s, and then on AT G77
Redlines. Brian's neck-snapping flight on an AMW I315 sparky motor was
absolutely awesome, and was quickly out of sight on its way to 6450
feet. No one on the field managed to follow it visually all the way
down, but using the radio we easily found it undamaged beside the
horse barn on the other side of the hangar. Lawrence's J440 flight was
picture-perfect, and Brian's AT G339 Warp 9 flight in his new
all-fiberglass rocket was a very entertaining crowd-pleaser.
We all had a great time, spent too much time in the sun, spent too
much money at Ken Allen's trailer, and all in all loved every minute
of it. Sorry the rest of you missed it.
Rick Dunseith |
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July 22, 2007
Flyers: 4
Flights: 7
Motors: 8
G:3
H:1 I:2 J:2 |
It was a great day for rockets despite the smallest turnout for
a launch in recent memory. No matter - the weather was ideal, and for
the four registered flyers, there were no lineups at the pad.
Congratulations to Lawrence Engel, who successfully completed his
Level 2 flight, flying his scratch built Little Canuck on a J400 to
3800 feet. Once he completes his written test he will officially be
granted level 2 status. Lawrence gets the nod for the highest flight
of the day. Nice flight, Lawrence!
Marty Racine flew his Level One, Take Two rocket twice, first on an
I205 and later on a CTI five grain, full I motor ... just shy of a J.
Do I see another Level 2 attempt coming up?
Bob Pouliot flew Double Trouble - a two stager with a video cam on
board - to 3000 feet using a G75 in each stage.That rocket's always a
crowd pleaser. He later fired a Super Big Bertha to 2000 feet on another G75.
The only dark spot of the day was a blow-by on my Weenie Roast, may it
rest in peace, shortly after take off. It was loaded with a J350 that
had been in my basement for, oh, five or six years, anyway. I guess
old motors just aren't that reliable. It sure was a spectacular
flight, though. I redeemed myself later in the day with an
arrow-straight boost to 2200 feet for Sweet Asp on an Aerotech H180.
Welcome to Victor Gandza and family, who finally made it out to a
launch to spectate. Victor promised to bring some rockets along next time so show us what he's all about.
Brian Brodersen |
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February 24, 2007
Flyers: 10
Flights: 12
Motors: 12
A:1 D:1
G:1
H:5 J:1
L:1 M:2 |
Wow! The launch was amazing! Clear blue skies, with just a
little wind in the morning dropping to almost nothing in the
afternoon. And trudging through the deep snow helped keep us all warm.
It was easily the best launch weather we'd had in almost a year.
After having coffee with the landowners, we headed out to the field
and had the range set up by about 10:30 or so, complete with the
really big pad from LDRS 23 and our new PA system. With a 6400ft AGL
window until noon, we took advantage with some great high-altitude
flights by Robert Jones (J570), Brian Brodersen (L800) and Julian Wood
(M1060). The rest of the day was filled with nine other great flights,
including three L1 certification attempts.
* Lawrence Engel certified L1 on a PML X-Calibur using an H motor -
the rocket was successfully recovered from high up in a tree on a
neighbouring property, thanks to the loan of an extension ladder by
our very generous landowner.
* Phil Balgobin certified L1 on a LOC 4 using an H motor, with a
nominal recovery.
* Martin Racine's L1 cert attempt on an ARG EV-3 using an H motor
didn't work out, unfortunately, but the simultaneous 3-fin shred and
accompanying "POP" made it one of the coolest flights of the day.
We had a great turnout, with a flight line about 15 cars long
stretching along 8th line. We had 10 registered flyers, along with
other NAPAS members who just came to watch, and a few non-members who
also came to spectate. We logged a dozen flights on everything from A
to M motors. The deep snow looked like it would be a huge problem for
recovery, but luckily everything landed fairly close to either the
range or a road, so recovery was a lot smoother than expected.
A
special thanks to the landowners on the north-east corner of the
field, who found and stored my IRIS and Brian's GasPipe rockets, both
MIA for about a year, until we could retrieve them.
Rick Dunseith |
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November 19, 2006
Flyers: 7
Flights: 12
Motors: 12
C:1
E:1 F:3 G:5
H:1 I:1 |
At the launch following our
successful History Channel event, conditions were not ideal. The
low-lying areas of the field were very wet from recent rains, and the
overcast provided a perpetual ceiling at about 3500 feet. But the
temperature was comfortable, and the winds were low.
We had a good turnout, with another long flight line and lot of new
faces. We managed a number of entertaining model- and mid-power
flights, and even a couple of high-power flights. In addition to a
good number of spectators, we had seven registered flyers, who put up
a dozen flights.
A lot of the flights came down in the long grass in the swampy area
adjacent to the range, which made for some long recovery searches and
more than a few soakers. Still, everyone seemed to be having fun,
which is what it's all about. Good people, good field, good flights -
what more can one ask?
Rick Dunseith |
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October 1, 2006
Flyers: 12
Flights: 21
Motors: 28
D:2
F:1 G:4
H:3 I:11 J:4 K:1
L:1 M:1 |
Range setup began at 8:00am, under
a nice blue sky and little wind. It took about 90 minutes to fully set
up the pads, and wiring, the LCO and registration tables, caution
tape, etc. But by 9:30 or so the range was ready to go, and, of
course, the clouds had rolled in.
The film crew showed up at about
10:00, before our first flight, and got their bearings. By then we had
a pretty good turnout of flyers and spectators, and one of the most
respectable flight lines we've ever had at this field. With a
registration table, the NAPAS banner, and an LCO table set up, it
certainly looked like a rocket launch.
We had four banks of pads, one
for models, one for F-H, one for I-K, and one for L-M. It was nice to
finally make use of the huge pad (freshly painted by Julian) that we
picked up from the BRS back when we helped them host LDRS 23, along
with Gary's new extended-range launch system add-on. And the new
nitrous valve Bob Q. picked up, combined with Brian's new hybrid
firing system, made for the smoothest hybrid support we've ever had.
It was a cloudy and sometimes
breezy day, but we managed to stay under the clouds and on the field
with all our flights. We had a couple go into the trees on the
south-east corner of the field, but that's as errant as we got. All in
all, it was a great day, and one of the most successful NAPAS launches
in a long time. Thanks to everyone - the flyers, the spectators, the
people who helped transport and set up and tear down the gear, the
people who helped run the range, the people who dealt with the TV crew
- who helped make this such a good launch.
This weekend also marked our
first L and M-motor flights at that field. It was also our most
elaborate range setup, which made good use of all our launch gear,
plus some additional, borrowed gear provided by members and other
clubs. It was a real team effort this time, and a whole lot of fun.
Rick Dunseith |
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August 14, 2006 |
If you missed BuffRoc this year,
you missed a great launch. The weather was phenomenal, both days. Lots
of sunshine, a very light but pleasantly cooling breeze, and a
scattering of intermittent, high-altitude clouds. It was some of the
best weather I'd ever encountered at a Geneseo launch.
NAPAS was represented by Len Lekx, Kathy Miller and me. John Glac, a
former NAPAS member, was there on Saturday, as were fellow Canadian
flyers Bill Wagstaff and Glenn Mitchell from the Ottawa Rocketry Group
(ORG). As is often the case, both days the first people on the field
were the NAPAS folks, and we all pitched in on Saturday to help set up
the range once the BRS guys finally arrived. The turnout was good, and
the rocket flying was steady enough to be interesting, right through
both days. Sunday was pretty much as active as Saturday, flight-wise.
Len and I ran the away cell. Len put on a good show, with a fantastic
camera-rocket flight on an AMW Blue Babboon L motor on Saturday, and
got some great photos. He also put his recent L3 certification to good
use with a textbook-perfect flight on Sunday of his L3 rocket, this
time on an AMW White Wolf M motor with flawless recovery via CO2
deployment of the drogue at apogee with a Defy Gravity tether
releasing the main right on cue. BRS member John Elliot (you may
remember the crash of his huge yellow rocket on an AT N2000 a few
years ago) flew a 2-motor cluster of K550's off the away cell as well,
for a nice flight and flawless recovery.
I flew my repaired EV-3 on an AMW K650 Red Rhino motor for a great
flight to 4566 ft. Kathy flew her big saucer on an AT J180 with a
drilled-out delay element, and the crowd-pleasing flight was perfect,
popping the chute immediately after the saucer flipped over at apogee
- that's a perfect motor for that rocket, and the flight earned Kathy
a round of applause. Kathy and I had an assortment of other model,
mid-power and high-power flights.
John Glac had two good flights on CTI motors, one on an I motor and
one on a K motor, successfully using his un-patented thermalite delay
technique to perform dual-deployment recovery. He also brought his
all-aluminum rocket to Geneseo for the third time, and for the third
time the BRS refused to allow it to be flown.
NAPAS cleaned up at the raffle, too. I won a model rocket, and Kathy
won two LOC kits. Len won two model rockets, which he was able to
trade up with Ken for a mid-power kit.
All in all, it was a great weekend, and well worth the trip despite it
being only two weeks after the enormously successful and satisfying
NYHiPower launch at the same field.
Rick Dunseith |
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July 31, 2006 |
The NYHiPower launch in Geneseo this past weekend was great. We had three days
of awesome flying weather, and Sunday seemed to be almost as busy as
Saturday, and definitely busier than I've ever seen a Sunday in
Geneseo. We had a number of Canadian flyers down there, with NAPAS
represented by Bob Quance and Pat, Bob Pouliot, Brian Brodersen, Jeff
Mensch, Robert Jones and myself. As well, three or more of the folks
from the Ottawa rocketry club were in attendance as well.
Friday's EX day was the best EX day I've attended there, with many
more flights than usual, and no CATOs that I recall. The EX folks really
seem to have their stuff together these days. I even got a chance to
fly an EX load, a nifty blue propellant. And the neon purple propellant
Deb Koloms flew was pretty impressive.
The radio transmitters and the receiver we purchased for
club use proved to be invaluable, as many, many flights on Saturday
were landing in the potato field to the east of the launch area. Although
the radio allowed us to navigate our way right to the rocket each
time, it always amazed us how, until you were within about 5 feet of the
rocket, it was virtually invisible in the thick crop. We'd have wasted
plenty of time searching the old-fashioned way, and no doubt we'd have
ended up leaving a rocket or two behind if we hadn't been using the
transmitters.
Rick Dunseith
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May 6th, 2006
Flyers: 10
Flights: 19
Motors: 23
D:4
E:1 F:4 G:2
H:2 I:3 J:4 K:3 |
Thanks to everyone who came out
today. We're three for three now, with respect to getting especially
good flying weather for our launches. It was a little windy at times, especially early in the day when
it was also quite cool, but as the afternoon progressed it kept
getting better and better. We had a lot of successful flights, and
they all landed within our primary launch and recovery area, even with
apogee deployments.
Here are some of the numbers, in no particular order:
* 1 new member
* 9 member flyers
* 1 non-member flyer
* $127 raised from membership / launch fees
* 1 drag race
* 1 cluster
* 1 multi-staged rocket
Thanks again, everyone. Today was a lot of fun.
Rick Dunseith |
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April 23rd, 2006 |
This weekend at the Three Oaks
launch in Michigan, three NAPAS members achieved their Tripoli Level 3
certifications:
* Len Lekx certified on his D'Oh rocket, flying on a CTI 75mm M1400
* Kathy Miller certified on her Pink Ice rocket, flying on a Loki 75mm
M1882
* Brian Brodersen certified on his No Surrender rocket, flying on a
Loki 75mm M1882
Congratulations to our new Level 3 members - way to go, guys!
Altogether the NAPAS contingent at
Three Oaks flew 6 M motors over the weekend, as well as a number of
other model, mid-power and high-power flights. We were flying from
Friday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, under blue skies and
sunshine, and we had a great time of rocketry and camaraderie.
Rick Dunseith |
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March 11th, 2006
Flyers: 10
Flights: 24
Motors: 34
C:1 D:8
F:2 G:7
H:4 I:5 J:4 K:3 |
Wow! I thought the last launch was
amazing. This one was even better. Once again we were able to drive
right out to the launch area, instead of having to haul gear into the
field from the roadside. Many of us were wearing sweatshirts or spring
jackets, it was that mild. The winds were incredibly low, ranging from
0 to about 10 km/h all day long. The sky was cloudless for the most
part, and when there were clouds, they were way above our altitude
limit. We made use of the extended altitude limit between noon and
2:00pm, with a number of flights to over 5000 feet. In all we had 10
flyers put up two dozen flights. Some additional stats:
* 1 new NAPAS member (welcome, Mark)
* 24 flights
* 2 pleasant surprises (see below)
* 1 lost rocket
* 2 hybrid flights
* $130 in flight/parking/membership fees
* 1 rocket recovered by radio tracking beacon
* too many planes still ignoring the NOTAM
Surprise # 1 - Robert Jones came to fly, and had a couple of great
flights. It was good so see you again, Robert. Surprise # 2 - Andrew
flew a rocket, a Pterodactyl Jr. on a J300 for a crowd pleasing,
neck-snapping flight. Nice job, Andrew. We hadn't seen you fly
something in quite some time.
To all who came, thanks for making it a great day. For those who
didn't, you should be kicking yourselves for missing yet another great
opportunity for a fun day of rocketry.
Rick Dunseith |
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January 28th, 2006
Flyers: 9
Flights: 18
Motors: 29
C:2 D:1
E:1 G:2
H:12 I:7 J:3 K:1
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Everyone was commenting on how
great a launch it was, one of the best NAPAS launches ever. We stayed
out in the field for about six hours, and even the spectators talked
about how much fun they were having. Good weather, good people, good
flights - what more can you ask for?
We picked up a renewal and
three new members, and those along with flight and parking fees raised
over $185 for the club. We had model, mid-power and HPR flights. We
burned motors ranging from C through K. We flew saucers, we flew
hybrids, we flew multi-stagers and we flew air-starts. And we had a
lot of fun doing it.
My personal faves: Jeff's two
EV-3 flights on Pro-54 motors, Bob P.'s SunSeeker and Video-FX
air-start flights, Chris' two-staged Intrepid, and my Flatu-Lance on
an I90 hybrid (despite it not being a "real" motor, even I have to
admit that it did make for an impressive flight in that little 3lb
airframe).
* 12 Vehicles on the Field
* 20 People in Attendance
* 4 Memberships / Renewals
* 12 NAPAS Members
* 1 Transport Canada Official
* 0 Clouds
* 6 Hours of Fun
* 189 Dollars Raised
* 6 Hybrid Flights
* 18 Recovered Rockets
Rick Dunseith |
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December 3rd, 2005
Flyers: 4
Flights: 6
Motors: 6
G:2
H:1 I:1 J:1 K:1
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The launch was a lot of fun today
for the small number of people who showed up. We had a number of
successful flights, including Bob Quance's successful Level 2
Certification flight on a 5-grain Pro38, to just over 4200 feet. Our
newest member, Tom Wajda, showed up in the afternoon and flew a
2-grain Pro38 Smoky Sam and achieved his Level 1 Certification.
Welcome to HPR, Tom.
Rick flew two mid-power rockets to kick off the day, and I flew the
Gaspipe to 2400 feet on a 3-grain Pro38.
Rick also took advantage of our higher-altitude window in the
afternoon, flying his Iris on a 6-grain Pro54. Very cool motor, with a
bright flame visible as long as we could see the rocket.
Unfortunately, we were unable to find the Iris, but it was a beautiful
flight, nonetheless.
The weather was good on the whole. We were set up to fly at 11:30 a.m.
and flew until about 4:00 p.m. Despite flurries in the morning, all
afternoon we had a mix of sun and cloud; the winds would come up then
die off.Brian Brodersen |
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July 30th, 2005
Flyers: 10
Flights: 40
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What a great launch we had. We all got a little too much
sun,
but other than that, it was just about perfect. Skies were clear all
day (except for the abundance of small airplanes, which we worked
around). The winds were minimal all morning, and by mid-afternoon had
disappeared altogether.
We acquired three new NAPAS members - be sure to welcome
Chris
Thomas, Bill Hughes and Joel Niergarth to NAPAS next time you see them
on the flying field.
With 12 NAPAS members and their guests in attendance, it was quite the
flight line. Our 10 registered flyers logged over 40 model-rocket,
mid-power and high-power flights, among which:
* Gary kept the model rocket rack busy all day with a steady stream
of flights
* Jim flew and recovered the same model rocket four times
* Jeff flew and recovered his PathFinder X2 three times, each time
on a larger high-power motor, and each flight picture perfect
* Andrew and I teamed up with a motor and rocket combination that
made for a unique, and loud, neck-snapping flight
* Bob P. had a couple of great cluster / airstart flights
Yesterday also marked another first for our new field - Chris Thomas
successful conducted the field's first hybrid motor flight and the first off
our own HyperTek GSE. Jeff's and Brian's hard work figuring out and
debugging the system has paid off, and it is now working flawlessly.
Finally, the NAPAS executive had an opportunity during this launch to
meet with the four landowners adjacent to the west side of our flying
field, all of whom have given us recovery permission to retrieve
rockets
on their properties, and thus extending even further our effective
recovery area.
All in all it was a great day for everyone in attendance, members and
guests alike.
Rick Dunseith |
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May 1st, 2005
Flyers: 6
Flights: 7
Motors: 10
G:2
H:4 I:1 J:1 K:2
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It was a strange day in Orangeville. At one point we shut down the
launch due to the blizzard and the gale-force winds, only to open it
ten minutes later with no wind and blue skies, and then we kept on
flying. The weather alternated between good and bad, sometimes to
quite remarkable extremes, throughout the day.
Despite having only six fliers, we actually had a lot of NAPAS members
(eleven, I think) and their spouses out. It was good to see Brian
Cripps and Richard Peters again, it had been a while.
Highlights:
- successful Tripoli Level 1 certification by Jeff's friend
Joel Niergarth, with a nice flight of his Honest John on an H153
- new NAPAS member Bob Pouliot entertained
with a wonderful clustered flight of his beautiful Sunseeker model
lifting off on a central I540 and then airstarting two H143 Smoky's
- we flew our first K motors at that field, and did it in style with a
K-powered drag race - Julian's Warlok on a K445 leapt off the pad
ahead of Jim's Bruiser on
its K550, but once the K550 lit up the Bruiser wasted no time catching
up - both rockets had picture-perfect flights, and made good use of
our altitude waiver
Rick Dunseith
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February 19th, 2005
Flyers: 2
Flights: 2
Motors: 2
F:1 G:1
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Four members braved the
elements to attend yesterday's launch. The weather was great at
9:30am (blue skies, winds at about 12 km/h) but shortly after that the
winds picked up, and by 12:30pm the cloud cover had closed in and it
began to snow quite heavily. So we only managed to get in two
flights, but still had fun hanging out, chatting, and enjoying a few EXtra goodies. Brian Brodersen flew his Purple Haze on an F20,
and Rick Dunseith flew his 2" PML AMRAAM on a G80.
Rick Dunseith |
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January 8th, 2005
Flyers: 5
Flights: 9
Motors: 14
C:1
D:4
E:2 F:3 G:2
H:1 J:1
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While the temperature wasn't too bad (for January) and the winds
were fairly light, the low and constant cloud cover forced us
to scrub some of our planned flights. We'll have to wait until next
time for some of those higher-altitude flights. But we still had a
good time, and managed to put up nine flights: Julian's Fat Boy on a
C6-3, and his ARCAS on a G64 (we lost that one - the white rocket with its white
parachute was just too hard to see against either the white overcast
above or the white snow on the ground; we'll find it in the spring); Jeff's
X-51 on a cluster of two E9's; Bob's 5X Mosquito on an F20 and
his LOC Onyx on a Pro-38 G69 (a neck-snapping flight); John
Glac's Bat Rocket on an F20 and two D12's, twice; Rick's original
Paralyzer on an H180 and his EV-3 on a J400SS (you should see all the black
"crap" that motor leaves on the snow for a 10-foot radius around the launch pad).
Rick Dunseith
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December 11th, 2004
Flyers: 5
Flights: 8
Motors: 9
D: 4
E: 1 F:1 G:1
I:1 J:1
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NAPAS Returns to Southern Ontario
Flying A handful of
members braved the snow and cold to successfully host our first local
high power launch in 30 months. A great initiation of the new
Orangeville site, and even some surprise visitors!
After all of his hard work and
dedication, to formally usher in this new era, it was appropriate that
Rick Dunseith started us off with a picture-perfect Paralyzer flight.
And Mike Dennett of CTI joined us for the first time in years with a
neck-snapping boost to book-end the day.
Andrew Ihnatowycz |
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July 3rd, 2004
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The Freaky Flyer X17 has flown!
It went up [at LDRS 23] on a Pro98 3G M2505 that was donated to the project by
Anthony. This motor packs a great punch and it easily lifted the 100
pound beast up to 2370 feet. The boost was nice and straight and the
Flyer did a roll at motor burn out just like the smaller scale versions.
It produced an awesome amount of noise and smoke which made for an
exciting and beautiful flight.
There were two camera teams there to record the flight and some of the
project members were interviewed as well. Look for the launch in the
LDRS 23 videos. Nadine took some great photos which are going to be
submitted to HPR magazine. NAPAS got excellent exposure from this
project. This has been a great project and people have really come
together to pull it off.
Way to go everyone!
Jeff Mensch
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May 16th, 2004
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Despite the uncooperative
weather we managed to have a first flight of the Freaky Flyer X8 [at
the BRS Invitational]. Of course the best way to finish a rocket is to
prime it on the lawn of the hotel the night before and then paint it
the following morning at the field. With Rick's expert spray can
technique it turned out great. It did seem to attract a lot of
attention for such a small rocket.
We fitted the nosecone with about half a roll of masking tape and then
loaded the little beast up with a J400 Smoky Sam. When Kathy and I
brought it up to the RSO table, Lloyd Wood just smiled and said, "Fly
it". Despite losing the igniter at one point we got it loaded on the
pad and ready to go. At zero the Freaky Flyer boosted quickly and just
kept on accelerating to 2000 feet. The black smoke trail was perfectly
straight. After burnout and the 11 second delay, the charge pushed out
the nosecone, or so we thought. The nosecone came in ballistic and
buried itself with a nasty thud. Without a chute the airframe come
down with a weird gliding tumble and bounced off the ground once.
Post-flight inspection showed that the nosecone bulkhead had pulled
away from the outer shell. The epoxy and small ridge were just not up
to the job. Without the nosecone momentum, the chute never got pulled
out of the airframe. The full scale version uses a much different
construction technique which will avoid this problem. The impact with
the ground also broke off one winglet. Both of these are repairable
and the Freaky Flyer will live to fly again.
Lloyd is intrigued with this rocket and asked me to send him the
Rocksim file and scale spreadsheet we have. He plans to build a 7.5"
(X11) version. He thinks that we had too much nose weight since the
rocket seemed over-stable. We based our CG on the Estes version but he
thinks we can get away with a half caliber for stability. We will also
beef up the nosecone bulkhead joint. Thanks to Bob for helping with
the disassembly of the wounded bird while I went to dig the nosecone
out of the ground. Thanks to Pat and Len for taking lots of pictures.
The Freaky Flyer X17 is going to be amazing.
Jeff Mensch
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May 17th, 2003
Flyers: 3
Flights: 4
Motors: 4
H:1 I:2 K:1
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Spent a sunny Saturday at the Mini Archer launch at Mountainview with
NAPAS members Robert Jones, Richard Peters and Doug Todd. A big
field, great weather, helpful volunteers, good turnout and efficient
range head made for a well-run launch. Robert flew a Pro54 K570 in
his PML 1/2 Scale Patriot and a Pro38 I212SS in his Minie Magg.
Doug went for a Level 1 Certification with his scratch built Archer on a
Pro38 H110, but suffered a zipper on deployment. I managed a
pretty good flight with my ARG Evolution 2 Prototype on a Pro38 I212SS.
I'll let Richard describe the recovery, if he so chooses. Thanks
to Teresa and Bill Wagstaff, the Ottawa Rocketry Group and the A3maQ for
hosting another enjoyable event.
Andrew Ihnatowycz
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April 27th, 2002
Flyers: 14
Flights: 25
Motors: 35
A:2 C:5
E:1 F:8 G:6
H:2 I:5 J:6
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It was a day for clusters, staging, airstarts and J motors. Dual
deployment flights were bringing them back within yards of the
pads. And high thrust motors were toppling launch rods and
ripping off lugs. Congratulations to Charles Martin on his
Tripoli Level 1 Certification flight, going for broke on a Pro38 I170.
Andrew Ihnatowycz
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April 14th, 2002
Flyers: 7
Flights: 12
Motors: 20
A:1
E:4 F:4 G:1
H:2 I:6 J:2
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Congratulations to Brian Cripps and Bea Soffers on their Tripoli Level
1 Certification flights. Kudos to Carl Hill, who successfully
flew his first composite motor, and to Julian Wood, who has now
repeatedly shown that multiple Estes E9s can be reliably lit using
flash-pan ignition. And Eric Lecker is now officially the
resident expert on clustering Pro38 motors, after another great flight
using three I170s.
Andrew Ihnatowycz
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December 8th, 2001
Flyers: 17
Flights: 34
Motors: 39
A:1
B:2
C:2
D:3
E:7
F:5
G:10
H:5
I:4 |
Included in the H flights are a successful
Level 1 Certification for Jeff Mensch with his PML Phobos on an
AeroTech H123W with MissileWorks electronics for deployment, and two
back-to-back Pro38 H110 catos for Rob French (ouch!). In addition,
David Fink's custom Desert Eagle, a minimum diameter Pro38 I170 flight
to some 7500+ feet WAS RECOVERED WITHIN THE FIELD for another
successful Level 1 Certification. Alas, I believe sky-diving Santa
wasn't as lucky. Congratulations to Jeff and David, and condolences to
Rob and Kathy. My personal favourite of the day was Gerrit Boerman's PML Tiny
Pterodactyl on an AeroTech I357T. Nice combination.
Andrew Ihnatowycz |
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November 17th, 2001
Flyers: 16
Flights: 38
Motors: 50
A:2
B:5 C:2
D:2
E:8
F:5
G:10
H:5 I:4 J:7 |
My personal favourites were Kathy's BSD
Sprint on an H110, and Robert's Goblin on a J570. Great power to
weight ratios!
Andrew Ihnatowycz |
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March 18th, 2001
Flyers: 10
Flights: 22
Motors: 29
B:1 C:4
F:3 G:12
H:2 I:3 J:4
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Flight of the Day: Brian Brodersen's
beautiful scratch built, split fin, boattail design on a CUSTOM Pro38
I170 . . .
Andrew Ihnatowycz |
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January
27th, 2001
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A little blustery at the launch today,
unfortunately I forgot to bring along kite. I did bring along my new
R-DAS equipped rocket but was not ready to fly. Rick had an awesome
flight with a K700 in his "Paralyzer", but I left before Eric
launched his newly modified rocket with the strap-on boosters.
Apparently, he calls it "Ellen DeGenerate". Anyway, I hope it
flew well.
Bob Taylor |
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