Launch Reports
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Launch Report from Wayside, TX.
Liz Johnson, My grandson River and I made the trip to Wayside for the launch and the annual CanSat
competition.
Friday: High light, Liz’s L-3 flight, a great rocket, very straight boost and all function as designed. The
rocket landed about 300 yards from the pad and achievement of all her L-3 goals. She all did a flight
with her Nike smoke and I do not have the altitude but it was a very nice fight, I think it was in the 4,000
to 5,000 feet range. She also did an EX flight on a mid range EX motor from a friend. The L-3 flight was
10,300 and the EX flight was 10,200. She did not fly on Sunday.
Look out boys LIZ is a L-3
She spent a lot of time promoting rocketry with Doctor Chandler of Texas Tech, Pat Gordzelik and the
local news papers.
River did 5 flight 3 Sat and 2 on Sun. All G motors and one three motor cluster of 3 F-60s.
Friday I put up the 4 inch carbon called Black & Beyond to 20,184 on an EX motor 4 grain 98mm made
with RSCp1 great flight for a 37 pound rocket. It landed 2 miles east of the pad.
I also did flight with 3” carbon to 11,012 on an L-730, and a flight to 9,100 on a 75mm 3 grain EX RSCp1
in Hubbub a 4”, 26 pound rocket.
Liz Johnson, My grandson River and I made the trip to Wayside for the launch and the annual CanSat
competition.
Friday: High light, Liz’s L-3 flight, a great rocket, very straight boost and all function as designed. The
rocket landed about 300 yards from the pad and achievement of all her L-3 goals. She all did a flight
with her Nike smoke and I do not have the altitude but it was a very nice fight, I think it was in the 4,000
to 5,000 feet range. She also did an EX flight on a mid range EX motor from a friend. The L-3 flight was
10,300 and the EX flight was 10,200. She did not fly on Sunday.
Look out boys LIZ is a L-3
She spent a lot of time promoting rocketry with Doctor Chandler of Texas Tech, Pat Gordzelik and the
local news papers.
River did 5 flight 3 Sat and 2 on Sun. All G motors and one three motor cluster of 3 F-60s.
Friday I put up the 4 inch carbon called Black & Beyond to 20,184 on an EX motor 4 grain 98mm made
with RSCp1 great flight for a 37 pound rocket. It landed 2 miles east of the pad.
I also did flight with 3” carbon to 11,012 on an L-730, and a flight to 9,100 on a 75mm 3 grain EX RSCp1
in Hubbub a 4”, 26 pound rocket.
June 12, 13, and 14, 2009
WTR June 27 and 28
By Liz
By Liz
Saturday
Well HELLLLLLLLO San ANTONIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Here is the scoop on the first day
and our events.
The day started off with the wind blowing at 5.6 mph and the temp 83 degrees. Pretty darn cool to tell
you at this point. Well the first flight of the day was done by Catherine Nava. There was slight
malfunction but other than that a good flight for her. Winds were at 7 mph at this point. Bryan Sparkman
then flew his rocket with a beautiful paint job and lets just say he is able to fly it again. I do recall it being
50 ft off the simulations. Oops. I do have the data it went 4812 but it is still 50 ft off the sim. Catherine
was back at for her second attempt. Winds were now at 3.1 mph and the temp was up to 93 degrees.
Getting hot quick it seems. I got to fly the 4th flight of the day at this was the Adidas flight with the camera
and you know what? Yea, the crap didn't work. So prototype not good. Bryan couldn't give it a rest and
flew again and this time was 6750 feet.
Forgot to tell you there were TWO other fliers here. Guess what? They were from San Antonio. Can you
believe that? People from San Antonio fly rockets :)
Well HELLLLLLLLO San ANTONIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. Here is the scoop on the first day
and our events.
The day started off with the wind blowing at 5.6 mph and the temp 83 degrees. Pretty darn cool to tell
you at this point. Well the first flight of the day was done by Catherine Nava. There was slight
malfunction but other than that a good flight for her. Winds were at 7 mph at this point. Bryan Sparkman
then flew his rocket with a beautiful paint job and lets just say he is able to fly it again. I do recall it being
50 ft off the simulations. Oops. I do have the data it went 4812 but it is still 50 ft off the sim. Catherine
was back at for her second attempt. Winds were now at 3.1 mph and the temp was up to 93 degrees.
Getting hot quick it seems. I got to fly the 4th flight of the day at this was the Adidas flight with the camera
and you know what? Yea, the crap didn't work. So prototype not good. Bryan couldn't give it a rest and
flew again and this time was 6750 feet.
Forgot to tell you there were TWO other fliers here. Guess what? They were from San Antonio. Can you
believe that? People from San Antonio fly rockets :)
Sunday
Hello rocket boys!
Catherine was first and things didn't go so well. However, we convinced her that it was best because
she can now build something new :)
I was suppose to be second. So proud because Dave was there. But alas the rocket gods were not
amused (probably because Dave hugged me) and my ejection charge for the drogue went off on the
pad. Took the nose cone right off :( More scratches. Oh well.
I told Catherine it was meant to make her feel better.
Well Ray could not let us outshine him so when he flew Torrent (you all know the one) he CATO'ed.
magnificently I might add. The contest for today was to see who had the best failure and he won. He is
so competitive :) He can ALWAYS win this if he wants, I will forfeit.
Dave was next with his YELLOW rocket. He wasn't in the mood to play our game and had a great flight.
Flew 3309 feet.
Well Cerberus was back in the running. With all in place. Jim did the countdown and it roared away.
Amazing flight. There was no wind (seriously maybe 1 mph) You would think it was land near us but
NOOOOOOOOO. My farthest flight ever not only in terms of apogee (14,500 +) but away from the pad
also. Ray got to listen to the complaints so you might want to buy him a beer :)
Started raining. We waited because Dave had one more flight (MAROON). I don't know what he got on
altitued so he will have to let us know at the meeting. All I know it was a long walk in the brush for us.
Ray and Jim were smart and didn't come along. Dave was stuck with me :)
Next time to fly is in July. So mark it on your calendars especially you Chicken Man.
Hello rocket boys!
Catherine was first and things didn't go so well. However, we convinced her that it was best because
she can now build something new :)
I was suppose to be second. So proud because Dave was there. But alas the rocket gods were not
amused (probably because Dave hugged me) and my ejection charge for the drogue went off on the
pad. Took the nose cone right off :( More scratches. Oh well.
I told Catherine it was meant to make her feel better.
Well Ray could not let us outshine him so when he flew Torrent (you all know the one) he CATO'ed.
magnificently I might add. The contest for today was to see who had the best failure and he won. He is
so competitive :) He can ALWAYS win this if he wants, I will forfeit.
Dave was next with his YELLOW rocket. He wasn't in the mood to play our game and had a great flight.
Flew 3309 feet.
Well Cerberus was back in the running. With all in place. Jim did the countdown and it roared away.
Amazing flight. There was no wind (seriously maybe 1 mph) You would think it was land near us but
NOOOOOOOOO. My farthest flight ever not only in terms of apogee (14,500 +) but away from the pad
also. Ray got to listen to the complaints so you might want to buy him a beer :)
Started raining. We waited because Dave had one more flight (MAROON). I don't know what he got on
altitued so he will have to let us know at the meeting. All I know it was a long walk in the brush for us.
Ray and Jim were smart and didn't come along. Dave was stuck with me :)
Next time to fly is in July. So mark it on your calendars especially you Chicken Man.
Okay sorry the lateness. I am down at the coast for two days so I am taking time out of the sun to write this :)
Well I figured I should write an entertaining not since that describes the weekend. No weather reports since
Don was there :)
The adventure starts Friday when we get there and I am put on one side of the hotel and Howard and Ray on
the other. Then I am told by the manager that Bryan requested to be next to Elizabeth or Ray. So I am blaming
Bryan for being ostracized and that is all I am going to say.
Saturday starts off with a BANG! and I mean it literally. I go to test my altimeters and everything works, shut
them off and BANG! Holy Crap. Howard is at his table beside me, Ray and River are right where the charges
went off. Part of it hits Ray, we have difficulty hearing and yea, lesson learned: hearing aids and BANGS don't
coincide too well. well I am bewildered, embarassed, dumb struck, whatever you want to call it. Meanwhile
the towel that is underneath is on fire. Granted it is small, but still UGH! Ray poured water on it.
So we determine my adept is crap now and must be sent back. The world is safer now.
Jim flies a rocket. he does own them and does fly. Who knew? Surely not I. I witnessed it finally. Everything
went great, no drama (yawn :) jk
Don is up with his candy cane or as some called the barber pole. Ray and Howard join and I am back at the
hut laughing with Jim how they can be little elves and fly it at Christmas. Imagine the three of them in elf
outfits :) How funny would that be. Don's flight is great and with a good recovery. Don also flew Liberty with a
moon burner (75 mm) that burned for 12 seconds. He also did a motor test (38 mmm) that started with a
bates grain and ended with an End burner. Liner caught fire and burned casing. Over a 2 min burn.
Howard flies next with a red and white rocket. Another good flight. I guess I am out of luck. Howard also flew
Arcus with GPS and my balloon chute (yes, he braved the makings of Liz)
ray was eager to fly but the GPS he wanted to fly didn't fit into his nose cones. He flew blue Critter and it went
12,600 ft on an L with a red flame. He also flew Concept 54 with an ex motor. Should be called "Now you
see, Now you don't" because that baby flew.
River also flew this weekend and had some terrific flights. He did fly on e of my rotating chutes and yes, it was
damn cool.
Joe was at the launch with his brother Jack in tow. 3" min diameter, broke mach, 30" of propellant and it
basically shredded at 3000 ft. Good thing Jack is around to harass him since Jay was harassing me or
whipping me with e matches. Damn fool :)
My flights? Cerberus I flew. Let's just say more repairs. Boost was great, things looked great, chute comes
out and yea, didn't inflate. So what comes up must come down. Not a good thing when you are flying GPS
that isn't yours. Fortunately, that is okay and the majority of the rocket is good. Perhaps a two day repair job.
Watermelon? Lets just say that it was another prototype and Ray ended up wearing the melon at the pad.
Video? Ye, have it.
Bryan Sparkman, nervous and all, flew for his L3 and I happy to say that he got it. Flew 10,100 ft. There are
lots of pics.
Jay flew rockets as well and I am happy to inform you all that he donated a rocket to the cause of making me
feel better. Almost total annihilation but he says he can salvage the fins. He also bought a drink for all on
Saturday so I am not sure what is up with Jim? (where are my drinks?)
There was a group from Dallas. Two guys who weren't from America and had funnier accents than Jay flew.
One of them got their L1 certification and the other one now as Ray on board for his L3.
Well I am off now to put on more sunscreen and enjoy the sun. Hope you enjoyed the report and next meeting
for SARS is coming up. I hope to see you all there. Next WTR is Aug. 22 I believe.
Well I figured I should write an entertaining not since that describes the weekend. No weather reports since
Don was there :)
The adventure starts Friday when we get there and I am put on one side of the hotel and Howard and Ray on
the other. Then I am told by the manager that Bryan requested to be next to Elizabeth or Ray. So I am blaming
Bryan for being ostracized and that is all I am going to say.
Saturday starts off with a BANG! and I mean it literally. I go to test my altimeters and everything works, shut
them off and BANG! Holy Crap. Howard is at his table beside me, Ray and River are right where the charges
went off. Part of it hits Ray, we have difficulty hearing and yea, lesson learned: hearing aids and BANGS don't
coincide too well. well I am bewildered, embarassed, dumb struck, whatever you want to call it. Meanwhile
the towel that is underneath is on fire. Granted it is small, but still UGH! Ray poured water on it.
So we determine my adept is crap now and must be sent back. The world is safer now.
Jim flies a rocket. he does own them and does fly. Who knew? Surely not I. I witnessed it finally. Everything
went great, no drama (yawn :) jk
Don is up with his candy cane or as some called the barber pole. Ray and Howard join and I am back at the
hut laughing with Jim how they can be little elves and fly it at Christmas. Imagine the three of them in elf
outfits :) How funny would that be. Don's flight is great and with a good recovery. Don also flew Liberty with a
moon burner (75 mm) that burned for 12 seconds. He also did a motor test (38 mmm) that started with a
bates grain and ended with an End burner. Liner caught fire and burned casing. Over a 2 min burn.
Howard flies next with a red and white rocket. Another good flight. I guess I am out of luck. Howard also flew
Arcus with GPS and my balloon chute (yes, he braved the makings of Liz)
ray was eager to fly but the GPS he wanted to fly didn't fit into his nose cones. He flew blue Critter and it went
12,600 ft on an L with a red flame. He also flew Concept 54 with an ex motor. Should be called "Now you
see, Now you don't" because that baby flew.
River also flew this weekend and had some terrific flights. He did fly on e of my rotating chutes and yes, it was
damn cool.
Joe was at the launch with his brother Jack in tow. 3" min diameter, broke mach, 30" of propellant and it
basically shredded at 3000 ft. Good thing Jack is around to harass him since Jay was harassing me or
whipping me with e matches. Damn fool :)
My flights? Cerberus I flew. Let's just say more repairs. Boost was great, things looked great, chute comes
out and yea, didn't inflate. So what comes up must come down. Not a good thing when you are flying GPS
that isn't yours. Fortunately, that is okay and the majority of the rocket is good. Perhaps a two day repair job.
Watermelon? Lets just say that it was another prototype and Ray ended up wearing the melon at the pad.
Video? Ye, have it.
Bryan Sparkman, nervous and all, flew for his L3 and I happy to say that he got it. Flew 10,100 ft. There are
lots of pics.
Jay flew rockets as well and I am happy to inform you all that he donated a rocket to the cause of making me
feel better. Almost total annihilation but he says he can salvage the fins. He also bought a drink for all on
Saturday so I am not sure what is up with Jim? (where are my drinks?)
There was a group from Dallas. Two guys who weren't from America and had funnier accents than Jay flew.
One of them got their L1 certification and the other one now as Ray on board for his L3.
Well I am off now to put on more sunscreen and enjoy the sun. Hope you enjoyed the report and next meeting
for SARS is coming up. I hope to see you all there. Next WTR is Aug. 22 I believe.
WTR launch report July launch by Liz
Grandson River
Liz and Jim at it agaain
Some people know how to relax
Jay; say good bye buddy
Bryan Sparkman
Liz's Water melon Rocket
Jay's rocket with a sparkie