“I am now Level 2 certified for rocket launches. I put my Quasar about 6800 feet above the ground with a J-350 motor. I also passed the accompanying written exam. It actually was more nerve wracking than it should have been. My mentor, Andrew Baker came to me about three weeks ago and said, "Wouldn't it be great if we both Level 2 certified on the same day"? I thought it was a bit premature for me as I am still heavily dependent on him when I load my rocket fuel, but I agreed. You see, he's been working toward his Level 2 certification for about three months and was way more prepared than me. I quickly ordered a 38mm motor casing that would work with the J-350 fuel grains, but the guy was completely out of fuel and wouldn't have any for 7 to 10 days. This was too late to get it from Ohio to Arizona for the launch on April 10th. I just trusted my dumb luck that I would get it from someone locally, so I started repairing the broken fin from my last flight and began to study the rules and regulations.

The day finally came and although I had a beautiful red anodized motor casing, I was still without fuel. We drove the one hour it takes to get to Rainbow Valley studying for the test the whole way. When we arrived we set up our table and awning and I set out to find rocket fuel while Andrew went in search of the prefect to take the written test. I found the J-350 fuel and soon afterwards we were both sitting at a table in the hot sun taking the examination. Of course we both aced it and since Andrew's rocket was prepped and ready to go, he went first. I put off fueling mine so I could take pictures and video his launch. He was flying a 9.5 pound Minimag that looked more like something you would drop on Kosovo than an amateur rocket. It's J-100 motor was going to be in the thrusting phase for twelve seconds which is far longer than the 2 to 3 that most other motors are capable of.

I filmed as the countdown commenced and at the final moment, the motor roared to life and pushed the rocket higher and higher until the only thing visible was the smoke trail. As it gently arched over in the sky we all waited tensely for the puff of smoke and the delayed boom of an ejection charge that would signal the impending inflation of the parachute. Down the rocket fell, picking up speed and momentum until just when it seemed to be getting too late, ejection and a billowing chute. A quick sigh of relief followed by a painful moan when the range safety officer looking through his binoculars proclaimed, "We have a separation"! Andrew's rocket had separated from its parachute and was tumbling down unimpeded toward the desert. There would be no signoff on his paperwork by the prefect today. We walked into the desert looking for pieces and to our surprise the main body had stayed connected to the chute and only the nose cone had separated. We were even more surprised to find it unscathed after falling from that great altitude by itself. Well, at least it would be able to fly again another day for his Level 2 attempt, although a little bit of shock cord redesign was in order.

Now it was my turn. Andrew's failure left me wondering if I could be successful. After all, he is the expert that taught me the craft! I proceeded to load my fuel and amazingly did so without help from Andrew. I was getting ready to secure it into the body tube when I saw the little paper adhesive disk that holds the gunpowder in the chamber. I had forgotten the ejection charge! Without it, the rocket would have never deployed its parachute and would have gracefully accelerated to terminal velocity right before making a new crater in the Arizona desert. Andrew laughed, shook his head and told me I deserved to fail if I forgot the ejection charge. I loaded the charge and rechecked everything and then added an ounce of orange "tracking powder" so we would have at least a chance of spotting the rocket and its parachute at apogee. I presented my rocket for inspection and after successfully answering questions about the center of pressure versus the center of gravity, I was approved to launch.

I fitted the launch rod through the lugs on my Quasar and hooked up the electrical leads. A check for continuity through the igniter and I was ready to go. I got the go ahead from the launch controller and after a short countdown I turned the switch for ignition. No problems here. The rocket leapt off the pad and went straight up until it was a speck trailing smoke high above us. After what seemed like an eternity, a puff of smoke and an almost indistinguishable parachute was spotted. No extra pieces were seen falling loose so now the trick was to not lose sight of it and bring it back for post flight inspection after recovering it. It started floating slowly to the southwest and I was thinking that maybe I should have used the smaller chute. So many other rockets had landed on top of the spectator area that I decided to strive for a little more "hang time" to hopefully get the rocket downrange a little. Good plan at the time, but now the wind had kicked up and was sending my rocket toward the road. I hurried and even jogged a bit to keep up with it. I imagined it landing on the road and getting run over by a truck destroying my Quasar and my Level 2 certification in one quick moment. Well, I had little to worry about because the wind was blowing in the opposite direction at a lower altitude and when the touchdown finally took place, it was a mere 200 yards from the launcher. I had walked a mile purely for the exercise. The rocket was presented undamaged for inspection and after a signature and a handshake, I became a Level 2 rocketeer!

I am very appreciative to my friend Andrew who introduced me to this sport and who has tirelessly answered my questions and shared his expertise with me. I could not have launched on April 10th without the J350 reload that was provided by a generous club member and of course, it’s always great to get the use of a launch pad. I hope I can pass the same level of helpfulness along to other aspiring rocket enthusiasts. Thanks to my mom for… Well, you get the message.

David Ortega TRA 6568”