(POMRoC) We met at the Lightning Test Center at Camp Blanding today. We had a smaller turnout, but most of the die-hards were there. First, due to the weather looking bad, we had the streamer duration contest. We had five entries:
It was a mostly good day of flying for us. Here is a breakdown of what each flight did.
| Rocket | Builder | Engine | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zinger | Abby | B4-6 | Streamer duration contest: 32 seconds (2nd place) |
| Orange Bullet | John | B4-4 | Streamer duration contest: 22 seconds (4th place). A fin is loose, will need to re-glue before flying again. |
| Sizzler | Abby | B6-4 | Good flight; near the trees, but not in them. |
| Jaala | Tom | B6-0 | Here's a tip for you: B6-0 do NOT have an ejection charge! I thought the zero indicated that it would immediately kick, but NO! Can you say, "lawn dart?" This rocket was supposed to CATO in the air! I couldn't find the nose cone, but all the other pieces were recovered, mostly intact. |
| Ninja | John | A3-4T | Pretty high. Forgot to put wadding in, burned half of the streamer, came down in two pieces. No damage, though. |
| Bolo | Tom | D12-7 | Good, high flight. Ejection charge blew the nose cone off the cord, nose came down separate from the body. Body drifted into some power lines, but came down after about 10-15 minutes. A minor fix -- LONGER SHOCK CORD! |
| Alpha III | John | B6-4 | Chute heavily reefed, but still drifted a ways. Good recovery. |
| Flying Pyramid Of Death | Tom | 1/2A6-2 | WAY underpowered, barely made it off of the launch pad. How about another try? |
| Flying Pyramid Of Death | Tom | B4-2 | Low flight, up about 100-150 feet. However, the test was a success, it boosted straight, and deployed correctly. A real crowd-pleaser! |
| Zinger | Abby | B6-4 | Some low clouds came up without us seeing, and the rocket was lost going up, never saw it come down. **LOST** A very sad Abby. |
| Alpha III | John | A8-3 | Good, low flight (for the Alpha), Bill K. caught it while returning from looking for the Zinger. |
Getting ready for a launch at Camp Blanding, with an FAA waiver and a larger field. I think we are going to try for a streamer duration event, as well as flying some of the bigger birds. Some rockets are in-progress, and may not make it for the launch, but are listed anyway:
(POMRoC) Several good flights today, detailed below. Wind was medium, got too windy later
on to fly about 11:00am, so we quit for the day.
| Rocket | Builder | Engine | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ninja | John | A3-4T | (First flight) Out of sight, streamer brought it down close to the power lines, but no problems |
| Sizzler | Abby | B4-2 | (First flight) Slow lift-off, low flight. Hit the edge of the trailer on landing, cracked a fin. Did I hear, "Super Glue?" |
| Gyroc | Tom | A8-3 | (First flight) Higher than expected, almost no drift even with a moderate wind. Impressive! |
| Sizzler | Abby | B6-4 | Higher flight, rear ejection is wild-looking |
| Alpha III | John | B6-6 | Good flight, as usual |
| Sizzler | Abby | B6-4 | Good flight |
| Ninja | John | A10-3T | More powerful engine, great recovery |
| Alpha III | John | B6-6 | Good flight |
| Sizzler | Abby | B4-4 | Good flight |
Several rockets awaiting first flight, don't know if we can wait until the next POMRoC:
This month's "Camp Blanding" shoot, with FAA clearance and the big birds flying, has been postponed. Nick must not have heard back -- next month!
(POMRoC) Launched John's Alpha III twice! Here is the table of flights:
| Rocket | Builder | Engine | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha III | John | A8-3 | Floated down right between the power lines -- lucky! |
| Alpha III | John | A8-3 | Started drifting, then came back, missed a small portable building by about 10 feet -- lucky! |
Decided to test John's Alpha III, since we had some time.
(POMRoC) Rained out
(POMRoC) Turkey Shoot! We were out of town -- rats!
(POMRoC) At Camp Blanding; drove around and around, but could not find it. Bummer.