Saturday March 24th dawned as a beautiful day: blue skies, no wind, and temperatures in the mid-70s. Oh wait; that was a dream I had. Sorry. In reality it was overcast with a 4500 foot or so ceiling (in spite of what Columbus ATCT & Air Sports Net were reporting) and a light wind. We had TEN flights over the course of the day. So here we go:
Doug Peterson from Plain City led off the festivities with “Kenny” a scratch built Aerobee that has flown numerous times before. Kenny aimed high on a Research I280 Wimpy Red for a nominal flight & recovery. Doug would come back late in the day and kill Kenny on an AT Dark Matter that shredded ‘him’ in spectacular fashion. You may comment as necessary here…...
Prefect Gary Dickinson from Germantown launched his brand new & highly modified Mad Cow “AGM33 Pike” on an AT K1100T. The rocket had dual deploy out of the top end with a MARSA 55L-HD in the nose doing the hard part and a Missileworks T3 GPS along for the ride. The rocket turned in a flight to 4095 feet AGL and a top speed of 652 mph. The rocket was recovered after a long and bouncy ride across the corn stubble.
Nathan Dalrymple from Dayton launched his BSD “Horizon” on a 38mm CTI I223 Skid that proceeded to blow the forward end of the motor off and provide some tense moments for those in attendance due the flaming wreckage that come tumbling down. Please be sure and file a MESS report on this one Nathan.
Justin Bray from Middletown got in two great flights. He launched his J&J “Meltdown” (which did not live up to its name) on an AT H130-10 for a nominal flight & recovery. He came back and launch his “Crayon Crossfire” on an AT H210 Redline for a great flight and close in recovery using a Jolly Logic Chute Release set at 500 feet AGL. I think Justin has secretly joined the ‘Blazing Ballistic Berry Brothers’ as an adopted brother. Just sayin’…...
Kelvin McMillin launched his LOC “Graduator” on an AT F40-4 and followed it up with his “Weekend Warrior” on an AT H182-6 for a great flight. Kelvin and his wife Mel have been around TMO for a long time. Mel used to work for Ross Dunton at Magnum Rockets back in the day; her sweet voice was always in stark contrast to Ross’ gruff demeanor. BTW, Kelvin’s TRA number is 1174! It is so good to see these two back. Rumor has it that Kelvin has a stash of old Magnum rockets in his barn. We shall soon see about that.
Jacob Eldred and his team from the University of Cincinnati showed up to test their project before heading off to competition in two weeks. “Tomato Sause 2” launched on a CTI L851 that arched over just at the bottom of the cloud deck. We are waiting for flight performance data, but initial indications are that all went very well. Good luck in your upcoming competition!
In spite of the crappy weather we had two certification flights. Nic Flesher, part of The Ohio State University “Buckeye Space Launch Initiative” team obtained his TRA Level 2 certification. Test scores were very good and his cert flight on his rocket “Cert” had to have been one of the hottest AT J350 flight I have ever seen. The rocket as recovered after a long walk.
Welcome back to Bert Garrison from Nova Ohio! Bert rejoined the ranks of HPR with a Public Enemy “Performer” on an AT H283ST and a Jolly Logic Chute Release for a successful TRA Level 1 certification. He came back and launched the “Performer” again on an AT H219T, but failed to turn the JLCR on before launched. The rocket was recovered without damage.
Congratulation to Nic and Bert! We expect you two to be regular attenders in the future.
No successful launch would be complete without the “rocket elves” that help with set up/tear down and supply all of the rocket goodies that we crave. Shout out to Steve, Bob, Doug, Lee, Jay, Bert, and any others that I may have forgotten. A special shout out to Lee Berry and Merlin Missile Solutions for being our regular onsite vendor. Tripoli Mid-Ohio #31 could not do what it does without you! The next launch is in two weeks.
SYATNL,
