RATS II LAUNCH REPORT
RATS II
By Justin Gleiter
After LDRS, even I felt a little burned out with Rocketry.
Both Scott Tyrrell and I exclaimed that we would need several months
of rest before flying again. But, as any rocket nut knows, we were
back into it again shortly. Over the weekend of November 4th and
5th, we were doing the rocket thing all over again.
RATS II was originally scheduled for October 29 and 30; but
due to poor weather, had been rescheduled to its rain date of
November 4 and 5. We arrived around 10 a.m. on Saturday to clear
skies and bright sunlight with temperatures in the 40's and a hefty
breeze.
Because of the wind and the memories of losing many rockets
in the swamps last spring, we started out small and worked our way
up. Scott Tyrrell flew his three-stage sputnik on a trio of
twenty-year-old B14's. It worked out just fine, proving that old
motors can be just as reliable as new motors. Of course, someone
decided to fly an Estes E15 in a Maniac, which ended in the usual
CATO. I stepped up to the pads with my LOC Lil' Nuke. I've flown it
on everything from a D15 to a Kosdon H270, but today I chose an F39
reload. After a couple of misfires, it finally shot into the sky for
a perfect launch and recovery.
Frank Hujber had traveled to the launch so he could get
certified. Despite the wind, he decided to fly his THOY Condor on a
Vulcan H100. It ignited and flew a perfect flight, with parachute
deployment at the right moment, securing his certification. Because
of the wind and the high altitude his model obtained, it drifted and
drifted until it landed in the cornfield across the street. He drove
past the cornfield many times, but he couldn't spot it. Frank then
had his twelve-year-old daughter, Heather, slowly drive the truck
while he stood on the roof. When he spotted his lost rocket, he
yelled for Heather to stop. She slammed on the brakes and Frank flew
off the roof and onto the ground. He wasn't hurt, but he got his
rocket back.
Throughout the rest of the day, people had fun flying model
rockets, with nothing really bigger than an H motor flown. Scott
Tyrrell had some more flights on Saturday. He flew his Estes
Skywinder on a D21 for a respectable flight. He also flew his LOC
Aura twice on an old Aerotech F41, and then on a Vulcan F80 for a
fast flight.
After the day's flying was over, we retired to our room at
the Ramada Inn in Vineland. Butch, Scott and I teamed up with Neil
Davis and Barbara Ezzel to find a place to eat. After a nice dinner
in a local restaurant, we headed back to the hotel for the club
meeting which was planned for that night.
Damian has always done a great job organizing the meetings,
and this time we even had a small buffet and drinks. The main theme
of the meeting was the flight of the WAC at LDRS, and many photos and
slides were displayed. Damian thanked many people for help with his
project, and then handed out two awards. The first award was an
"Achievement Award" given to me, and the second award was given to
Billy Davidson. I'm not sure of the exact reason for giving us these
awards, but it was a very nice gesture from Garden State Tripoli.
After the awards were given out, Damian and Bill Davidson
displayed some new parts from their newest project. They were a
piece of 16-inch-diameter aluminum tubing, and a centering ring with
five 98mm mounts. They didn't want to say exactly what they were
building, but we have our ideas. Maybe a full scale Nike something?
We'll just have to wait and see. They also purchased a 31 foot
trailer that they were converting into a portable launch tower. The
tower will be made available to any person requiring it for a big
project. It will be equipped with special effects, including a water
dump tank for sound suppression and added steam.
After everyone was finished speaking, the meeting was
concluded with the Earl Cagle LDRS video. The video had featured the
WAC Corporal and had contained other GST members' projects. The
meeting was over around 10 o'clock, and everyone headed back to their
rooms for a busy night of prepping for Sunday. Butch Stiles and
Scott stayed up til 2 in the morning prepping reloads and rockets for
the next day, while I hit the rack around 1 a.m.
Sunday dawned bright and clear, with temperatures in the low
40's and light wind. Great, let's fly! I racked my Lil' Nuke on the
first round for my certification flight. Yes, yes, I have flown
everything from 1/4A's to full K's, but I'm finally 18. Might as
well do it legally now. The Nuke took off like a shot under the
power of an H238, and deployed its chute perfectly after a 14 second
coast.
Soon after the Nuke had landed, Butch Stiles and Scott Ghiz
brought up their respective rockets. Butch was trying out his
BEAUTIFUL all custom built, four-inch-diameter, fiberglass two-stage
rocket. Butch's rocket was a jewel, with its perfect paint job and
decals. Toys in the Attic, which Butch had named it, weighed in
around twelve pounds and was over eight feet tall. The rocket
boosted swiftly under the power of a J460, and staged a few seconds
later to an I161. The booster recovered perfectly under a chute, but
the upper stage separated for some reason (did someone forget to
attach their quick link?). It peaked at an altitude of one mile, and
was recovered mostly undamaged thanks to soft dirt and strong epoxy.
Scott Ghiz was up next with his LOC Magnum. This rocket is a
veteran of many J and K flights, and had made it back from Black Rock
in one piece. Scott fired it up on a K550 for a great flight to
5,005 feet. This flight clenched Scott the 5000 club, and an award
and prize from GST.
Many other people began to take advantage of the nice
weather, and Billy Davidson stepped up to the pads with his Cluster R
5.5 inch diameter Standard ARM. Billy had equipped his model with
two smoker motors in the outboards that would be ignited a few
seconds before the K900 motor. In his first attempt, the smokers
fired, but the K didn't. He tried it again with new smokers and a
new igniter, and the rocket finally blasted off into the clear blue
sky. The rocket nosed over at apogee, but there was no ejection.
The eight foot tall rocket quickly became a two-foot-tall set of
fins, much to everyone's dismay.
Other cool flights included John Heinze's Magnum. He flew it
on a K550, with two H180 airstarts. The rocket peaked at over a mile
high, and recovered just fine. Butch Stiles also flew again. This
time it was the first flight of his Purple Haze, which is a phenolic
THOY Falcon. It boosted great with an I211, and recovered on a
drogue and main after a flight to 2,400 feet. Larry Zupnyk flew his
5.5 inch-diameter rocket on a new Aerotech K900 98mm reload. The
rocket zipped out with a big blue flame, but had no drogue
deployment. His main chute deployed on time at 250 feet, but it
stripped, and landed somewhere off the field.
After a successful certification, I stepped up to the pads
with my Killer Crayon rocket. Powered by an H242, it had a great
flight. Scott Tyrrell also flew his four-inch-diameter Standard ARM
on a Vulcan I500. It had a fast and smokey flight to over 2,000
feet, with drogue and main chutes deploying at the right times.
Scott Ghiz decided to fly his Magnum again on a K550, and had another
great flight. The only flaw was when it came time for main chute
deployment--the chute failed to inflate until the rocket hit. It
went to over 5,000 feet, and wasn't hurt by the rough landing.
During Sunday, there were also several notable flights. Jeff
Buss tried out a finless rocket on a J460. The rocket boosted nice
and straight, but was a little wiggly after burnout. Ken Mizoi and
Wayne Anthony were flying their Hypertek hybrid motors, and had some
great flights with the exception of a recovery failure. Dave "Fritz"
Katz, keeper of the wonderful LIARS web page, had some great flights.
He flew his PML Cirrus on an H142. The minimum diameter rocket flew
to 7,287 feet, and won Fritz the 7500 club prize and award. As an
added bonus, this flight also earned Fritz the Tripoli National
Altitude Record for the "H" motor class. Fritz also flew his Army
rocket on a Vulcan J735. The big olive-drab rocket even sported
surplus military missile fins, and recovered on several parachutes
after putting in a great flight. Another notable flight was that of
Jim Livingston's full scale AMRAAM. It flew to around 1,500 feet on
a K1100, and recovered on a full chute. I decided to put up another
flight. This time it was my Nighthawk, loaded for destruction with a
Kosdon H160 and two G65's. One G blew a nozzle and the other didn't
ignite, but the rocket flew just fine with the H core motor. The
propellant grains from the failed G motor burned during the flight,
providing some great tracking smoke.
As the day wound down, is was time for some final flights.
Leroy Bonawidz certified on his LOC Minnie Mag, powering it with an
H123. The altimeter deployed the chute right on time, and now Leroy
can start to spend himself into the poor house like the rest of us.
Bill Davidson decided to blow the socks off the rest of us, and
launched his 5.5 inch-diameter Max-Q out of a tower on an Aerotech
M1939. The rocket roared out of the launch tower, and was visible
all the way to apogee at over 16,000 feet. To top it all off, the
main chute then deployed to recover the rocket less than 500 feet
from where it was launched.
Scott Tyrrell decided to fly his last rocket, and put up his
Flipper two-stage rocket. It boosted on an I357 and staged perfectly
to an I161. I decided to put up my last flight, and prepped my
Killer Crayon with an H260. After breaking the launch lug off and
having to glue it on again, it was finally placed on the last rack of
the day. It shot off the pad with a cloud of black smoke, but lost
its fins right before burnout. The parachute deployed just fine, but
the rocket had only two stubs of the fins left.
Hats off to Garden State Tripoli for yet another fantastic
high power launch. Although the weather wasn't great the first day,
over 250 flights graced the Jersey skys. GST is planning yet another
launch for the spring, and if you get the chance, come down and join
us. Thanks should be extended to Damian Russo, Bill Davidson and
Larry Zupnyk. Their hard work resulted in yet another great launch.
Thanks Guys!!!