foose4string
08-26-2007, 09:30 PM
Today was a scheduled club launch for MDRA. I attended, bringing a handful of rockets that hadn't flown before, or others that were simply recent additions to my fleet. The launch site for the summer months is at the Central Sod Farm in Centreville, MD. Last night's rain storm created a muddy mess of the immediate launch area. The racks where set up in an area where the sod had been harvested. I was unaware of the field condition before heading down to fly, but I wore my boots as a precautionary. My decision paid off.
I was one of the first to arrive this morning, and as such, had the privilege of moving(carrying) the Port-o John that had blown over in the middle of the night. Fun, fun. :rolleyes:
Nobody was in a hurry load the racks up this morning, so casually paced flight prep, and some good 'ol fashioned BS'ing took place while the (partial) morning sun and light breeze slowly dried things out . The very light winds were blowing towards the grassy part of the field which lay behind the racks, so it wasn't too long before we started burning propellant.
Here's a few of my launch pics from today. The only one I didn't capture was my upscaled OT. It had been repaired from last month's faulty deploy when the shroud lines got caught around the booster wing on it's second flight. Crimped the body tube just forward of the wings and cracked one of thewings.
I didn't want to be saddled to my camera lens for the OT flight, that one deserves full attention! ;) Besides, I already have pics of it from last months first successful launch. This time, the glider and booster turned in a beautiful flight and both pieces landed in the soft, grassy field.
I want to give a special shoutout for the Semroc Texas Firefly. Loaded it with a C6-0, B6-6 combo. Man, what a great flight and perfect combo for this rocket. The booster windmill tumbed into the soft grass, and the sustainer returned safely to the partially dried mud, none the worse. Awesome kit.
I was one of the first to arrive this morning, and as such, had the privilege of moving(carrying) the Port-o John that had blown over in the middle of the night. Fun, fun. :rolleyes:
Nobody was in a hurry load the racks up this morning, so casually paced flight prep, and some good 'ol fashioned BS'ing took place while the (partial) morning sun and light breeze slowly dried things out . The very light winds were blowing towards the grassy part of the field which lay behind the racks, so it wasn't too long before we started burning propellant.
Here's a few of my launch pics from today. The only one I didn't capture was my upscaled OT. It had been repaired from last month's faulty deploy when the shroud lines got caught around the booster wing on it's second flight. Crimped the body tube just forward of the wings and cracked one of thewings.
I didn't want to be saddled to my camera lens for the OT flight, that one deserves full attention! ;) Besides, I already have pics of it from last months first successful launch. This time, the glider and booster turned in a beautiful flight and both pieces landed in the soft, grassy field.
I want to give a special shoutout for the Semroc Texas Firefly. Loaded it with a C6-0, B6-6 combo. Man, what a great flight and perfect combo for this rocket. The booster windmill tumbed into the soft grass, and the sustainer returned safely to the partially dried mud, none the worse. Awesome kit.