ROCK’s March Launch Video

ROCK's March, 2016, LaunchBelow is the video I created of the March, 2016, ROCK launch in Oviedo, FL.  I used a DJI Phantom 3 Professional quadcopter to record aerial footage of the launches and edited them together using Adobe Premiere.

ROCK’s December Launch Photos and Video

December, 2014, ROCK LaunchROCK held its last launch of 2014 on December 6.  The light winds and moderate temperature made for a great day to fly. The countdown reached zero and a rocket soared skyward more than eighty times during the day.

I’ve uploaded the photos Bracha and I took of the launch to a Photo Album at RocketReviews.com.  Below is a video I created using some of the photos and footage captured from my quadcopter.

NEFAR’s Bunnell Blast 2014!

Bunnell Blast 2014!NEFAR hosted it’s annual two-day Bunnell Blast launch on November 8 and 9, 2014.  Canopies, cars, and trucks covered the full length of the north edge of the launch site and extended around the eastern edge.

Chris Michielsson debuted his latest odd-rock creation, the Spudnik which he flew, though “flew” might not be the right word, on an A10-3T motor.

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The overcast skies on Saturday provided a dramatic backdrop for the high-power launches, especially the ones flying on “sparky” motors.

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The rocket above lifted off powered by two J motors with dark smoke then airstarted two sparky J motors.

The forecast for Sunday was dreary, but the day actually turned out nice.  The light rain ended before 11 and the sun peeked out between the clouds a few times.

You can see additional still photos taken at Bunnell Blast by Bracha and myself in the RocketReviews.com NEFAR Photo Album.

It's the Perfect Way to End a Perfect Day ...

 

NEFAR’s October 2014 Launch Photographs

October 2014 NEFAR LaunchI’ve uploaded my still photos of the October, 2014, launch to the NEFAR Rocket Launch Gallery at RocketReviews.com.

I’m still working on editing the videos from my quad-copter and will post them soon.

 

Video from the December, 2012, ROCK Launch

ROCK held its December launch last Saturday. It was a little windy in the morning, but the wind died down in the afternoon. In spit of a modest turn-out, we had a lot of fun.

I put together the following video of the launch. It features high-speed (slow-motion) video of the launches.

You can view the still photos I took of the launch in the ROCK Launch Photo Album at RocketReviews.com.

ROCK’s July Launch

Light winds produced a good day for flying rockets as ROCK held its monthly launch on July 7.

Brian delivered the safety briefing then announced the first flight.

The two-stage Estes Solar headed straight up.  But, just as the first stage motor burned out, it …

… took a sharp left turn.  Then ….

 … the second stage motor fired sending the two stages off in opposite directions.

 

Our launch pads sported new number signs designed and printed by Klages Kreations and donated to the club by Bracha and I.

Several Big Daddy rockets took to the sky including the “Scout Dad” and the …

“Peanut Butter and Jelly.”

Two scale Mercury Redstone rockets flew; one right after the other.

Please visit the ROCK Launch Photo Album at RocketReviews.com to see more photographs of the July ROCK launch.

ROCK’s June 2012 Launch

After a couple of scrubbed launches due to dry weather, ROCK returned to fill the skies with rockets in June.

Flyers were anxious to turn in their flight cards and take their rockets to the launch pads.

One of the first rockets to fly carried a passenger – a single Love Bug.  I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one fly solo before. I don’t think I’ve seen one do anything solo before.

In spite of the very hot weather, we had a number of people show up to fly a variety of rockets including some cluster-powered birds.

Some odd-rocs also flew including an homage to my favorite sandwich, the Fluffernutter!

Tom Tweit, who I met at the Maker Faire, showed up and launched one of his crayon rockets.

One of the rockets landed inside our JonRocket.com trailer.  I gave the owner a good deal when I sold it back to him.

As the skies grew a little more cloudy, Tom Tweit launched his Bull Pup.

Additional photos of the June ROCK launch are in the June 2012 ROCK Launch Photo Album at RocketReviews.com.

 

Rockets at Orlando Mini Maker Faire

Press releases and ads for the Orlando Mini Maker Faire mentioned “Rockets!” (with the exclamation mark). But, the web site for the event did not explain what kind of rockets. So, I attended the event expecting to see water rockets or whatever. But, a pleasant surprise awaited me as I entered the Maker Faire’s building at the Central Florida Fairgrounds.

Backing up … (how’s that for building up the suspense?) … Maker Faire is sort of a cross between an arts and crafts fair and a science fair. The organizers describe it as “a two-day, family-friendly festival of invention, creativity and resourcefulness, and a celebration of the Maker movement.” Sponsored by Make Magazine, Maker Faires have been held in several large cities.

A “Mini Maker Faire” is a smaller, community-organized version of Maker Faire. Orlando’s one-day Mini Maker Fair was held at the Central Florida Fairgrounds on May 26, 2012.

The Orlando event seemed to attract a decent-size crowd.  I purchased my ticket online, saving a couple bucks off the $10 admission charge.  At the entrance, a volunteer used a smart-phone to scan the ticket I had printed at home. I received a wrist band and a printed guide to the exhibits.

One of the first exhibits inside the Maker Faire area featured an artist creating spectacular paintings using paint from spray cans.  I have little doubt that he inhaled almost as much paint as he applied to his canvas. I watched for a while until the fumes began to make me dizzy.

I walked around outside for a short while. The hot weather convinced me that it was a good idea to head into the air-conditioned building. Right inside the entrance I saw the …

Water rockets that I had expected to see.

H2ORocket.com exhibited a collection of cool water rockets and launchers. As I looked over their display, I noticed something interesting in the distance.

Hmm? What is that sticking up above the crowd.  I had to go look.

Rockets! (Notice my use of an exclamation mark!)

Tom Tweit displayed a selection of his rockets, from small model rockets to the large rocket he built for his Level 3 certification attempt.

Tom included a display of rocket motors, showing the relative size of motors from a Quest 1/8A MicroMaxx motor to a 54mm CTI K motor. He also had a list of local rocket clubs that he was handing out to interested people.

And, yes, that is an Estes Dude on the right.

Assured that Tom was doing a great job promoting our hobby, I decided to look at some of the other things on exhibit at Maker Faire.

But … first … let me apologize for the poor quality of the photographs. I took the photos with my Motorola Droid smart phone.  It’s a great phone that takes terrible still photos.

Near Tom’s booth, I watched Hoverfly Technologies demonstrate their “quadcopter” aerial video system.  Yes, I want one.

Lego creations filled a large area of the exhibition hall – from artwork to trains. There was even a computerized machine which built things using Lego building blocks.  Several tables were devoted to allowing kids to build things.

I spotted many robots – some greeting visitors, others completing tasks such as shooting a basketball into a hoop.

The Orlando Science Center had a large exhibit featuring a Tesla coil producing dramatic sparks in tempo with music played on a synthesizer. Florida Motion and Control’s exhibit featured servos and switches and lots of other stuff. But, what caught my eye was the 80/20 t-slot aluminum rails.  I joked that “I didn’t know those were used for anything other than launching rockets.”  The “FloMoCo” representative didn’t miss a beat.  He picked up an 80/20 brochure and showed me that the company had included rockets in their ad literature!

Disappointed that I couldn’t stay around for Tom’s static motor demonstration, I headed outside.

I took a few minutes to look at the electric cars on display.  Some were commercially manufactured as electric vehicles.  But, many, like the Mazda Miata above, were converted from gas-powered cars.

Then … I headed to my old-fashioned gas-powered car for the drive home.