ROCK’s March Launch

Posted on March 4, 2013 by Roger

High winds threatened to spoil an otherwise perfect day for rocket launching.

But, we monitored the wind speed and launched during the pauses between the gusts.

Tom tested the winds by flying his Lawn Dart. It landed not too far from the launch pads. Then Tom flew his latest creation, No Stack.

Tom’s cardboard creation performed a few aerobatic loops after leaving the launch rod.

Between the gusts of wind, Carl Campbell snuck a few launches of prototypes for upcoming scale kits from DFR Tech.

We were once again visited by an eagle which accompanied a flock of turkey buzzards circling over our launch site for a few minutes.

Ton Tweit launched his FlisKit’s Nell twice. The first time, the igniter leads caught on the bottom of the rocket and it barely left the launch rod. The second time, it flew well on a B motor.

When I first saw the new little plastic Coke bottles, my first thought was … that would make a neat rocket. Someone else had the same idea, but actually did it.

Tom T’s Pink Crayon was not the last launch of the day, but Bracha, Oscar, and I had to leave a little early, so it’s the last launch we saw.

You can view the rest of my photos of the March ROCK Launch in the RocketReviews.com Photo Album.

ROCK’s February Launch

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Roger

A clear blue sky and cool temperatures with light wind provided an excellent day for rocketry as ROCK held its February launch.

My photos from the launch are available for viewing in the RocketReviews.com Photo Album at http://www.rocketreviews.com/february-2013-launch.html.

Slow-Motion Video from the February ROCK Launch

Posted on February 3, 2013 by Roger

Featuring “The Dude”:

I’ll post still photos from the launch soon.

TTRA’s December, 2012, Launch

Posted on December 17, 2012 by Roger

The fog evaporated to reveal overcast skies as we arrived at the Varn farm for TTRA’s December launch.

But, it didn’t take long for the sky to clear. Maybe it’s because we started poking it with rockets!

Astron Mike launched a number of his amazing gliders.

Gary Dahlke flew one of his large, two-stage rockets.

We saw a couple of catos including Andy’s Tomahawk on an Estes E9.

Lift-off for this Tiny Pterodactyl on an Aerotech K500 looked good.

But, things went bad soon after.

We stayed later than we had planned because there was always just one more launch we wanted to see.

You can view many more of my photographs from the launch at http://www.rocketreviews.com/december-2012-launch-6696.html.

Video from the December, 2012, ROCK Launch

Posted on December 3, 2012 by Roger

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.

NEFAR’s Bunnell Blast 2012

Posted on November 13, 2012 by Roger

Last weekend, NEFAR hosted its annual two-day Bunnell Blast launch.

Rockets from small to large took to the air on Saturday.

And even a furry rocket flew … sort of …

Saturday’s launch lasted into the early evening allowing for spectacular dusk and night launches.

Gusty wind, unfortunately, provided a challenge for flyers on Sunday.

But, some large rockets still flew including one of Gary Dahlke’s two-stagers.

My YouBee, an upscale of the Odd’l Rockets Break Away, flew on an Aerotech K480W motor.

Robb Haskins flew his Cluster Thrust on a cluster of four motors.

Now, it’s time to start preparing for Bunnell Blast 2013!

To see more photos from the launch, please visit the NEFAR Bunnell Blast 2012 Photo Album at RocketReviews.com.

Photos from ROCK’s November Launch

Posted on November 7, 2012 by Roger

For the first time in a while, it was not too hot, too windy, or too cloudy on the first Saturday of November as ROCK held its monthly model rocket launch.

Chris Michielssen flew his well-crafted Estes V-2. Unfortunately, the scale model ended up in the top of a tree, far out of reach for recovery.

A FlisKits Tres turned in a great flight on a cluster of three canted motors.

Tom’s vintage Nighthawk flew a couple of times. During the first flight, the booster tangled with the glider. But, the second flight was perfect with the rocket transitioning cleanly to the glide phase.

We had a good turnout with lots of kids participating.

Please visit the November, 2012, ROCK Launch photo album at RocketReviews.com to see the rest of my photos of the launch.

Photos from the October NEFAR Launch

Posted on October 15, 2012 by Roger

I’ve uploaded photos I took at the October, 2012, NEFAR launch to the RocketReviews.com Photo Album.

I’m still recovering from a broken toe, so I didn’t bring anything to fly. But, I enjoyed watching others launch their rockets.

Near the start of the launch, I changed a setting on my camera and forgot to change it back. So, many of the photos are grainy.

But, I did manage to capture some interesting shots including the above which shows a two-stage high-power rocket suffering a failure of the booster motor.

The second stage, unfortunately, ignited. It flew horizontally over us before plowing into the ground.

Pleae visit RocketReviews.com to see my entire collection of photos from the launch:

http://www.rocketreviews.com/october-2012-launch.html

Prepare for Bunnell Blast

Posted on October 9, 2012 by Roger

The Northeast Florida Association of Rocketry (NEFAR) will host its annual Bunnell Blast regional launch on November 10 and 11, 2012. Bunnell Blast is a two-day sport and research launch for model rockets through high-power rockets.

The launch begins Saturday morning and runs into the early evening as rockets are launched at dusk. Sunday’s launch eands in the early afternoon.

For more information about NEFAR visit the club’s web site at http://www.nefar.net/.