The August launch was a pleasant day at the friendly fields of Maple Island. Although there were not many flights, folks enjoyed some fine rocketeer camaraderie and some beautiful weather.
A first at Maple Island was the launching of a bowling ball. Andy 'Kingpin' Limper flew Nikita on a H-999 Warp9 motor. The motors burn time was something on the order of .3 seconds and it was more than enough to get Nikita about 350 feet into the air for a great flight. Spectators were 'spared' any mishaps. It was a very cool flight and we hope to see Nikita back again with a little more velocity on the loft lanes, in keeping with Kingpin Limper's desire to up the ante next time.
Craig K. flew Packer 'Power line' Graphics on G33 to a projected altitude of 1500 feet. A great flight and a road recovery made it easy to track with the Walson! A very fine flight! Tom flew his Extreme U.F.F.O twice, once on an "E" and once on an "F" motor; both flights were nice with recoveries also close to the flight line. Tom can easily be inspired to turn just about anything into a rocket. Who would think a morning cup of coffee would have a future as a launch vehicle?
Warren flew his Black Brant with a project altitude of 1740 feet. Recovery was hampered by tall corn and we will have to wait until the September launch to see if it may have been recovered when the corn was harvested. Good luck to Warren - we hope the Black Brant finds its way safely home.
Craig K. also flew this Praying Mantis. You can’t help but smile upon rocketeers that are not swayed launching in the tallest corn of summer; painting their rockets green and yellow to honor the corn with a John Deere style salute. Hats off to Craig - a true Rocketeer!
Both Dennis and Mario tried to certify level 1 with "Pterodactyl" and "Stealth" respectively. Alas, Both flights experienced some issues. Dennis had nose cone separation from the airframe and Mario had the Stealth come in hot due to shroud line problems. The Stealth lived up to the name and was not found until the next day when a search party returned to scour the fields. We hope both certifying candidates get back on the launch line soon with another attempt. Good Luck!!!
Greg Burnett flew an unnamed rocket on a J-350W and Dennis flew his Green Arrow to a projected altitude of 2200 feet on a G80. I believe both rockets landed near the party searching for Warren's Black Brant near the tall corn in the southwest corner of fields.
Thanks to everyone helping set up and tear down. Also thanks to the search parties that helped look for missing rockets. Thanks as always to the Rocket Grill Maven and to Craig for being a trooper with trying to get the trailer back to its home. Keystone cops Andy and David were there for moral support but lacked the appropriate skills to aid Craig. Thanks again for everyone’s help!
