LAUNCH! Orlando R.O.C.K. August 6, 2011

We hadn't seen any effects of tropical storm Emily in Central Florida - yet.
It was HOT though. Forecasters said it would reach 95 degrees but with the humidity it would feel like 104. They got that one right.
Still, there was no wind. The breeze was just starting to pick up when we were breaking down the launch equipment.

Check out all of Roger Smith's pictures of the August R.O.C.K. launch HERE

I counted 21 cars! This was one of the largest groups I'd seen at a R.O.C.K. launch. The racks were full up until about 1 p.m.
Tom Dennon was RSO as Brian was away for the NASA Atlas V Juno launch yesterday.

On the far left is my OOP Quest DC-y SPACE CLIPPER flown with an Estes C6-3.
It flew much better than it's first flight at NEFAR two years ago. It probably got up to 350' before ejecting two sticky parachutes.




Ian and Ronald Setzer flew their Semroc MARS LANDER with a C6-3 engine.

This was a father and son build.
The flight was a full success and they "stuck" the landing on the spring loaded legs.





Bracha Smith (of JonRocket.com) flew her new DALIA.
This was a well executed rebuild of a older model Roger had acquired.
With a D12 she had a beautiful flight and no damage on recovery.






Ken Cooper joined us with more original designs.
This one sported a "V" shaped fin unit and lots of chrome.
He got a stable flight and clean recovery.







Roger Smith unveiled his new UNO design. It has a single spiral fin which gave it a corkscrew flight during the coast phase. The Uno had two successful flights.

Billy Maynard flew the big stuff today. He lost his KABOOOOM rocket in the forest after a loud G75M-10 boost!


Also flown:
My Centuri FINLESS with a Estes B6-4. At ejection, the elastic shock cord burned through. The rear cone splashed down in a puddle and swelled a bit. It'll fly again.
Scratch CD SPOOL with an Estes C6-3. Many hadn't seen a spool fly before and the fast spinning recovery surprised a few spectators.
Semroc LASER X Clone with a Estes B6-4. This one was built two years ago, but never flown until today. At ejection I heard the upper section hit the lower and expected the worst. There was only a small red paint smudge but all four toothpicks were still glued to the fins.
Truax Carded SCAMP with a B6-4. Good boost but a tangled garbage bag parachute recovery.

Launch pictures by Roger Smith