The Sanford Aero Modelers R/C club called the club officers and offered the use of their field!
We arrived about 9:00 a.m. to a very nice R/C club field with permanent prep and shade structures. The field and club activities go back to 1978. It reminded me of some flying clubs I've seen on YouTube videos. Very well run!
On the right, Tom Dennon sets up some launch rods.
We alternated launching with the club R/C plane flights.
Here's Tom's Estes Air Show launch.
This was a favorite of the R/C club judging by the round of applause after the two gliders touched down.
Surprisingly, my best launch of the day was the Estes TWIN FACTOR. I'm not a big fan of staged rockets, mine never stay vertical.
Today this one seemed to get higher than the 150' claim on the face card.
Straight vertical boost, clean staging from the A10-0t to A3-4t engines.
From L to R, Lonnie's Loadstar with added payload section. An Alpha, Mike Hughes Bisix and my new Semroc Laser X.
I caught the launches of Mikes Bisix -
and my LASER X first launch with a Estes B6-4.
After reaching about 325', the wind took the Laser X close to the trees. Good thing I cut a spill hole in the 15" parachute!
Jim build this one entirely from scratch - hand rolled tubes and nose cone.
This was our first time as guests on the field, so the suggestion was to keep the altitudes on the low end.
Roger Smith (Jonrocket.com) launched the new Estes SLS with a C6-3. Next to that is Mike Hughes Outlaw, a Baby Bertha and My Quest FLV.
Altitude was lower than expected, maybe 300' feet with no damage on recovery.
To finish out the pictures -
Here's two Lonnie Buchanon launches.
This isn't a drag race, but to pictures side by side.
On the left is a sport Vostok.
The black and silver rocket shows some interesting trim. In the center are some small diameter internal tubes under a clear section.
Many thanks to the Sanford Aero Modeler's Club. It was great to see everybody and catch up!
From the looks of these photos I'm going to assume this is NOT a rather large flying site....RC guys typically do not need such.
ReplyDeleteHope to see you guys at LASER!
AstronMike
Hi Mike,
DeleteI didn't know what to expect. It's actually a good sized field. A long rectangle shape, a bit wider than the older ROCK field.
Damn, I knew there was an e-mail I needed to update. Time to reach out to Roger. I hope this keeps happening for now. I will be there in March, if so
ReplyDeleteHi Metal,
DeleteThe field wider probably wider than our old field and much longer. There are trees behind us.
We do alternate between groups. I was able to launch only three, I usually try to launch five or six.
The R/C group was very supportive, I think they like seeing something different. I'm sure many launched rockets in their past.
While the ROCK email said to keep things low, Gary launched an F motor. There was a few C engines in small rockets that got good altitude, but used streamer recovery.
It took a while for the clubs to get used to each other's safety protocols but I think it worked out well. There was also a good amount of "cross-pollination" of interests, in that the R/C members seemed to enjoy the rockets and I certainly enjoyed watching the planes.
ReplyDelete