NOTAM:
!DCA 04/339 LVL AIRSPACE UNMANNED ROCKET 1 NMR LVL323027/8 W W81 6600/BLW WEF 1204281500-1204282100

Saturday update: Weather looks good. The winds may be 9-12 mph, but they are forecast from the SW, which makes recovery along the long axis of the field. See you at the launch.

If you need supplies from WildmanVa.com, give me a call at 434-603-1586, as I won’t be bringing my entire inventory.

Waiver: !DCA 01/384 W81 AIRSPACE UNMANNED ROCKET 2 NMR LVL32327.2/8 W W81 6600/BLW WEF 1201281600-1201282200

The field was wet and the skies gray, but the wind was light. Marc Hight and I were joined by Jason Bloom, visiting from southern Florida.

Marc had his second flight of Rakvere Loss, which, as in its first flight, had a very long delay. This time it resulted in a lawn dart. The fiberglass nose cone lost its tip, but other than that, the rocket was undamaged. Tim has had good flights with his clone of the Aerotech delay tool, but Marc has not fared so well.

Jason flew his Estes Magnum on a B6-4, then a C6-5, and finally as a 2-stage C11-0/B6-4, all good flights.

I gave my new Darkstar “Talby” several flights at Battle Park last week (G106-7, H163-9, H410-9). Today I sent it skyward on a G54-7. I also flew Drago The Red on a G57-7.

Waiver was active for high power launches:

!DCA 11/299 LVL AIRSPACE UNMANNE ROCKET 3 NMR LVL323027.2/8 W W81 6600/BLW WEF 1111261600-1111262200

The wind was stronger than last month, but the direction was favorable–westerly down the long axis of the range. Tim Raney had a particularly good day with 3 launches of his new Aerotech Barracuda, none of which landed in a tree. Marc Hight premiered his Wild Child, narrowly averting a lawn dart due to an overly long ejection delay.

In other November news, Marc and I went to Red Glare in eastern MD, where I consulted with Tim Lehr on the the rocketry business. I also launched Talondrome on an H133 and Drago the Red on a G250. Marc and I finished up by unleashing a bagpipe serenade on the unsuspecting crowd.

Video excerpts from this launch (best viewed with Firefox):

• Tim Raney’s “Barracuda” on an F39-7T Download Video
• Marc Hight’s “Rakvere Loss” on an E23-6T Download Video
• Kevin Dunn’s “Drago the Red” on a G80-6T Download Video

Still photos of both launches. Shutter speed 1/6400 sec at 10 fps continuous shutter on my FH-100.

NOTAM: !DCA 10/293 LVL AIRSPACE UNMANNED ROCKET 1 NMR LVL323027.2/W81 6000/BLW WEF 1110221500-1110222100

The weather today was perfect for launching rockets–sunny and cool, and the winds dead calm. Only Tim Raney joined me, however, and he didn’t bring any rockets. I want to collect photos and videos of each propellant for the WildmanVa.com website, and in the 2-grain Pro29′s I was missing only the G83 and G68, so I launched Drago the Red on those motors.

Doug Bush picked up the proud carcass of “The Silver Bullet” after the launch.

Please put October 29 and 30 on your calendars–the opening days of the Battle Park season in Culpeper. If you want to see big rockets on big motors going to high altitude, Battle Park is the place to be.

Also, Marc Hight and I are planning on going to Red Glare November 19-20.

Video excerpts from this launch (best viewed with Firefox):

• Kevin Dunn’s “Drago the Red” on a G83-9 Download Video
• Kevin Dunn’s “Drago the Red” on a G68-8 Download Video

Still photos of both launches. Shutter speed 1/12000 sec at 10 fps continuous shutter on my FH-100.

NOTAM: !DCA 09/344 LVL AIRSPACE UNMANNED ROCKET 3NMR LVL323027.2/8 W W81 6600/BLW WEF 1109241500-1109242100

At the end of a rainy week, the field was thoroughly wet, but not muddy. We set up in the western field, and waited for some light rain to pass. Regulars Kevin Dunn, Tim Raney, and Wesley Allen welcomed Tim and Terry Sheppard.

Easterly winds drove many flights to the western treeline. Tim Raney’s “Suicide Jack II” had an excellent ride up, but landed in a tree at the NW corner of the field. Welsey Allen’s “Aspire I” also had a nice boost, but went out of sight and was never seen again. Kevin Dunn risked “Drago the Red” for only one flight–on a G80 Skidmark that roared off the pad in a shower of smoke, sparks, and flame. Tim Sheppard had the the most launches for the day, all happily recovered.

We were fortunate to have landowner Jack Boswell recover two rockets previously lost to trees and power lines. After the launch, he looked at Suicide Jack II’s resting place. While he was not confident of an easy recover, he said he would think on the matter. We also found a piece of a Hyundai on the field. If you lost a 5-inch plastic disk, let me know.

We are moving towards a regular “fourth Saturday of the month” schedule, with the fifth Saturday (when there is one) as a rain date. October’s launch will be Saturday, October 22.

As WildmanVA, I will be attending Sevra (1st or 3rd Saturday) and Battle Park (2nd Saturday) launches. Please put October 29 and 30 on your calendars–the opening days of the Battle Park season in Culpeper. If you want to see big rockets on big motors going to high altitude, Battle Park is the place to be.

Video excerpts from this launch (best viewed with Firefox):

• Kevin Dunn’s “Drago the Red” on a G80-7
• Tim Raney’s “Suicide Jack II” on an F32-6T
• Wesley Allen’s “Aspire I” on an E30-7
• Tim Sheppard’s “Goldenrod” on an F42-4

Hurricane Irene came through yesterday, and I nearly cancelled the launch, but it turned out to be the calm after the storm. The weather was very nearly perfect for our field–sunny, warm but not hot, wet but not soggy ankle-high grass. Winds were calm to about 12 mph, mostly from the WNW, which gave us maximum recovery area on the field. Only Marc and I showed up, however. We launched two rockets (one of them my first skidmark) and called it a very good day.

Video excerpts from this launch (best viewed with Firefox):

• Kevin Dunn’s “Drago the Red” on a G250-9
• Kevin Dunn’s “Talondrome” on a G106-9

I’ve been experimenting with settings on my Casio FH-100 camera. These shots were taken at 1/4000 sec in 10 fps continuous shutter mode.

August 28, 2011

There can’t be very many launches where the landowner shows up handing out fresh peaches right off the tree. Today, that’s exactly what happened. We were also joined today by clouds of iridescent beetles. Winds were light, and generally from the south, which precluded a high-power launch.

Video excerpts from this launch (best viewed with Firefox):

• Tim Raney’s “Suicide Jack II” on an E15-7T
• Kevin Dunn’s “Talondrome” on a G54-9

I’ve been experimenting with settings on my Casio FH-100 camera. These shots were taken at 1/5000 sec in 10 fps continuous shutter mode.

July 10, 2011

Marc and I travelled to Lynchburg June 14th to talk to cub scouts at the Piedmont District Cub Scout Day Camp. We talked and built rockets in the morning and launched them in the afternoon.

I traveled to Minnesota, Illinois, and Ohio. While there, I launched Drago the Red and Talondrome with MASA and met Tim Lehr at Wildman Rocketry.

Video excerpts from this launch:

• Cosby High School’s “Silver Bullet” on a G38-4
• Kevin Dunn’s “Drago the Red” on a G57-7

June 5, 2011

In addition to our regulars, we welcomed three rocketeers from Richmond: Brian Korsun, Tom Geddes, and Wesley Allen.

There will be an early June launch, Sunday, June 5 in service to the Cosby High School rocket club from 2-4 PM. This will be an MPR launch. Anyone is welcome to join us.

Video excerpts from this launch:

• Tim Raney’s “Suicide Jack” on an E15-7
• Kevin Dunn’s “Talondrome” on a G88-6
• Marc Hight’s “Ilus Koer” on a G118-6
• Kevin Dunn’s “Drago the Red” on a G250-9

Suicide Jack on an E15

Tim recovered Suicide Jack from a tree by throwing the wind sock pole at it

Ilus Koer on a G118

Jose the Paratrooper is deployed from Ilus Koer

Maiden flight of the Talondrome on a G88

Drago the Red on a G250. Wow! What a motor!

Wesley Allen's Solar Flare

May 28, 2011