Welcome to Tripoli-San Diego
January 2010 Launch Report
All,
I woke up this morning thinking, I didn’t send out a January launch report,
did I? So here it is. Unfortunately my memory may not be great, so those
that were there, please chime in with additions and corrections.
What stood right out was perfect weather the entire time. There was no
significant wind from when I arrived mid-morning Friday to when I left
mid-afternoon Sunday, even at night! It was indeed fantastic weather for
high altitude flights.
Friday was a bit of a late start, no doubt due to it being the day after New
Years Eve. The annual Dash race was south of our launch site this year, so
we weren?t crowded like last year. Greg Smith was taking pictures, which he
posted to the email group at the end of the day. Jack finally flew his
K1999N motor in my modified 10? Thumper. This is a 4? diameter single grain
Warp 9 motor. Nothing like the liftoff of a 9? tall 10? rocket at just the
K pads. Greg had a nice flight on his Viciously Mean Machine using a J360
Skidmark. The Skidmarks are popular, as this was followed by Rick Frelke?s
Hawk on an I297 Skidmark. Than Jack put up a Nike Smoke on a K454 Skid.
Love those sparks and flame! Russ Sands closed the day with his successful
Level 3 certification flight. A beautiful Patriot on an M1315 that went to
9600?. Congratulations Russ. Good Job! It was a stunning sunset to end
the day.
Saturday we had a better turnout. This time it was Mike Caplinger capturing
the action with his camera. He distributed to the group email on the 4th.
His shots included Joe?s Red, White, and Blue; his own G3 on another K454
Skid; one of the many Ravens that flew (a new popular rocket from Polecat);
Frank?s two stage; his own ? scale Patriot; yet more Skidmarks; a couple of
great photos of Jim Deveau?s LOC Bruiser; and my Thumper on a CTI M3100 demo
motor (which landed south of the railroad tracks due to apogee deployment).
Unfortunately Frank had some bad luck with his two-stage. Problems in both
stages resulted in them both coming in hard. I?m sure pieces of it will fly
again.
Saturday night we had a great potluck with a variety of food. Ken had truck
problems on the way and had to return home. So our potluck had a lower
proportion of meat, no barbecue! But John saved the evening with a large
and very tasty onion soup. Lots of other people brought everything from
hors d? oeuvres to side dishes to desserts. As usual, there was food left
over. We had a group campfire and recycled a couple of Christmas trees.
It could have been called it wiggle weekend because many flights had a
wiggle to their smoke trail. Larry lost a tube fin in-flight on his rocket,
so that was understandable. But we couldn?t explain them all. I have to
admit I?m at a bit of a memory loss on the Sunday flights, so someone else
will have to fill that in.
Finally, a reminder that this is elections month. If you are interested in
a leading the club in some aspect, please let me know now.
Paul
About Our Club
Tripoli-San Diego is a Prefecture of the Tripoli
Rocketry Association(TRA). Tripoli-San Diego was formed in the late 1980's.
Tripoli-San Diego works closely with DART promoting rocketry in the San Diego area. Both clubs are non-profit organizations
comprised of individuals and their families from all walks of life. Club members
are committed to conducting rocketry related activities and instructing groups
in the sport of Rocketry.
Tripoli-San Diego conducts monthly launches from September through
June at the Plaster CIty launch site in the desert near El Centro CA. The club,
in cooperation with DART, conducts an annual regional launch, Plaster
Blaster
Monthly launches are open to spectators. Rocketeers wishing to
launch must be certified by either NAR or Tripoli for high power launches. Certification
is not required for sport rocket launches. A launch fee of $5 is charged for
each family that is launching rockets .We operate in compliance with BATF, FAA, CPSC, Tripoli Rocketry Association, and California State Fire Marshall regulations. This means the maximum motor size you may fly is an “M” (10,240 N-sec), and the maximum total power of all motors is an “N” (20,480 N-sec), as long as the altitude waiver is not exceeded.
If you would like to become a member of Tripoli-SanDiego you can download a membership application
in .pdf.
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