Welcome to Tripoli-San Diego
April 2013 Launch Report
Hi All,
I was a little worried that the 10am-3pm sorta-calm (11 mph) "window" I
forecast between the windy periods on Saturday would not materialize, and
we would not have fun. The opposite occurred - it was almost dead calm
when I arrived at 10:15, and with a bit of breeze here and there, it
stayed calm (0-5 mph wind) until we broke down the range at about 4:30 pm,
by which time everybody was out of ammo and money anyway. So it was a
great rocketing day. Bottom Line - Nobody who came out just for the day on
Saturday counting on good weather between 10 and 3 was disappointed!!
We had 23 rocketeers registered for the launch Saturday, with 47 rockets
launched and 51 motors expended (see below) - not bad turnout for a 1-day
launch with a slightly iffy weather forecast.
There were 3 certs flown - Glenn Pickett flew L1 with an I180 in his LOC
Norad, John Jersin did his L2 cert in a scratch built rocket on a J285,
and last but not least, Brock Walaska did a letter perfect L3 in his 42 lb
beast on an M1297; congrats to all.
The 47 launches for the day comprised 4F, 14G, 13H, 8I, 5J 4K, 2L and an
M. Mid-power (including HPR-rated F's and G's) was 31% of the launch, L1
motors were 47% of the launch, and L2 motors were 22%. Four of the
H-motors flown rode together in Jim Deveau's 2-stager - 2xH180, an H255
and an H123!!
Tied for most motors launched were Steve Aleshire and Larry Hermanson,
with 5 each, and will add Prez Jim Deveau to the group since he flew 4 H's
in his 2-stager plus an Interceptor on an F39.
Nobody had 4 launches, but 3 members flew 3 each, Messrs. Walaska,
Treseder and Caplinger - and I guess I should add Paul Breed who flew a
cluster of 3 K160's in a 35 pound scratch-built rocket of his own design.
Kevin Tice, Kevin Branom, John Bowman and Larry B. made 2 launches each;
John flew one of those cool new H135 Aerotech single use motors, and Larry
flew an exact 3/4-scale model of the L3 tubefin he is [finally] building,
using the "Matt Popham fin arrangement" of 3 pairs of tubes with spaces
between like the "Kraken" - got accurate CG and Cd data, and Howard Smart
calculated Cd for it as about 0.92-0.95 using his newest iPod app -
matched perfectly with the actual flight data.
Big Kahunas for the launch were Brock with his L3 rocket, and Mike
Caplinger, Joe Conway and Paul Snow flying L-motors; unfortunately, Paul's
much flown Big Yellow Rocket suffered a hung-up deployment and landed hard
at the end of the day. Paul Breed flew L-power also - in the form of a
cluster of three K160 long burn Pro54s, giving him an L480 the hard way,
9-second burn.
Coolest flights of the launch (I think) were Jim D.'s 2-stager
Ex-Presidents-Challenge rocket with all those H's and Mike Caplinger's
flights, which all used his own design and very cool GPS-Blue Tooth
tracking gizmo that annunciated, via a sexy female synthesized voice: "800
feet, 2 O'clock, 90 degrees up" or the like, allowing you to quickly get a
visual track on the descending dual-deploy rocket. Very cool gadget. OK,
when you're 64, all female voices sound sexy.
Lastly, the record of RSO activity that our President likes to track - 14
were checked by Howard Smart, 5 each by Mike Worthen and by Jim Deveau, 4
by John Bowman, 3 by Mike Caplinger, and 1 or 2 each by Brand, Frelke,
Jack Garibaldi, Breed and Conway. 5 RSO checks were by "illegible
signature" - please print your last name next to your initials.
Thanks to Clarence Legg and Jim Deveau for trailer haul duty this launch.
Next month is our annual May joint NAR-Tripoli launch, which I suggested
we name "The First Annual Silver Anniversary Launch", since marks 25 years
we have been a TRA club. Any better suggestions? This will be scheduled as
a Fri-Sat-Sun 3-day launch (May 3-4-5), always has a big turn out. There
will again be a June Launch as the last of the season, only if its not
forecast as too hot.
I hope I didn't forget anything.
My best,
Larry B.
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 $10 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.
Tripoli-San Diego Mailing List
Club members can communicate with other members through the clubs
mailing list(listserv). If you are a club member you can subscribe to the mailing
list or send messages to the club by clicking here.
You can also view past messages and manage your subscription at this site.
Member Rocketry Related Web Sites
View January 2012 launch report.
View February 2012 launch report.
