Welcome to Tripoli-San Diego
December 2011 Launch Report
Saturday
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There was a near total blow-out Saturday, despite a favorable forecast by
"some guy" of mild winds both days. The scout troops managed to get off a
few rockets which went squirrelly in the wind. Toward the end of the day,
the winds started to die, and a small AMRAAM was launched. Then the scouts
began launches of As and Bs with fair success. A few minutes before sundown,
the winds died to about 10mph and Larry B. fired off a tiny 4" x 22" tubefin
on a G185 which got up to 656 feet [Perfectflite aboard] and floated 0.3
mile to the south on heading 185 magnetic [this info is for Mike C.]. Due to
questionable conditions for Sunday and the many people who had already
departed due to the wind, the decision was made after a vote to scrub the
launch weekend. Larry B. volunteered to stay overnight to supervise the
Troop 500 scout launch Sunday and take the low power pads back to SD. The
rest of the club equipment was packed up and trailered back to the Sunbeam
Lake yard. Nighttime lows for campers were forecast to be 36 deg. Despite
all odds, an excellent potluck was held - Paul's steak (cooked by John) and
baked beans, Dori's Swedish meatballs, a wonderful potato salad from the
Greenans friends who came out with them, antipasto salad and Dutch apple pie
from Larry B, and a few more eats from others who I am forgetting. Nice
campfire courtesy of Larry G. struggled to keep the cold away from us.
Greg Smith brought out the first pilot production run of a rocketry calendar
titled "Plaster City Power 2012" featuring superb launch photos by Greg of
our members' rockets. Available for ten bucks until the run is gone, then a
commercial version will be offered, Jack has offered to sell them. Larry B.
has a few left for sale at the Fiesta launch, Sunday Dec.
11th. All proceeds from the pilot run generously donated to the TRASD club
treasury at Greg's direction.
Sunday
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After a cozy stay in the toasty warm El Centro Comfort Inn [and partaking of
the very nice free breakfast] Acting Launch Director Larry B. showed up back
at the launch site to assist the scouts. Wind conditions were totally
perfect...BLUE SKY ZERO WIND DEAD CALM!!!
Troop 500 commenced launching from the single rack we kept overnight for
them, and Larry B. launched his tubefin again using a homemade 18v cigar box
controller and a HPR pad made from a giant C-clamp and a rock. Flight on a
cti G78Blue showed the need for CG to be a bit more northward - rocket went
straight up 400 feet and made a 90 degree pitchover toward the Plaster City
plant, low ejection but no damage. After stuffing the nosecone with a towel
to hold in a 6oz fishing sinker, another launch was tried, this time with a
Pro54 1-grain beer can motor, I150Blue. Straight up to 2323' read on the
Perfectflite with perfect ejection and descent to landing about 75 feet from
the pad!!!! Totally perfect conditions. Worked out to drag coefficient of
Cd=.73 at 389 mph [this is very good for a tubefin]. The scouts continued
non-stop launching in the totally perfect conditions until each of the boys
had made a successful launch, some made several. We launched until all we
ran out of ammo! The launch was packed up at about 10:30. A fine morning or
rocketry was had by all. Did I mention that the conditions were totally
perfect?
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.
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