October 1, 2016 Hutto Launch report
It was a very nice day to fliy rockets except for the persistent low cloud cover that prevented us from launching a number of larger projects that would have gone too high.

Several people whom we haven't seen in a long time came out to visit and fly. Alex Mericas showed that he's still got the touch with a couple of successful flights. Jim Parker wasn't as lucky, as his Honest John suffered a structural failure and the fin can spun around in a nice aerobatic display. And Joe Peck showed up just to remind us that he's still alive and kicking.

There were several certification attempts. Amanda Walker (of Longhorn Rocketry Association) was successful on her L2 attempt, flying her Panda 1 on a CTI J239. Sofia Catalan (LRA) also was successful on her L2, flying her scratch-built Space Cat 02 on a CTI J430. Nicolas Diaz, another LRA member, also nailed his L2, flying his Sputnick (get it?) on a CTI J430. Andrew Alexander (also LRA) got his L1, taking the bull by the horns with a CTI I345. James Gelb made an L2 attempt with a MadCow X-Celerator on an AT J250, but a couple of things went wrong so he'll have to try again next month. The LRA folks all get extra credit for showing their adaptability by selecting different motors that kept them under the cloud deck.

Overall, there were 60 flights in spite of the somewhat low ceiling. There were several two-stage flights, including an LRA I-to-H that turned out to be a boosted dart when the upper stage didn't ignite (although it recovered safely because of electronic deployment). Lots of successful Jolly Logic Chute Release flights; that little device is really altering the landscape.

I hope to see everybody out there again in November. Our November and December launches often have the best conditions of the year, so make sure you've got your projects ready!

Mark

Motor Stats
By impulse
By manufacturer
Flights







1/8A 0
Aerotech 16
60
1/4A 0
Apogee 0

�A 5
AMW 0

A 3
CTI 12

B 6
Estes 37

C 5
Loki 0

D 14
Quest 0

E 6
RoadRunner 0

F 5
EX 0

G 8
Total 65

H 5




I 4




J 4




K 0




L 0




M 0




N 0




Total 65




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Posted by: Mark Scheevel <[email protected]>
Posted by [email protected]

Well, I was one that was affected by the clouds. my 2 flights over a mile did not go so have rockets loaded up for next month.

First I pulled out my Graduator (not coagulator) on the H135 that had been loaded up since last month, great up but lousy down. came down on the north edge of the thicket about 15 feet from Alex Mericas' rocket, was standing there talking to Alex and he did not realize it was there even though he almost walked on it. Jim Jarvis, unknown at the time for me, thanks Jim, flew his drone out to the spot and on close examination of the footage on my tablet you could see the rocket right there so I walked out and picked it up. Found out the ejection charge was weak on the motor (opposite of what happened last month with Lil' Nuke) so only the nosecone was off and it hit the ground pretty hard, repairable.

Next up was the Chrome Comet on an E30, great flight and recovery short of the thicket.

That went well so loaded up a F32 in the Chrome Comet, this was a lot more of a jump off the pad and a lot more altitude, I need a Jolly Roger, recovered just on the other side of the thicket.

Other than that a lot of sitting and talking to many, including some who had not been to a launch for years, kind of like an Eagles reunion expecting Hell to freeze over. A good day other than the skies with little to no wind all day and enough launching to stay entertained.
Posted by "john hawkins [email protected] 
> well I'm whipped out between the early rise and the sun but love it anyway.  perfect day for rockets other than the clouds, low amount of sun cool and no wind.  I would say the clouds was not the problem it was that they was too low.  all 3 of my flights went with no problem other than Mark not getting what I meant by stall maneuver.  hope for next month to be a carbon copy of today other than the low clouds