A potentially dangerous boo-boo

One of the great things about social media is that we can post pictures of our rocketry-related activities for the enlightenment and approbation of all (yes, I can use big words when I want). I was cruising Facebook recently, and noticed a pic someone had posted of a 3 motor cluster he was building from parts. Look at the image below - notice what's wrong?

If you realized the grain in the balsa fins is running the wrong direction, you would be right. One of the cardinal rules of rocketry is that you never, never, never, never lay out and cut wood fins so that the grain runs parallel to the body tube.  In this orientation, the fins are very weak, and easily snap at the slightest force (think breaking off a piece of a Kit-Kat candy bar). This was very quickly pointed out to the builder, and he sought to rectify his error by laminating the fins with paper, While this will add some strength, it will not be enough; after all, this is a cluster of 24 mm motors, and 3 E12's in this puppy will be the equivalent of a F36. Can you say that this rocket will leave the pad like a bat out of Hades? At high speed, even papered balsa fins will "flutter". For those of you who have never seen fin flutter, here is a YouTube vid of a high power fiberglass rocket going supersonic; the flutter occurs at max speed, about 10-11 seconds into the video:

So guess what is going to happen when that 3 engine cluster gets some speed? Papered or no, the fins will flutter and snap along the grain - large amounts of fin area will fall away, and the rocket will go unstable. NOT the thing you want to happen at a launch, especially if there are lots of bystanders.

The proper way to make/attach fins is with the grain parallel to the leading edge. In this orientation, the fins will flex, but the grain is (almost) perpendicular to the force. Of course, your rocket could be going so fast that the fins shred no matter how the grain is oriented (a common mishap with supersonic attempts), but it will take much more force to break them. So, when you build a rocket, orient the grain of wooden fins parallel to the leading edge, as depicted in the below image of the Balsa Machining School Rocket (currently under construction).

This is one of the things I check when I am acting as a RSO (Range Safety Officer) at a launch. I have seen too many instances of fins shredding due to wrong grain orientation; in one case, a guy had to dodge a rocket after two of its fins broke in pieces right after leaving the pad. Unfortunately, some RSO's don't pay much attention to the fin grain; even painted, one can wriggle the fins to check the strength, so it is not hard to do.

Parallel grain is just not poor rocket construction - it's unsafe.

Weight is everything...

As I begin construction of my first Geezer TARC rocket, I find myself confronted by a sobering aspect of this year's competition... Weight.

The TARC rules specify that the rocket may weigh no more than 650 grams fully loaded on the pad. This means that you have to pack 2 eggs, the protection for those eggs, altimeter, parachute, wadding (or dog barf or baffle), shock cord, and the motor(s) into a rocket that will loft those eggs to 850 feet and bring them safely to the ground at a descent rate of around 21 feet per second. At first, I thought "no problemo"; after all, I build light, and I am usually well below - sometimes by 50% - the weight limit. But as the designs, both simple single motor and complex cluster, developed, I found that weights under 600 grams were difficult to achieve - and that was with little egg protection. Why is this?

1) The rocket has to withstand hitting the ground at 21-22 feet per second. Doesn't sound terribly fast, but this is a 15 mile per hour impact speed. You are going to have to build robustly if you want the model to last more than one flight, especially if the ground is not nice soft grass. This means basswood/plywood fins and thick body tubes - all of which are heavier than standard body tubes and balsa fins.

2) The eggs have to survive the impact with nary a crack. They are going to have to be protected well, which means a decent amount of weight devoted to padding. This is the big unknown in my designs - I do not yet have a feel for how much this will weigh. I do know that it cannot be much more than 50 grams, or my rockets will bust the weight cap. Time for some research and experimentation. But this brings up a good point - TARC teams and mentors are going to have to pay careful attention to weight in this year's competition, as it will be very easy to exceed the 650 gram limit.

As I ponder egg protection, I have made good progress on my first entry - a 4 engine cluster I call "Nemesis", after the Greek goddess of revenge. Hopefully, she will not end up too fat to fly.

Open Rocket simulation of Nemesis under power.

A Geezer's thoughts on the 2016 TARC challenge...

Well, the 2015 TARC finals are over (Yay Russellville! Have fun in Paris!) and the 2016 rules are out. I look forward to a new challenge each year, and this one has some interesting twists. So, good readers, below is a short summary of the TARC 2016 challenge, with my thoughts on some of the more interesting aspects of the competition.

• Payload is two eggs (one oriented lengthways, one sideways) - this is a evil move by TARC, for a couple of reasons:

1. If you do not have good protection and separation of the eggs, the lengthwise egg will drive right through the horizontal one. Eggs have decent strength along their long axis, but are very fragile along the short. I foresee many messes in the coming season.
2. The sideways egg forces designers/builders to a BT-80 tube (or larger) for the payload section - past years could use the smaller BT-70. Larger diameter = greater surface area = more drag.

• Altitude goal for qualification flights is 850 feet - this is higher than this past year's 825 mark, and you have twice the payload (2 eggs) + greater drag. It is theoretically possible to do this on E impulse, but I suspect many teams, even those that build light, are going to have to resort to F's or the equivalent. Greater impulse = more expensive motors.

• Total flight duration must be between 44 and 46 seconds - 2 seconds shorter than last year, so the rocket must descend faster. Again, better have good egg protection!

• The very tiny Perfectflite Firefly (see my Nov 30 post) joins the PNUT and APRA as an official altimeter.

• Rocket must be at least 25.6 inches (65.0 cm) long and weigh less than 22.9 ounces (650 grams) fully loaded - same as last year.

• All parts of the rocket must recover as a single connected unit (payload section cannot come down separately). Any type of recovery device may be used, as long as the rocket lands safely. Trip Barber and other NAR folk think this could get interesting; I think many folks will opt for ye olde conventional parachute. Kinda risky to get creative with 2 eggs waiting to become omelets.

• Scoring, number of flights, etc. are the same as last year.

That's the challenge for the kiddos. And now...

We have also canonized the Geezer TARC rules for 2016, which are the same except for the following:

• Geezer TARC begins with the announcement of the 2016 rules in May and ends with the contestants’ rockets being launched at a single event (date TBD, but well before school starts in late summer).

• Each contestant may enter up to two rockets. These rockets may not fly before the official launch date, and the score shall be determined by the first flight of each on that date. The contestant's score shall be the better of the two flights, or the score of one flight if only one rocket is entered.

• Any commercial altimeter may be used to determine altitude. However, reflights are not allowed if there is an altimeter malfunction; in this case, the flight will be disqualified (So choose a reliable altimeter).

• There is only one rocket per design, and there are no test or sub-scale flights permitted for the design. Its merit will be judged solely by the rocket’s performance at the contest launch. If two rockets are entered, they must be of substantially different design - different number of motors, fins, or something major - an inch shorter or taller does not constitute a substantial difference, nor does the same design at a different scale (e.g., BT-70 versus BT-80 versions).

So how I am going to meet this year's challenge? Well, I have already have the first design, and the parts to build it - once I have made a couple additional tweaks. I don't want to give the competition any tips, but I can say this much:

This rocket ain't going to use a single stinking F motor!

After all, I have a rep to protect...

May's Club Launch...

Looking out towards the range (Click to enlarge).

Yesterday saw me getting up at the unseemly (for a Saturday) time of 6:30 AM in order to be ready to depart for the Manchester field at 7:30. I had prepped 11 rockets on Friday night, and they joined Duane's rockets and numerous other gear - tables, chairs, range boxes, electronics, and snacks - that occupied most of his SUV. The goal was to arrive on the field at 9 to help with the range setup, but we made a breakfast stop at the Hardees in Winchester for some biscuits. As a result, we arrived about 30 minutes late - Woody had already started unloaded the HARA trailer. There was plenty of work to do - I focussed on setting up the low power racks, while Duane and the others deployed the mid and high power pads. More people showed up and pitched in, and we were ready to fly by 10:15 or so.

Laika on the pad (Click to enlarge).

Laika blasts off on Keith's Level 1 certification flight
(Click to enlarge).

This launch would see relatively few high power rockets take to the air - the stiff wind and the high-80's temperatures discouraged high altitude flights, as one was sure to take a very long walk to recover any rocket that deployed a parachute above 1500 feet or so. I was certainly dissuaded; I would fly the 9 model rockets that accompanied me, choosing to leave the two mid power birds - a Semroc Aero Dart and a Thrustline D-Region Tomahawk - strapped inside Duane's vehicle. However, there were a few brave souls who went for it... Keith Nyman earned his level 1 certification flying a blue and yellow LOC Fantom EXL ("Laika") on an H motor; he would fly it again later in the day, along with an Estes Mega Red Max. Woody launched his scratch build, also powered by an H; he did not fly much, as he had the thankless job of being in charge of the range, which was executed flawlessly. Thanks Woody!

Woody sends a model rocket on its way (Click to enlarge).

Despite being affected a bit by the heat, I managed to put up all 9 mod rocs:

• Estes Athena (A8-3) - This RTF was my "drift test" model. Good boost to maybe 250 feet, and recovered a short way from the pad.
• Centuri MX-774 clone (A8-3) - Another straight flight, with recovery by streamer. Unfortunately, the rocket landed right on a pile of wooden slats near the pond, resulting in major damage to one fin and considerable scraping of the finish. Still assessing whether I will repair it or build a new one.
• Canaroc Green Hornet clone (A8-3) - Good flight, with a bit of drift on the rip stop nylon chute. Missed the pond by "that much".
• Estes Black Brant 3 clone (A8-3) - The maiden voyage for this bird, which went off perfectly.
• Estes Midget clone (A10-0T, 1/2 A3-2T) - Started out well with a quick take off, but the upper stage did not ignite. The rocket came in ballistic, crunching the upper stage and driving the nose cone into the body tube.
• Estes Helios with BT-60 booster (C11-0, B6-4) - This RTF performed really well, achieving about 800 feet. It also drifted the farthest, landing well beyond the pond. The walk reminded me how much I missed having TARC kids around to recover my rockets.
• Fliskits Deuces Wild (2xC6-5) - The C motors put this rocket up to about 700 feet or so, and a lull in the wind caused it to land fairly close to the pads. I really like this model, as it is quite sturdy and reliable.
• Estes Eclipse clone (1/2 A3-4T) - This black beauty shot off the pad, grabbing some serious altitude before deploying the streamer. It landed in the gravel near the road, breaking a fin (Already repaired).
• Semroc Micron (A8-3) - My last flight of the day also resulted in a broken fin when this rocket landed in the same area as the Eclipse. Every streamer rocket flown at this launch was damaged, as the wind kept blowing them onto the gravel area.

My Canaroc FK-3 clone next to Nate's Renegade-D (Click to enlarge).

Green Hornet takes to the sky (Click to enlarge).

My Micron blasts off on an A8-3 (Click to enlarge).

There were lots of other low and mid power rockets flown. Nate and Vince were there, with Vince putting up his Phoenix a couple of times on E motors and flying a Rocketarium Mega Vortex, which had a loud, fast spin coming down. Nate flew several without mishap, including his Renegade-D  and several smaller birds on C motors (He did a LOT of walking, unfortunately). Duane launched the Death Star on a C6-3, and its multi piece separation and recovery delighted the kids present. A family brought along a uniquely decorated "Frankenrocket", which they called Fireball. It made two flights, recovering successfully each time.

Vince's Phoenix leaves the pad (Click to enlarge).

Nate's V-2 heads for London (Click to enlarge).

The Death Star gets going (Click to enlarge).

The uniquely-decorated "Fireball" (Click to enlarge).

The biggest motor used Saturday was the J in UAH's CANSAT rocket. It made two flights, the second being the very last flight of the day, around 3:30 PM. After that, we packed up the range, loaded the SUV, and headed south to Huntsville. Nate followed us to Winchester, where we stopped at Larry's BBQ for the traditional post-club launch dinner. BBQ joints with a pig out front are usually pretty decent; Larry's has two, and the pig in the parking lot is mighty big. As you may guess, the food is also mighty good.

Dinner time! (Click to enlarge)

Back to elementary school...

This morning saw me hauling an unusual load into the office - four rockets and some basic launch gear. Horizon Elementary School is hosting a Space Week, filled with all sort of activities - projects, telescopes, speakers, and, for the final hours of the final day, a rocket launch. I love these events! Elementary school kids are so enthusiastic and excited by everything, especially stuff that soars into the sky, and I was looking forward to spending an hour or two surrounded by all that enthusiasm. Definitely beats sitting in a finance or group meeting at work...

I met Vince just outside my office building just before 1:30 and we moseyed over to Horizon, where Elliot Laramie was waiting for us. Vince had brought 5 rockets - 3 scratch builds (or kits of which I am not familiar), a Mongoose upper stage, and a George Gassaway "Spider", whereas Elliot had gathered together quite a posse - a Centuri, Xarconian Cruiser, Zooch Mercury Redstone, a Soyuz, a Bullpup, a V-2, and a couple of others. My 4 consisted of an Estes Eagle boost glider, the reliable Snitch saucer, Der Red Max, and a Quest Big Betty with a keychain camera strapped down near her rear. There was a bit of wind out of the east, which caused to us to set up on a corner of the outdoor basketball court in the eastern part of the playground. I was amazed by the number of kids present - there was a "field day" activity going on, with a shave ice truck, a choo-choo train, and several "moon walk" inflatables. I wish we had this stuff back in the Stone Age, when I was in elementary school.

The crowd gathers at Horizon Elementary as Vince prepares a rocket for flight (Click to enlarge).

We started launching very soon after 2, with Vince as the lead off man. I would follow, and then Elliot; we would repeat this sequence until we ran out of rockets or time, as we had to be finished by 2:40 in order for the school to prepare for the dismissal of the kiddos. After a very enthusiastic countdown by the crowd, Vince's rocket soared into the gorgeous blue sky and deployed its parachute for a nice soft landing. We had 3 kids designated as "retrievers" and one of them shot off like a flash to fetch it. I was next, with the Eagle boost glider, but the wind kept blowing the glider off the pod. Vince kindly helped hold the thing on until the count, but the glider again came free just as I pressed the launch button; it lay dormant on the ground while the boost pod did crazy arcs in the air. NOT the way I wanted my first flight to go. Elliot then launched his Bullpup, which flew as all Bullpups do - straight up, with a gentle recovery by parachute.

The first rocket takes to the sky (Click to enlarge).

Elliot's Mercury Redstone lifts off (Click to enlarge).

The rest of the flights went well, except for Elliot's Centuri drifting away on its white parachute. I was especially pleased with the air my Snitch achieved on a C6-0, and was happy with the Big Betty flight. She came down just to the south of the basketball court and there was nary a scratch on her bulky bod. But the real highlight, at least to me, was Elliot's beautiful Xarconian Cruiser. Not only did it fly textbook straight, but the slow recovery on the Estes plastic parachute was a thing of beauty, with the rocket landing gracefully just behind the crowd. I was so taken with the rocket's descent that I forgot to snap a pic.

Elliot's Centuri begins its final flight (Click to enlarge).

Vince's Spider closes out the launch (Click to enlarge).

Elliot's Xarconian Cruiser gracefully ascends skyward
(Click to enlarge).

A "rocket retriever" keeps his eye on the action
(Click to enlarge).

We managed to fly 13 rockets total - 4 each for me and Elliot, and 5 for Vince. The crowd of young spectators seemed to be well pleased, so I decided that that I should reward myself by taking the rest of the afternoon off to enjoy the extremely nice weather. This I proceeded to do for the next hour or two, after which I downloaded the Big Betty video and extracted a few frames:

Big Betty looks down at the crowd on her way up (Click to enlarge).

Houses adjacent to the school (Yes, I turned it upside down - Click to enlarge).

Folks looking up as Big Betty descends under parachute (Click to enlarge).

Big Betty laying on the grass (Click to enlarge).

Unfortunately, I have no pics of my flights, as I was pushing the fire button on my controller (not coordinated enough to handle a camera and launch a rocket simultaneously). However, it is appropriate that I at least show you Big Betty:

Big Betty (Click to enlarge).

Below is the complete video of her journey today, including the recovery by the retriever (Couldn't cut out all those little feet). I am now going to put that embarrassment of a boost glider into the "disabled" box - if it can't stay on, it don't fly.

My first club launch of 2015 (part 2) - and now comes a little fire...

As I mentioned in my earlier post, I brought 6 rockets to yesterday's launch - my Aerotech Initiator, an Estes Majestic, an Estes Trajector, my Centuri RX-16 clone, an Estes Firebolt, and the Over Easy. Just after we arrived at the field, before any of my birds took flight, there was an issue - an errant chair had slipped in the gear unloading, knocking a fin off my RX-16. I was ticked; it is one thing for a rocket to show the scars of many flights, or to experience a hurtling death against the hard earth, but to suffer damage on the ground through poor handling, that just ain't right. My fault; I'm going to have to devise a better way to transport my mod rocs - throwing them in the back seat of a friend's vehicle is inviting an occasional mishap. Anyway, an application of 5 minute epoxy had the RX-16 ready to fly by late afternoon. It still looks bad, but I will attempt a cosmetic repair over the next few days.

And now, on to my flights...

My Initiator blasts skyward on an F20 White Lightning
motor (Click to enlarge).

The Trajector patiently awaits launch (Click to enlarge).

First up was my Aerotech Initiator. This is one of the oldest rockets in my fleet, dating from the very early 1990's and, though very battered, it is still a reliable flyer. Straight up on an F20-4W, with a gentle landing on the grass some distance from the pad. My thanks to Woody, who fetched it, cutting my walk in half.

Estes Trajector - My first flight was that of an old rocket; my second involved the newest, built in under an hour Friday night. The almost-ready-to-fly (ARF) Trajector flew well on an Estes black powder E16-6 motor, also experiencing a soft landing under its red parachute. One of the rocketeers on the field remarked that it spent more time in the air than I did in the building.

Estes Majestic - Also flying on an E16, the Majestic was majestic going up and serene coming down. Another member of the Estes mid power ARF line, it can be found in many Hobby Lobby stores, where the use of a 40% coupon makes this rocket an irresistible buy to those seeking a cheap mid power kit.

A full rack of rockets. My Majestic is the purple and silver rocket on the right (Click to enlarge).

3 flights, no problems. And then Murphy paid me a visit...

Estes Firebolt - It was supposed to follow the Over Easy, but ended up flying first because of ignitor issues. This rocket was loaded with an Estes E12-6, and did not even clear the rod before a spectacular motor CATO occurred, scattering fire and rocket pieces around the pad. The E12 I used came from a batch that Estes gave to the "Space Warriors" movie filmed at the Space and Rocket Center; Vince and I inherited several as thanks for helping with the rockets in the film. They must have been treated badly before we got them, because they have a 100% CATO rate so far (Vince had one blow up in his Hexagon saucer back in March). After I arrived back at the apartment, I marked those motors as bad - they will not be used, unless I wish to give them as a present to someone I don't like :)

Despite the appearance of catastrophe, the Fireboat suffered a minor zipper in the upper body when the payload section was blasted away. A little paper, CA, and silver mylar tape fixed it right up.

Image sequence showing the Firebolt's E12 motor CATO (Click image to enlarge).

Over Easy - This TARC rocket took 3 tries to get going; Bad ignitor on the first attempt, poor connection on the second. The D12-3 ignited on the third try, but once again there was a motor CATO, littering rocket parts on the field. The motor mount was blown clean through the Over Easy, with the upper centering ring still attached to the shock cord; the rip stop nylon parachute had several large burn holes. Amazingly, the body tube and payload section were unscathed. I constructed a new motor mount last night, and installed it into the rocket this morning. The Over Easy can fly again, though it will be using a different parachute.

The Over Easy erupts in flame halfway up the rod (Click to enlarge).

RX-16 clone - This rocket flew well on a D12-5 (no more CATOs, thank goodness!), but I could not get a connection to the Jolly Logic Altimeter 3 after my phone uploaded a firmware update. I could see the device in my Bluetooth setup, but the Altimeter 3 software would not connect. I may have to pair the altimeter to my phone again. Anyway, good flight with a safe landing. The RX-16 is now in the front of the repair line awaiting new fillets and cosmetic fixes.

Murphy is always present at these launches - in addition to my and Elliot's mishaps, we saw a high powered rocket come in ballistic, burying itself so deep that it took a shovel to dig out the nose cone. A rocket also accidentally launched when the high power pads were being loaded; a short was discovered in one of the relay boxes. No one was hurt, but there may have been some wet pants in the area afterward. These type things just emphasize the need to stay alert at a launch - never become complacent about safety.  Stand when rockets are taking to the air, and keep your eyes on the rocket; though it's very rare, they can come your way.

My first club launch of 2015 (Part 1)

Some of the folks at the launch watch a rocket descend to Earth (Click to enlarge).

Yesterday saw me and Duane making the long trek (about 2 hours) up to Manchester for the second HARA launch of 2015 - and our first. We arrived at about 11 AM, having left Huntsville around 8:30 and stopping for a "tasty" breakfast at McDonalds along the way. The field was a bit waterlogged from the thunderstorms of Friday night, but overall not too bad - there were patches of high ground that enabled one to recover rockets without sinking up to the ankles in mud. It turns out our late arrival was not really that late, as we got there in time to attend the traditional "flyers briefing" held before the start of every club launch. The Music City Missile Club (MC2) was working the range this month, enabling us HARA members to concentrate on flying. Next month, we have the range duty.

Flyers begin to gather for the pre-launch briefing (Click to enlarge).

Six rockets accompanied me to Manchester - my Aerotech Initiator (Aerotech F20 motor), an Estes Majestic (Estes E16 motor), an Estes Trajector (Estes E16 motor), my Centuri RX-16 clone (Estes D12 motor), an Estes Firebolt (Estes E12 motor), and my TARC rocket from a couple of years ago, the Over Easy (Estes D12 motor). I would fly nothing weaker than a D motor this day; after all, the launch is held on the wide open expanse of the Manchester sod farm. However, more power = more walking to recover, especially in the 10 mph winds. Duane also brought several rockets - his Estes Death Star, the yellow and black winner of this year's Geezer TARC - the "Beast", an Estes Leviathan, his Estes Mega Mosquito, and a big green and white rocket which would not fly due to the stiff winds.

One of the nice things about club launches is that you get to see rockets built by other people. Many of these are pretty awesome, like the Harley Max that showed up at the field yesterday. It was an Estes Mega Red Max, with a very nice paint job sporting Harley Davidson decals from Excelsior Rocketry. It flew a few times, including one on an H motor that garnered its owner a level 1 certification. A very excellent way to start on the High Power Rocketry path!

The "Harley Max" (Click to enlarge).

The Harley Max heads into the Blue on a G motor (Click to enlarge).

There is too much going on at club launches for me to keep track, especially given that I spend a fair mount of time prepping and recovering rockets. However, I did try to find the time to witness a few of the launches by fellow club members. Woody Bevill - who brought his Mom along for this launch - seemed to want to lose a scratch built mid power rocket; however, it kept coming back, though the "alien passenger" it carried aloft on its first flight was last seen heading into the next county, its little parachute dwindling into the distance. Keith Nyman and his daughter had a good day - his Mega Red Max powered by G motors impressed, and Brenna's Leviathan caught some air on an F motor. Not so for Elliot Laramie, who had a mixed day - after turning in several good flights (including a successful launch of a Quest Quad Runner with a cluster of 4 B6-4's), his "stretched" Colonial Viper did a major arc straight for the pond; I guess it thought it could also function as a canoe. The most heartbreaking event of the day was watching his beautiful Aerotech Astrobee D come in ballistic due to an ejection charge malfunction; not even the soft ground could prevent the rocket from turning into confetti. I would have gone into the trees and cried after that one, but Elliot is a true naval aviator; he simply shrugged his shoulders and said he would build another. There are no wimps in the Navy.

Brenna's yellow and blue Leviathan leaves the pad
(Click to enlarge).

Keith Nyman's Mega Red Max getting on up there
(Click to enlarge).

Elliot's Astrobee-D blasts off on its final flight
(Click to enlarge).

Keith Nyman's 2 stage CC Express heads up the rod,
powered by a C11 in the booster (Click to enlarge).

Duane's Mega Mosquito arcs into the wind on an E
(Click to enlarge).

The 4 B6-4's powering Elliot's Quad Runner leave a trail
of smoke (Click to enlarge).

Duane had a good day - His Leviathan put in a good flight on a Aerotech F, the Mega Mosquito got off the pad without experiencing a CATO, and the Beast once again showed why it was this year's Geezer TARC champion. However, it was the Death Star that garnered the most attention, with the big styrofoam ball perched atop a skinny tube. The first flight on a C6-3 was classic - the model arced into the wind and deployed the chute at a decent altitude. At ejection, the styrofoam ball "exploded" into four pieces, each one descending on a streamer - a real crowd pleaser. The second flight used an Aerotech D10-5 and had Duane's camera taped to the body tube to catch a video of the ball separating into pieces. This flight was not so good - the trajectory was much flatter, and ejection occurred very close to the ground. I am eager to see the video, as it must show the Death Star "exploding" as the rocket is diving into the ground.

Animated sequence showing the first flight of Duane's Death Star
(Click to enlarge).

Not all flying Saturday was for fun - there was also some seriousness. I counted 4 successful level 1 certification flights while I was there, and another HARA member, Ian, certified level 2. There were also some college SLI teams present - Alabama A&M launched their space-themed rocket on a K, only to have the main deploy at apogee. Fortunately, they were able to recover the rocket, though it did take some searching. Mississippi State put up a two stage rocket (M motor to J in the upper stage) on the far pad. It looked like the second stage did not fire, though all pieces landed safely. Auburn and Georgia Tech were in the final throes of prepping their rockets when Duane and I left the field at 4:30; I do not know the outcome of those flights.

A successful level 1 certification flight at Saturday's launch.