Another excellent day at the field.
The blue skies and cooler temperatures were accompanied by some moderate winds from the west. We set up on the western edge of the field to allow full width for recovery.
Our pads were full the for rockets for launch. Last month, I only got one rocket off so as LCO, I set up to launch first so that others could see what the atmospheric conditions would do with their rockets. The biggest impulse of the day, F, came later in the morning after we confirmed good flying conditions. You can see from our impulse chart below that we had an ok day for flying higher. Despite our preparation, some lighter rockets did not land in the field. Chris M's. innovative Robot rocket just about made it down but still caught a tree branch. When Roger relieved me as LCO, we used our pole to capture and retrieve. Carver's Amazon never did make it off the pad because of two motor nozzle failures. It amazingly did not suffer damage, however, it did manage to burn through the pad deflection plate. Repairs on the control system meant that we had reliable control and good expectations for launches.
Thank you again for the help in set up. I felt as though we had a full team of help. Those of you who stayed on to tear down and pack away, thank you! The field is ours for the day so, if you come at 9:00AM, please join in as a volunteer to help us get things up and running. The help really makes a difference.
FYI, your consideration to help during launches also makes a big difference for everybody, including me. Consider being an LCO trainee too!
Get ready for May 5th, our next launch. Those who are just getting started, keep building and flying! We love having you.
Ed Burns (April 15, 2025)
Great summary!