Tom Hail, LUNAR #440
I have noticed at the last few launches that people are not checking to make sure the launch rod is secure in the stand. I have seen at least two low power and one high power rocket leave the pad with the launch rods attached. Neither low power got out of the launch alley, but the high power one got about fifteen feet in the air and was translating towards the rest of us. It could have ended up outside the safety area if it had burned much longer. Also, when tearing down at the end of the day, I have frequently pulled launch rods right out of the stand without having to loosening the screw. The screw? What screw? Maybe that’s part of the problem, with so many new members, there might not be awareness of how the stands work.
Whenever you need a different size rod than is in the pad your were assigned, replace it with what you need. But be sure to secure it in the stand with the wing-nut screw you will find underneath the blast deflector. You should have to loosen this screw in order to get the old rod out, but like I have found, it may just come right out. It doesn’t have to be cranked tight like a lug nut on a car, finger tight is fine, that’s why it has a wing-nut on it.
But even if you aren’t changing a rod, always give that screw a twist to make sure it is tight. You don’t know what the last guy did to the pad and this should be one of those things you do automatically as you set up to go.
Our annual million dollar insurance policy premium is under $100 because we have a pretty safe sport when care is taken. We don’t want to ruin that with someone getting skewered by a rocket boosted launch rod.