Tony Alcocer, LUNAR #

This years Springfest launch was filled with Uncertainty, Politics, Drama, Failure, Friendship, Success and Accomplishment

Uncertainty: In the week leading up to this years launch at El Dorado “Dry” Lake the lake was anything but “Dry”. The usually dry lake was half covered with water. The organizers of the event were not sure if the launch was going to be a go or no go. By Sunday most of the water was gone and much of the lakebed was in a drive able condition. So it was a go!

Politics: As AJ and I helped set up the range equipment we were told that NO Kosdon motors were going to be allowed to fly. Once the PA system was set up and running all fliers were notified of this. The reason being that they were no longer certified. This made quite a few fliers angry. Even thought at least 3 kosdon motors had just been certified. By Saturday Bruce Kelley had arrived and after some debate it was then decided to allow all Kosdon motors to be flown until September 1 and then only the current certified motors after that.

Drama: At the end of Fridays launch activities people were easing into their nighttime activities when the wind came up. The wind had been off and on for most of the day. As the wind picked up it started to blow the remaining water into the range and flight line area. Within an hour it had blown the lake some 5-600 feet east! It caught some of the unsuspecting fliers by surprise. In true TCC fashion AJ and I rescued women and children first. We then relocated our camp to higher ground. As the tide continued to crest we returned to continue our rescue efforts this time focusing on stuck vehicles. As the tide ebbed and all fliers were no longer in harms way it was time for a good nights sleep!

Failure: With Saturday came better weather and no tides. AJ wanted to fly his rocket CODE 3 on “something big”. So he chose the K550 for this flight. The motor was loaded and the electronics prepped. CODE 3 was a 4” glassed 67” long, G-10 fins with dual deployment. It simmed out at 8500’ at 730 mph, AJ was assigned pad 10 at the away cell. As the RSO got to zero a small puff of smoke and then a 5-foot flame lifted the 9-pound rocket at break neck speed in a perfect lift off. In the blink of an eye it was gone in a mass of pieces. CODE 3 was gone! Parts rained down for what seemed like minutes. Several members of the rocket community performed an autopsy. It was determined that an unglassed coupler had failed. The motor, nose cone and electronics were all unharmed.

Friendships: Having met several people in the chat room it was nice to finely meet them. Bob Iaccaoni with his Raven on a J1500 yes a J1500. Stan and Nancy Hazelwood and to be part of his Level 1 certification. Ron Zeppin of Access Rocketry and a good place to spend some money. Adam all the way from Chicago with his wealth of information and for showing us his cool rockets. The entire Wood family who took us in as family. Dennis and Cindy McNally from Colorado, as it turns out I went to High School with Cindy just a few years ago. Truly a small world.

Success: Having only one successful flight at this point both AJ and I still had a desire for “something big”. So we decided on my rocket Ain’t no big thang at 1.9” and 48” long with 2 layers of 6 oz glass and G-10 fins, it seemed fitting for a J350. As AJ prepped the rocket I checked the numbers in our “Black Book” 8500’ at 850 mph with the J350. The wind had died down as AJ and I walked out to the pad. The rocket was loaded and armed. As we walked back to the flight line thoughts of CODE 3’s shred entered my mind. As I started to question our build techniques the LCO began our count down, no turning back now. As the J350 lit I crossed my fingers and waited for it to burst into pieces. But it didn’t! I followed it all the way out of sight. Now the wait, with an 19 second coast time and dual deployment it should take about 3 minutes until we see or hear it again. After 5 minutes or so nothing! We looked for it for 3 hours or more and never found even a piece of it. The rocket did hold together and did not shower the crowd with parts, but it was still gone. After returning to camp Woody gave us some good advise, “If you don’t want to loose a rocket don’t fly it!” The success part of this story is that we can build a rocket capable of Mach flight we just need to work on the recovery part.

Accomplishment: AJ still had the need to do “something big” so he turned his attention to his Estes Fat Boy. You may be thinking what can you do big with an Estes Fat Boy? How about an I284. Big enough? This is an actual Estes Fat Boy with 3 layers of 6 oz glass on the body and 2 layers on the nose cone and a 38mm motor mount and .093 G-10 fins. The I 284 comes to within 3/8 of an inch from the tip of the nose cone. The rocket SIMMs out at 4000’ and 830 mph. That should be big enough. AJ filled out a flight card and proceeded through the RSO table and was assigned a pad. As the LCO read AJ’s flight card they realized something was not right. They called him over to the RSO and asked several questions. Is it glassed? Any nose weight? Blasa fins? Does it have a chute? After answering all of their questions they decided to fly it. I could see that the LCO though it was going to be a shred and called for a heads up flight and started the 10 count. As the 13” rocket left the pad with a 4-foot flame trailing I waited for something to go wrong. It never did! The Fat Boy reached apogee and the chute deployed and landed in perfect condition about a half mile away! I, He, We finally had our big flight. AJ took a victory lap down the flight line with his Fat Boy in hand. There were several awesome flight at Springfest V-2’s with M’s, a RATT K240, and even one rocket with an O and 6-K250’s that set off car alarms 700 feet away! Several people came up to AJ and said that his Fat Boy was the best flight of the launch. When a 15 year old kid can take a $13 Estes rocket and some problem solving skills and a $40 motor can be in the running for the best flight at Springfest that’s quite an accomplishment! And being his dad is not bad either!