Backyard Launch
July 24, 2011
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After a week of really sweltering weather, things cooled off somewhat today.
I walked out into the late afternoon sunshine, noted the wind had laid, and
realized that I could launch a few. My daughter Taylor had a couple of friends
over, and they helped with the launch and recovery.
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Independence Day Launch
July 3, 2011
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My brother Greg is back for the 4th of July holiday, and he brought my other
brother Adam's kids with him. I knew that my nephew Jesse had shown an
interest in rocketry before, so we planned a launch for today, Sunday the 3rd.
I prepared sixteen rockets, thirteen of mine plus three of Taylor's; however,
the wind, which had been pretty calm, picked up somewhat, and between that and
the fact that I couldn't use the first position on my stand (owing to the rod
nut coming loose), we flew only nine.
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The weather hasn't been very conducive to rocket launching lately, but we
needed to get the 4-H launch done before the Fair. So, when we saw that
Father's Day was predicted to be nice, we decided to have the launch at 5:00pm.
The wind was light, perhaps 5-10 MPH and coming from the east; we did have some
drifting problems as a result of that.
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Back Yard Launch
June 8, 2011
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I had two new 4-H Aerospace members over working on their rockets, along with
Jaclyn, who is in her third (or is it fourth?) year in the project. As I
watched the boys putting primer on their rockets, I thought about what a boring
task sanding and re-priming is... and I decided we would launch a few in the
back yard, just to keep their interest up.
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Justin's Launch
May 11, 2011
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Justin's school had a science-related event, which sadly I don't know the name of, and he
came to me and asked if he could borrow my
launch stand and controller
to have a public launch. I was unable to attend due to work, but I sent him off with the
equipment he requested, four rockets (a couple of his own, a used Estes RTF I got from a
school, and my Triskelion), 12 engines, and my long range box
(where I keep my regular launch rods).
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First Launch of 2011
April 13, 2011
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It just hasn't been a good year for rocket launching in Northeast Missouri.
Today was my first real opportunity... it was fortunate that I was able to
get off work early. The wind was moderate but variable, probably topping
out at 10 MPH. Though Justin and Jaclyn, my 4-H rocketeers for the last
several years, were unavailable, my wife Tracy and daughter Taylor accompanied
me.
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Back Yard Launch
October 4, 2010
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I've been itching to launch a few more rockets, and tonight was just beautiful. I knew I'd
only have about an hour of daylight to launch in, but fortunately I had prepared a few low-fliers
(including my Lo Flier) in advance. Tracy took the pictures, as usual, and Taylor and her friend
Jaclyn assisted with the recovery.
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Unscheduled Launch
September 18, 2010
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Two weeks ago, the landowner who owns my current favorite launch field told me
he had it mowed and baled, and that I should feel free to come over and launch
anytime. Of course, the wind refused to cooperate... from then until today,
we only had one day when the wind was calm enough to launch, and it was a
weekday when I had to work late.
Until today, I said. This morning I looked out and saw that there was no
wind. None. It's almost axiomatic that you don't prepare rockets to launch
around here when the wind is calm, because by the time you're ready, it's
windy. Undaunted, or perhaps just stupid, I soldiered on, and by 11:00am
we were ready... and the wind was light and variable, mostly from the
southeast. Ideal.
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The weather forecast said that the next week would be unsuitable for
launching; so, despite 12-20 mph breezes and a cloudy sky, I decided
it was time for our 4-H club launch. This year, Sam wasn't able to
participate, so the group consisted of Jaclyn and Justin. My daughter
Taylor and I also launched some rockets.
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Back Yard Launch
June 24, 2010
For about the first time this year, launching conditions were perfect
this afternoon. So, I launched a few in the back yard with Taylor (my
daughter) pushing the button and helping to retrieve them. Sorry, no
pictures this time.
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SPARC Launch
August 22, 2009
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Once again, I joined the SPARC guys in St. Peters, Missouri for their regular
monthly launch. They were launching at the soccer field this time,
so we drew some spectators, which was pretty cool.
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Back Yard Launch
July 19, 2009
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The wind quieted somewhat suddenly Sunday evening, and my thoughts turned
naturally to rockets. Four kids (my daughter and three neighbor boys)
were in the yard, so I got four low fliers together along with my handmade
controller and my modified Estes stand, and headed out to the back yard.
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My first launch of the year happened to be our 4-H club launch. I had three
project members present: Sam, Jaclyn, and Justin. It's Justin's third
year doing 4-H Aerospace, but the first for Jaclyn and Sam.
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SPARC Launch
September 28, 2008
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Some time back (like, last year), Troy (akpilot) issued an open invitation to me to attend one of his club's launches. I finally got the chance yesterday.
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A Perfect Day
September 7, 2008
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The weather this morning was beautiful, and the weather forecast was for more of the same all day long. Partly cloudy,
temperature in the 70's and 5-10MPH breezes all day. I knew better than to believe that last... I've learned that, in
Missouri, you prep your rockets when there is a breeze, and often there will be none when you start to actually launch; but
start prepping when there is no breeze, and a stiff one will blow up on you. But this is a good thing, I thought, as I
wandered out into the light breeze.
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Labor Day
September 1, 2008
My daughter Taylor and I launched a very few rockets in the back yard tonight,
starting around 7:30pm; thus, we had about half an hour of useful daylight left.
Mainly, I wanted to test my new miniature X-24 Bug (3/4 scale, 13mm power, all
paper except for the bulkhead) and try out my over 20 year old Centuri Flying
Saucer. I also launched Taylor's Gauchito. Rather than dragging out the four-way
stand, I used an Estes stand (modded with a ceramic tile launch deflector) and
my wooden launch controller. It was about 85°F and apparently windless.
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Sunday Evening Rocketry
July 13, 2008
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After waiting seemingly forever for (a) decent weather and (b) all the hay and wheat to be mowed,
we finally got our chance. Taylor, Justin, Jaclyn, and I all got in some launches, and for the
most part we were very satisfied. All of my rockets which got launched had never been launched before.
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Afternoon Launch
May 15, 2008
I was supposed to weedwhack tonight, but the weather was nice and I was home reasonably
early, and Tracy told me to go ahead and launch (before I even asked!)
I should have weedwhacked.
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Back Yard Launch
May 5, 2008
I didn't get a chance to launch over the weekend, and I was itching to burn some black powder...
and when I got home from work after a really annoying day, I was pleased to note the calmness
of the late afternoon. Surely launching a few low-fliers in the back yard would put me in a better
mood...
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First Launch of 2008
April 29, 2008
Labor Day
September 3, 2007
We had a beautiful sunny afternoon for launching, 85°F with moderate humidity and virtually
no wind. Justin, Taylor, and I launched several rockets, with only one mishap.
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Cloudy But Calm
August 19, 2007
This afternoon was cloudy but fairly calm, with breezes of around 5 MPH or so.
Justin and I decided to launch a few of our rockets, including some of mine that
had never been launched as well as a few that hadn't been up recently.
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Test Launch
August 12, 2007
Tonight I launched just three times in my back yard. These launches were mainly
for the purpose of testing my new launch controller; I also tried out crepe paper
wadding costing less than 1/4 the price of Estes' flame-retardant toilet paper.
(Okay, mostly the launch was because I was itching to burn some black powder...)
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Independence Day (minus 3) Launch
July 1, 2007
In honor of the impending birthday of the son of my wife's best friend, we held a launch
July 1st. Jeffrey (the birthday boy), his sister Megan, my protege Justin, his sister Jaclyn,
my daughter Taylor, and I all launched rockets.
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Second Rocket Launch of 2007
May 20, 2007
Taylor, Justin, and I got in a really good launch this evening, starting at around 6:40pm.
The air temperature was in the mid-70's, with very light winds.
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First Rocket Launch of 2007
March 11, 2007
Taylor (my daughter), Justin ( the neighbor kid I've been teaching about
rocketry) and I launched several times today. Yesterday was the first day
that would have been fit for rocketry, but I had other commitments, so
today was the day.
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Rockets in the Afternoon
October 8, 2006
I launched a few with my daughter and my neighbor's son on Sunday the
8th. The neighbors are blessed with a large, tree-less back yard; my
yard is big but has a bunch of trees.
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Finally, after a long string of weather-related setbacks, conditions became right for a launch.