LUNAR High Power Launch - Scheduled for 4/4 - Snow Ranch

LUNAR April High Power Launch is scheduled for next weekend, 4/4.

Location and other details at .... https://www.lunar.org. Check hot line in case schedule change.

Weather forcast will be great mid 70's, clear, sunny.... maybe some "W" but will keep the bees and flies away.

So start prepping.... due to dry Winter this might be last HP launch of the season

We will be there. I'll be flying my 7.5" Door Knob on a K454 SkidMark. We'll be debuting Sami's 4" Warlock too.

I'm planning to be there. Not much new this time. I'll bring the Pod Rocket, G-Force, and Leviathan (if I get the bashed upper BT cut down and fixed up in time). SCRocketfan and I are planning to drag race the G-Force rockets on CTI H135's. If anyone else has a G-Force and wants to get in on that, that would be great. Other than that motor, I'm not sure what motors I'll be using for the Pod and Leviathan. I've also got my Estes Trajector that I did not get time to fly at Moffett and may give it a try too on an Estes F15.

ChrisAttebery said:

We will be there. I'll be flying my 7.5" Door Knob on a K454 SkidMark. We'll be debuting Sami's 4" Warlock too.

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Sounds good, Chris!

Any word on the 4/11 date? I heard the club already had a waiver and permission to use the field that day, but it originally had been exclusive for a group who apparently canceled their event. So there was a rumor that they might still use the date and change it to an HPR launch open to the public.

I'll be there. Planning on flying my Scooter and my Tomach, which I still have a lot to do on before then. Hopefully I'll be getting my L1 then, along with my friend getting his L1. My little cousin will be there again, with his new Estes Ascender, along with my uncle and his new Estes Nike Smoke.

ThirstyBarbarian said:

Any word on the 4/11 date? I heard the club already had a waiver and permission to use the field that day, but it originally had been exclusive for a group who apparently canceled their event. So there was a rumor that they might still use the date and change it to an HPR launch open to the public.

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Sure looks from their calendar like the 4/11 launch is a go, but I'm not totally sure.

The "unofficial" word on the 4/11 date: There will be a launch assuming the weather cooperates and the grass doesn't dry out. Check the site and the hotline for latest news.

(Personally, I'm hoping the 4/11 launch happens, since my son's cub scout pack rescheduled their pinewood derby to the 4th, due to a scheduling conflict with another group that uses the venue. Since I'm the one that runs the track-timer / derby software / standings board projector thing, I kind of have to be there.)

ChrisAttebery said:

We will be there. I'll be flying my 7.5" Door Knob on a K454 SkidMark. We'll be debuting Sami's 4" Warlock too.

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Sounds great, K454 should be awesome.

^Nice! Are you going to drag race them?

That would be fun, challenging, but fun.

ChrisAttebery said:

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That is a great picture, Chris! Sami looks pretty pleased with her rocket. It's very cool how the two rockets have mostly the same design, but hers has a totally different expression on its face! They've got personality.

Thanks Thirsty. She said she liked mine, but she wanted one that didn't look mean. Mark at Stickershock did the decals for both rockets.

Motors ordered today:
Jacob wanted "one of those FAST motors": G76G in his Ventris.
Sami asked for "one of those sparking motors": G106 Skidmark for the Warlock.
At October Skies my wife said "you need to fly one of those LOUD sparky motors": Yes dear, K454 for my DoorKnob.

I haven't been to a launch since October. Can you tell I'm a little excited?

:grin:

I think I have a flight plan for this launch:

I'll fly Separation Anxiety on an I236. ThirstyBarbarian and I are going to drag race G-Forces on H135s. I'll also probably fly my 38mm Crayon (I345WT) if there is another Crayon drag race.

I also am trying to get my new Madcow Frenzy ready to fly, and I'll fly it on an I303 Blue Streak if I finish it. I'll also fly my Mini Magg, although what motor I fly in it depends on whether or not I fly the Frenzy.

I can't wait for this launch!

ChrisAttebery said:

Motors ordered today:
Jacob wanted "one of those FAST motors": G76G in his Ventris.
Sami asked for "one of those sparking motors": G106 Skidmark for the Warlock.
At October Skies my wife said "you need to fly one of those LOUD sparky motors": Yes dear, K454 for my DoorKnob.

I haven't been to a launch since October. Can you tell I'm a little excited?

:grin:

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Just curious, are you flying the Door Knob dual deploy for this launch? I know you mentioned adding a cable cutter...

The email was just sent to the group, with a clear warning of NO SPARKY MOTORS due to the drying field. It also sounded like next week's 4/11 event wouldn't happen (email said this would be the last Snow Ranch launch "until the fall when the rains return").

I ended TCC's last launch with a rocket count of 1 instead of the 2 I started with, and even the rocket that wasn't destroyed had a 2.5" zipper on it, but that's been fixed, so I'll be flying my Bumbl-B (mk IV now). Now to email Mike @ BAR to add some non-sparky motors to my inventory..

SCrocketfan said:

Just curious, are you flying the Door Knob dual deploy for this launch? I know you mentioned adding a cable cutter...

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No, I haven't tested it at all.

woferry said:

The email was just sent to the group, with a clear warning of NO SPARKY MOTORS due to the drying field.

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I guess I need to call Mike and change my order. :^(

It is smoky time.... from my ammo bunker deep in the Sierra Nevadas, under all the dark matter and metal storms reloads, I've rediscovered my fast jacks.

So...

Wildman Punisher Kit - "Fury" on an Aerotech I305FJ
Wildman SAAB-98 on an Aerotech J401FJ
Rocketry Warehouse Rouge kit - "BAZINGA!" on an Aerotech J401FJ

woferry said:

The email was just sent to the group, with a clear warning of NO SPARKY MOTORS due to the drying field. It also sounded like next week's 4/11 event wouldn't happen (email said this would be the last Snow Ranch launch "until the fall when the rains return").

I ended TCC's last launch with a rocket count of 1 instead of the 2 I started with, and even the rocket that wasn't destroyed had a 2.5" zipper on it, but that's been fixed, so I'll be flying my Bumbl-B (mk IV now). Now to email Mike @ BAR to add some non-sparky motors to my inventory..

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This is correct. Sparky motors are banned for April 4th due to fire safety considerations.

There was a possibility of a second April launch on the 11th, but that is cancelled because the grass is drying out fast.

There will also be considerably more breeze this Saturday than at the last few launches. The really fabulous conditions were nice while they lasted...

My new job has kept me away from posting recently, but it will not keep me away from this launch!

Looking forward to seeing everyone, and to burning a few motors. No new rockets this time around but some should have new features.

I'll be there. I plan on launching my X-Ray XL upscale on an H180W, along with Commander Juliette. Binary Effusion on two H151 reds. Shadow XXL on a J350W. And Freefall XL on a G75J, but with a different skydiver this time.

cherokeej said:

There was a possibility of a second April launch on the 11th, but that is cancelled because the grass is drying out fast.

There will also be considerably more breeze this Saturday than at the last few launches. The really fabulous conditions were nice while they lasted...

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What about if we get the rain they're promising?

Does anyone have ideas about how hard recovering from 2200-2800 feet will be with the wind? I have a few single deploy flights planned for that altitude range, but I could easily switch motors to keep flights lower.

Too bad about the ban on sparky motors for this launch, but it would be a shame to burn down the ranch. I'm just grateful that this April launch did not get canceled due to fire danger, considering the extreme drought.

SC, I'm going to switch out to my smaller chutes for the rockets where I have an option. Most of my flights won't go as high as you are describing by a long shot, but I still want to minimize drift.

I might have to test out the cable cutter tomorrow morning. I hope I still have some e-matches.

ThirstyBarbarian said:

Too bad about the ban on sparky motors for this launch, but it would be a shame to burn down the ranch. I'm just grateful that this April launch did not get canceled due to fire danger, considering the extreme drought.

SC, I'm going to switch out to my smaller chutes for the rockets where I have an option. Most of my flights won't go as high as you are describing by a long shot, but I still want to minimize drift.

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Agreed, I'm definitely swapping in smaller chutes. The G-forces on H135s should reach around 1650 feet so I'm not too concerned about those drifting too far, but for the first flight of my Frenzy I want to make sure it recovers safely because it looks like it will hit around 2100-2300 feet (I have to weigh it to confirm). I can also put a small parachute in my Crayon for the drag race so it recovers without too much drift.

Thirsty, were you able to get your Leviathan repaired? I finished building and repainting mine finally, I may fly it this weekend on either an old AT G33J, G74W, or an H133.

SCrocketfan said:

Agreed, I'm definitely swapping in smaller chutes. The G-forces on H135s should reach around 1650 feet so I'm not too concerned about those drifting too far, but for the first flight of my Frenzy I want to make sure it recovers safely because it looks like it will hit around 2100-2300 feet (I have to weigh it to confirm). I can also put a small parachute in my Crayon for the drag race so it recovers without too much drift.

Thirsty, were you able to get your Leviathan repaired? I finished building and repainting mine finally, I may fly it this weekend on either an old AT G33J, G74W, or an H133.

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I haven't fixed the Leviathan yet, but I will probably be able to do it tonight or tomorrow. All I really need to do to fly it is to cut off the top 6" or so of crunched BT. I can do that pretty quickly.

I also wanted to cut the angled part of the shoulder off the NC and add a bulk plate and eyebolt, and I've considered adding some weight to the NC as well. That wasn't the first time I've had the chute fail to deploy from the Leviathan, and I also had the same problem with the Big Daddy. I'm thinking it might be partly due to the sloped shoulder, so I'd like to get rid of that. And maybe with a bit more mass, the NC would have more momentum for pulling the chute from the airframe. I'm not sure I can get all of that done, but I'll fly it as long as I can get the BT repair done.