POSTPONED BattlePark January 6th & 7th

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Handeman

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Due to Arctic conditions, at least for Virginia the launch on the 6th & 7th has been postponed to the 13th and 14th!

The forecast was for low temps and wind with windchill in the single digits!

Lets hope for a heat wave next week!



New dates for the 2018 launches.

This is the first one with the new dates so don't miss it!

See ya all at the BattlePark!
 
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Assuming the weather works out, I'll hoping to fly a couple of newly built rockets and ground test my L3 bird. Should be fun.
 
I plan to be there Saturday to fly my Formula 150 on a L820 sparky motor that Robert DeHate made for me. I ordered a CTI L820 Skidmark from AMW but he didn't have one in stock so he made one for me. I guess that makes it a EX motor. He says that his sparky formula is better than a Skidmark. Should be good.
 
Change of plan . . . I will be flying the Formula 150 on a commercial motor, probably an AT L1150 Redline. This will be my first time flying a CTI-compatible Aerotech reload in CTI hardware.
 
I Took advantage of a slow weekend at home to start prepping for next weekend's launch. I'm going to be flying a Wildman Jr on an H123 with a JLCR, a 4" Madcow Cricket (H123) and a 3" Mad Cow Frenzy on a J350. Plus a variety of LPR that my kids decide to launch and doing ground testing for my Performer 150.

Most exciting for me, my daughter, who always complains about following directions, has decided that rockets can be fun if you design them yourself and will be flying her scratch built "No Rules" rocket.
 
Forecast for Saturday morning is colder than @#&*%$! I think I'll wait and get there around noon when it should be a nice warm 20 degrees.
 
You can come over and shovel my driveway. Not much on it, but the wind is howling and I'm sure a little frostbite is in the offering! :wink:
I attempted some ground testing of my L3 rocket. I avoided frostbite but the nylon shear pins were so brittle from the cold that I couldn't get them installed without them snapping.
 
It can't be that cold out there. We had a launch at Bong in WI on Sat. and it never got above 1. and they flew rockets.
 
It can't be that cold out there. We had a launch at Bong in WI on Sat. and it never got above 1. and they flew rockets.

I grew up in Wisconsin and it's all relative. After 30 years in Virginia, I couldn't survive a winter up there. If the daytime high doesn't get above freezing here, we're having a cold spell, the schools will close with the forecast of snow. We're southerners. We don't do WINTER!
 
I grew up in Wisconsin and it's all relative. After 30 years in Virginia, I couldn't survive a winter up there. If the daytime high doesn't get above freezing here, we're having a cold spell, the schools will close with the forecast of snow. We're southerners. We don't do WINTER!

I'd laugh at you, but I couldn't handle southern summers. Then again, I was stupid to decide to fly a cluster rocket in sub zero weather last weekend, and wire it up at the pad.
 
So, who's coming out the 13th & 14th?

Not sure about weather and wind, but the temps will definitely be up this weekend from last.

I've got a M motor mixed and ready and I think Nathan has one ready to go too.
 
I'd laugh at you, but I couldn't handle southern summers. Then again, I was stupid to decide to fly a cluster rocket in sub zero weather last weekend, and wire it up at the pad.

Yes. It took me a long time to get used to the southern summers. I run the AC in my convertible with the top down some times. You know it's hot when the temp is over 90 and the humidity percentage is higher than the temp, it's called August.

Even with that, I'm glad I'm in Virginia and not Georgia. We spent a week camping on Tybee Island near Savannah in August, over 100 every day and humidity you could cut with a knife. The afternoon thundershowers were amazing. Like mini 30 minute hurricanes, except when they lasted 2 hours. Still, it was an amazing place and fantastic trip.
 
I'll be there. And assuming the weather works out I'll fly a couple of H's and a J.

It also looks like Ken from Performance Hobbies will be there.
 
If the daytime high doesn't get above freezing here, we're having a cold spell, the schools will close with the forecast of snow. We're southerners. We don't do WINTER!

Our schools were closed here under Monday for "cold rain" forecast in the afternoon. Crazy.
 
I'll be at Battlepark on Saturday but at the moment I have no motors that I can use in any of my big rockets at Battlepark.

My level 3 Frenzy XXL requires a 5 or 6 grain 75mm CTI reload and there are still none available anywhere.

I have two 3 grain 75mm reloads that I could fly in my Formula 150 but my 3 grain casing is already in use by the L820 EX motor that I will be flying at MDRA on Sunday. I can't fly the EX motor at Battlepark because the person who made the grains won't be present there, as required at research launches.

I could fly my Upscale Onyx, which requires a 3 grain 54mm (or a fast burning 2 grain). But Wildman has no 2 or 3 grain 54mm reloads in stock.

So I just ordered a 6 grain 54mm K820 reload from Wildman to fly in my Formula 150 on Saturday. Not a lot of motor for that rocket but that's the best I can do until the CTI 75mm reload pipeline starts flowing again. I flew the Formula 150 on a K820 last year at Battlepark and it went about 2300 ft.

See you on Saturday.
 
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Nathan,

Have you considered using some of the Aerotech DMS motors until CTI reloads are freely flowing?

No, DMS motors are very expensive and very limited availability. But AMWPro-X expects to start getting some big CTI reloads soon. So far 54mm reloads have been trickling in but no 75mm yet. I'll see them on Sunday at MDRA and plan to buy a bunch of whatever they've got since they won't be back until Red Glare in April. I have my shopping list ready.

Another option is using CTI-compatible Aerotech reloads in my 75mm CTI hardware. I have a couple of AT reloads that I haven't tried yet. The problem is that 75mm AT reloads no longer come with a forward seal disk because AT wants you to use their new reusable aluminum forward seal disk. Except I don't have the aluminum forward seal disk and it is apparently out of stock everywhere. Ken Allen doesn't have any and doesn't know when he will get more.
 
Yesterday was a slow, breezy day on the range but I was able to launch two of the (G & H motor) rockets I'd hoped to get in the air and my daughter successfully launched hers 3x on B motors. I also picked up (close to) a year's supply of motors from Ken.

If the schedule/winds works out today, I'm hoping to head back out and launch my 3" Frenzy on a J350.
 
Yes, it was cold, breezy and the wind was in the wrong direction. It was from the North and pushing everything to the gun range and Cedar Mountain. At least no one when really high and ended up in the trees on the mountain.

I only got one launch in the whole weekend, it got 1280 ft. and with the JLCR, it landed 500 ft. up wind. Sometimes that weathercocking is a good thing.
 
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