Discussion of Trip's Tolerance Article

[MarkII]

...on a more irratated note, when the biggest boy scout troop group thing (like 5 troops that combined or something to that effect) comes to a launch and brings literally hundreds of rockets/motors that are all exactly the same, and the LCO decides that the only way to get them off the pad is to drag race 1/3 of the front row at the same time, it makes my larger engine rockets feel a little less interesting, and way harder to track. guess i'll just have to fly HPR from now on

Or else maybe if an enormous group like that wants all of its members to be at the range to launch at the same event, then perhaps it should be given its own launch day. The Scout leaders should also be given information and training about how to manage a launch so that they can assume a major role in conducting it on their group's day. There are ways to deal with such a scenario so that everyone gets to launch and no one is overburdened.

Hundreds of flights? Good Lord, it takes my club at least two or three years to log a hundred flights at our launches!

[edwinshap1]

Or else maybe if an enormous group like that wants all of its members to be at the range to launch at the same event, then perhaps it should be given its own launch day. The Scout leaders should also be given information and training about how to manage a launch so that they can assume a major role in conducting it on their group's day. There are ways to deal with such a scenario so that everyone gets to launch and no one is overburdened.

Hundreds of flights? Good Lord, it takes my club at least two or three years to log a hundred flights at our launches!

possibly a hyperbole, but i know there were umm, like 18 pads, and they must've "drag raced" the kids alphas and such at least 10-20 times through the course of the day i was there. and the scout masters are actually very good at keeping the kids in order, which is why i'm guessing they behaved so well. actually ROC does have a launch day in october dedicated to scouts, but they can arrive at any launch and then its all hands on deck to check in their rockets :P

[billspad]

Hundreds of flights? Good Lord, it takes my club at least two or three years to log a hundred flights at our launches!

CMASS will do a couple hundred on a slow day. We've done around 400 on a really busy day and we did 1000 once (never again).

[Rocketman248]

Our club did a very large Rocket-ree Cub Scout event once. We had about 200 scouts do a "Build-it and Fly-it" right there on the field. I believe the final count was 253 flights. Trip was there as well as former Shuttle astronaut Ken Cameron. We had a few HPR demo flights mixed in, but the focus of the day was the scouts. I was the "Official Photographer," but I also did 2 demo flights.

That day reminded me what I love about rocketry. It was the look on their faces when they saw something they built go soaring into the sky. It didn't matter what engine the rocket had in it, just as long as it flew.

I fly mostly HPR currently, but I'm building up my LPR and MPR fleet. I've built a few Fliskits, and I just got my Wildchild and Pro24 goodies. I'll be flying those a lot more than the big stuff this summer.

And for a bit of shameless self promotion, here's the link to my pictures from the Rocket-ree: http://www.flickr.com/photos/7860480...7625333518174/

[rocketsmith]

There are many different clubs all across the nation. All of them are as different as the people that run them. Some are poorly run but many are well run. Well run clubs like WOOSH, SMASH and MMAR are a few of the NAR clubs I've attended that come to mind. Maybe you need to find a new club. Maybe you need to find a way to take the reigns of that club and make the needed changes so that the LPR launches as safe as the HPR launches. Just a thought.

-Dave

Just to clarify: Tripoli Minnesta does an excellent job running their launches. Don't let a single opinion from me suggest otherwise. Former prefect, Dave Leininger, is the reason I am so deep into rocketry. The new prefect, Steve Anderson, is emminently capable as well. It's a great club filled with wonderful characters. If anyone is in the area, please come out and fly with us.

[ClayD]

Go do something on your own time then. Play by the rules, and grow a pair.
Ben

Well, I certainly hope some flyers Dont do that....

Ben is absolutely right, your a guest of the land owner, and even though you may pay dues(and insurance fees) = you are a steward of the hobby and the club...

[ben_ullman]

Well, I certainly hope some flyers Dont do that....

Ben is absolutely right, your a guest of the land owner, and even though you may pay dues(and insurance fees) = you are a steward of the hobby and the club...

That like MDRA has Tommy and Eugene that have the road kill cafe. I buy a burger and diet coke. Yeah it might come to $5 or 6 bucks but I give him the 10 and let them keep it.

I found 2500 acres locally here. 1400 of it is open field. I got in contact with the farmer. He got me in contact with the landowners. They seemed cool with the rockets. Then they said ok lets work out a contract. They wanted a little something each month, they said the hunt club leases it for $20k a year. I said 'I think we could do $20 each month? (jokingly)' they said if the hunt club leaved we have to be prepared to pick up the slack.

Essentially saying come talk to me when you have $20k. So its deff. Hard to get land to use. So I kick back when I can because we are BORROWING and using their lively hood.

Ben

[MarkII]

CMASS will do a couple hundred on a slow day. We've done around 400 on a really busy day and we did 1000 once (never again).

Yeah, I suppose if you get 20 people to come out for a launch, and they each launch 5 rockets, then you'll have 100 launches in a day. Twenty participants for a club launch is a big crowd though, how do you get in 200 launches on a slow day?

I keep reading on the forum here about these Woodstock-sized events, but I'm not sure that I believe the reports. I can probably get to Amesbury from here in about 5-6 hours, so I might just show up sometime at one of your launches to investigate.

We'll get in maybe 20 to 25 flights on a busy day, so I overestimated the amount of time that it takes for us to log 100 flights. We probably achieve that milestone or better over the course of a single year. We have been doing better lately, with often as many as 5-7 participants coming out for a typical launch. The 3 hour drive each way to ASTRE launches is well worth it for me, because then I get to fly rockets with other people and do it in a really big field. It's not as much fun when I launch all by myself. The field is big enough that I can let my mid-power rockets stretch their legs a bit and get aired out, too, which I can't do around here.

[MarkII]

Just to clarify: Tripoli Minnesta does an excellent job running their launches. Don't let a single opinion from me suggest otherwise. Former prefect, Dave Leininger, is the reason I am so deep into rocketry. The new prefect, Steve Anderson, is emminently capable as well. It's a great club filled with wonderful characters. If anyone is in the area, please come out and fly with us.

OK, that clarifies things. I'm sorry that I jumped all over your previous post. I should have given you more of an opportunity to explain.

[jflis]

Yeah, I suppose if you get 20 people to come out for a launch, and they each launch 5 rockets, then you'll have 100 launches in a day. Twenty participants for a club launch is a big crowd though, how do you get in 200 launches on a slow day?

Mainly large numbers of fliers along with a launch set up that allows us to be loading a rocket on pad #2 as we launch from pad #1, etc (the pads are more than 15 feet from each other in a ring, total of 11 pads. We only have to launch the entire ring 10 times to hit more than 100 launches and the pads are always full (well, for the most part they are ).

I keep reading on the forum here about these Woodstock-sized events, but I'm not sure that I believe the reports. I can probably get to Amesbury from here in about 5-6 hours, so I might just show up sometime at one of your launches to investigate.

Well, in the case of CMASS, believe it Here are some pix from different launches and you can get an idea of the number of folks who show up. On a warm sunny day it is not uncommon to have 75-100 people there, most of them flying:

http://fliskits.com/photo_album/2009...s/dsc04853.jpg
http://fliskits.com/photo_album/2010...s/dsc09457.jpg
http://fliskits.com/photo_album/2010...s/dsc09458.jpg
http://fliskits.com/photo_album/2008...s/dsc00726.jpg

Please DO come out as we love showing folks our set up and, frankly, the more the merrier!

jim

[billspad]

Yeah, I suppose if you get 20 people to come out for a launch, and they each launch 5 rockets, then you'll have 100 launches in a day. Twenty participants for a club launch is a big crowd though, how do you get in 200 launches on a slow day?

We get more than 20 flyers on our small field launches. There aren't a lot of places to fly around here so when we hold a launch it's always well attended.

I keep reading on the forum here about these Woodstock-sized events, but I'm not sure that I believe the reports. I can probably get to Amesbury from here in about 5-6 hours, so I might just show up sometime at one of your launches to investigate.

Woodstock would be a bit of an exaggeration. However we to have an analogy to the "get off the f***ing towers" line from the movie. One of our LCO's has come close to that when people start walking across the wires. We'd be happy to have you come by one of our launches to investigate. There's no magic. We've been doing things the same way for over 20 years and we've gotten pretty efficient.

[MarkII]

Well, in the case of CMASS, believe it Here are some pix from different launches and you can get an idea of the number of folks who show up. On a warm sunny day it is not uncommon to have 75-100 people there, most of them flying:

CMASS Flight Line #1
CMASS Flight Line #2

[MarkII]

This is the type of event that I'm happy to drive down for several times each summer:

Typical set up (This is the entire range.)
Busy moment at the pads

It's what I'm accustomed to. Believe it or not, we have a lot of fun at them, and I sure miss it when I can't go.

[billspad]

It's what I'm accustomed to. Believe it or not, we have a lot of fun at them, and I sure miss it when I can't go.

I believe it. I enjoy our small launches more than our big launches. The launches I enjoy the most are the ones that somebody else is running.

[troj]

I believe it. I enjoy our small launches more than our big launches. The launches I enjoy the most are the ones that somebody else is running.

Running a launch is indeed work!

Our club launches are relatively small (10 or so fliers, typically), and we have a couple times a year where we'll get up in the 25 - 30 range.

Because of that, things are relatively relaxed, for us.

Knowing the work that's involved for clubs hosting larger launches, I always make sure I volunteer for at least one shift of range duty, and often more.

-Kevin