FlisKits 12th anniversary launch, Amesbury, MA September 27th!

FlisKits is proud and excited to announce our upcoming 12th anniversary launch on September 27th in Amesbury, MA from 10:00-4:30!

With the generous help of our club, CMASS (CMASS.org), we hope to have a full day of flying, fun, contests, new kit releases, excitement...

...oh, and CAKE!

Yep, we will grace the launch with, what has become the most famous aspect of our anniversary launch... ...CAKE!

FlisKits is sponsoring the field, so there are NO launch fees! Fly all you want, courtesy of FlisKits

Visit our web site for details on contests and details of what to expect at the launch. Also, contests and events going on at FlisKits throughout the month of September!

Hope to see you at the launch!

Jim


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Did someone say CAKE?

jbuscaglia said:

Did someone say CAKE?

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Yes, I heard CAKE! There was mention of a launch also, I think.

Jim told me at the last acton launch he wants to do a Decaffeinator drag race. Gonna have to order one for it...

Hopefully there will also be a Frick-n-Frack drag race. Always a crowd pleaser. Oh, and CAKE!

12!?! It feels like just yesterday it was 10 years! Congratulations! I will be there and will have my upscale whatchamacallit ready to fly!

Matt

guywad said:

Hopefully there will also be a Frick-n-Frack drag race. Always a crowd pleaser. Oh, and CAKE!

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Just a logistical suggestion. I was RSO in Acton when we had the big Frick-n-Frack drag race. Just as the racers were beginning to get sorted out, a fair number of other people lined up to check in. There were about 10-12 people looking to use 6 1/8" rods at virtually the same time. It took a little double-checking to keep the flight cards separated. It may be a good idea to hold the large drag races at specific times and make announcements so flyers can be aware of potential backlogs. And old RSO's with aging brains won't be over-taxed.

ClusterNut said:

Just a logistical suggestion. I was RSO in Acton when we had the big Frick-n-Frack drag race. Just as the racers were beginning to get sorted out, a fair number of other people lined up to check in. There were about 10-12 people looking to use 6 1/8" rods at virtually the same time. It took a little double-checking to keep the flight cards separated. It may be a good idea to hold the large drag races at specific times and make announcements so flyers can be aware of potential backlogs. And old RSO's with aging brains won't be over-taxed.

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Good suggestion, Mike. We've had to "clear the decks" for other Frick-n-Frack drag races and even convert some MPR pads to 1/8" to accommodate the maximum number of safe launches we could. We'll see what the day brings and set a time then (I'm hoping it's during my LCO shift).

Maybe Jim could have a sign up sheet with flight cards at his table. We could announce that there are X slots available for the drag race. Visit with Jim, reserve a slot on a first-come, first-serve basis and have your rocket prepped and ready for the big race during Kenn's LCO shift at 1 (or whatever shift you take). Jim: you could have special edition CMASS cards that people only have to put their names on. You could even put a picture of a CAKE on them. :grin:

Sounds like a plan! I will do this for both a FnF drag race as well as a Decaffeinator drag race. What I am looking to do is to fill the pads with Decaffeinators and have the UFFO, with streamers, in the center of the launch circle to help augment the drag race with a splash of color

So everyone with Frick-n-Fracks and Decaffeinators, be sure to bring them out for the show!


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Decafe and FnF drag race are scheduled! Our new kit, the K'TNG'A, is in the bag, I pick up the cake in a couple of hours and the weather looks perfect!

Don't miss this launch!


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Looks like a PERFECT DAY.
Sandy n I will be there.

Will definitely be there. Have a couple of high power motors that I finally found a use for.

I can't wait!...Oh Boy....CAKE:drool: I've been trying to make it to the Fliskits anniversary launch for three years.

The Jeep is loaded and ready to go.

Jim,save me a K'TNG'A...I've been waiting for one of those too.

My crew will be there. If anyone wants to part with a CTI 29-3G motor, I'm interested - wanted to fly the Partizon. Low on BP motors too, forget if Jim still sells them at launches.


NAR #91867, L2
Member CMASS, MMMSC, RIMRA, CATO

matthewdlaudato said:

My crew will be there. If anyone wants to part with a CTI 29-3G motor, I'm interested - wanted to fly the Partizon. Low on BP motors too, forget if Jim still sells them at launches.

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CT Wildman (Rick) will likely be on the field. He may be able to supply you with some stuff.

matthewdlaudato said:

My crew will be there. If anyone wants to part with a CTI 29-3G motor, I'm interested - wanted to fly the Partizon. Low on BP motors too, forget if Jim still sells them at launches.


NAR #91867, L2
Member CMASS, MMMSC, RIMRA, CATO

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My dad has a G54 he may be willing let you use. Although you would have to talk to him.

Oh almost forgot. I'm bringing my launch tower. If you have a rocket (3 fins) that either doesn't have rail buttons/launch lugs, or doesn't like it's rail buttons/launch lugs (and stays within the waiver of course) then bring it.

Rick from Wildman, CT was there, so all motor needs were satisfied. I picked up the G118 I wanted and flew it in the Partizon. Had a deploy malfunction though - didn't get complete separation so the burrito with the hot wire cable cutter never made it out of the tube. Guessing that I packed it too tight. The cutter worked, but the chute never got a chance to inflate. Landed about 50 yards from the soccer field, no damage and as far as I could tell no dirty looks from the soccer folks. To remedy, I cut the length of the shock cord down to 1 1/2 body lengths from 2 1/2 this morning. Should free up enough space to avoid this in the future.

matthewdlaudato said:

Landed about 50 yards from the soccer field, no damage and as far as I could tell no dirty looks from the soccer folks.

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The soccer field on our side of the parking area? When I got there at 9:30 I was puzzled by the lack of soccer players. Somebody told me they were using a field closer to the school. They must have started later than usual.

The only time you get dirty looks is from the parents when the kids are fascinated by the rockets and not concentrating on the game.

I'll be interested in the # of flights for the day.
Not crying a river or anythig close..but, there was some confusion at times ( quit a few times) that slowed things down.

billspad said:

The soccer field on our side of the parking area? ... The only time you get dirty looks is from the parents when the kids are fascinated by the rockets and not concentrating on the game.

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Yup, that field. There apparently were some afternoon games. No foul as far as I can tell (and there were quite a few kids looking up in the sky, since they know that what we do is way cooler than soccer!)

Scotty Dog said:

I'll be interested in the # of flights for the day.
Not crying a river or anythig close..but, there was some confusion at times ( quit a few times) that slowed things down.

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Well, for my part, I had some challenges as LCO during my shift. Virtually all pads were backed up 2-3 deep, there were occasionally cards in the wrong slot, and at least once I pulled card A but launched pad B. Time to do what elite quarterbacks do and "slow the game down".


NAR #91867, L2
Member CMASS, MMMSC, RIMRA, CATO

Scotty Dog said:

I'll be interested in the # of flights for the day.
Not crying a river or anythig close..but, there was some confusion at times ( quit a few times) that slowed things down.

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I believe there were upwards of 350 flights. Not unusual for a heavily attended CMASS launch. There were some not as experienced people doing RSO and LCO at times, but for the most part I don't think it was too bad, just heavy demand at times. Further complicated by initiators that didn't work for whatever reason on first and sometimes second and third tries. That combined with some minor impatience on the part of some of those waiting behind the misfires wanting to be reassigned. Once the board gets filled, it is not as easy to try to balance which pad to assign next. It is also not necessarily easy to anticipate at any given time who is going to bring up a model needing a specific rod or rail size. Yesterday there seemed to be an unusual number of models needing 3/16" rods, and we switched pad 9 from 1/8" to 3/16" to accommodate the demand. Then there were also times when a pad was not being loaded by the next person assigned and there were others waiting on them. All in all, if you can get 350 flights off in a day, not too bad.

guywad said:

... There were some not as experienced people doing RSO and LCO at times, but for the most part I don't think it was too bad, just heavy demand at times. ...

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That was my 2nd or third turn at LCO. Felt very much a rookie yesterday. Maybe I should stick to RSO for a while, paired with a more experienced LCO whom I could observe and learn from. Or hot dogs. I am very good at hot dogs.


NAR #91867, L2
Member CMASS, MMMSC, RIMRA, CATO

matthewdlaudato said:

That was my 2nd or third turn at LCO. Felt very much a rookie yesterday. Maybe I should stick to RSO for a while, paired with a more experienced LCO whom I could observe and learn from. Or hot dogs. I am very good at hot dogs.


NAR #91867, L2
Member CMASS, MMMSC, RIMRA, CATO

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I was your RSO, Matt, and I have to say I thought you did really well on a busy flight line. There was some extra confusion with the big drag race but a few other things were in the mix. There was some L2 paperwork left in the slot well after their launch and that mixed some things up. One of the slots was marked 1/8 but was really 3/16 and a few people just moved their rocket rather than tell me. One thing I did notice was that misfires/shorts/etc were being left on the pads for long periods of time. In some cases, no one went to them even after their name was called. Plus, I was being pretty careful about placing the cards but I won't guarantee that I didn't miss one or two. If you do think you need some pointers, just watch Kenn. He runs a tight ship, especially when it comes to wires.

I have to admit I was really surprised by the number of high power flights we had although, considering the weather, I guess I shouldn't have been. We have had fewer high power flights since MMMSC. I'm not complaining, Berwick is a far better venue for a lot of them.

It was apparent to me a little too late in the afternoon that we needed a third person to make sure people loaded their rockets on the pads and removed the misfires.

The 3/16" rod change was my doing. I had the rod changed but didn't change the board. So, you guys who RSOed, would a laminated sheet of paper marked with the pad numbers and the rod sizes marked in dry erase marker that you have in front of you be helpful? I'm usually reluctant to change rods because of the confusion it causes.

350+ flights is close to our capacity. We've exceeded 400 a few times and even with multiple people working RSO and LCO it's surprisingly had work.

I got a big piece of cake because I was eating for John B. and Kenn.

billspad said:

I got a big piece of cake because I was eating for John B. and Kenn.

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I noticed you looked a little larger later in the afternoon.

billspad said:

It was apparent to me a little too late in the afternoon that we needed a third person to make sure people loaded their rockets on the pads and removed the misfires.

The 3/16" rod change was my doing. I had the rod changed but didn't change the board. So, you guys who RSOed, would a laminated sheet of paper marked with the pad numbers and the rod sizes marked in dry erase marker that you have in front of you be helpful? I'm usually reluctant to change rods because of the confusion it causes.
View attachment 185588

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I was thinking the same thing about a third person (Pad Manager?) during the heavy times at a larger launch would be a good thing. Although there were still empty slots on the sign up sheet as it was. The laminated sheet sounds like a good idea too, with an indication also of which pads have the relays (it was hard to see with the tall grass from the RSO table which ones had the relays). I know I try to remember to check at safety if a given motor is using a copperhead or is a cluster, and try to assign those to the pads with the relays if possible. I blame the cake for slowing some of us down :wink:

matthewdlaudato said:

That was my 2nd or third turn at LCO. Felt very much a rookie yesterday. Maybe I should stick to RSO for a while, paired with a more experienced LCO whom I could observe and learn from. Or hot dogs. I am very good at hot dogs.


NAR #91867, L2
Member CMASS, MMMSC, RIMRA, CATO

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Dont sell yourself short. Bottom line..everybody went home with all their fingers and toes,eyeballs,ect , safely.

Cant bitch about that.

It aint easy being in the captains seat.
Especilay reading from script cards. And I might add,some of those cards were not complete or correct on the flyers count.
I asked for a 3/16 and needed 1/8, the saftey guy caught it and headed me to the correct pad.
And I know I left some data off me "Cleared for Blastoff" card, twice.
Its not like its a test or anything..