Ping Rbecky

Rbecky ,

does this recovery technique look familiar? he he

SSSHHH! Be vewy, vewy quiet. I'm hunting Wockets!


- E. Fudd, Circa 1950 (paraphrased)

Awe, c'mon...you coulda climbed that tree! I guess huntin' wockets works too! I think chainsaws should become a normal part of every range box. Heck, it would be like filling ball marks on the greens of a golf course - you fix your own and someone else's - except in rocketry you'd cut down your tree and an extra one so that another rocketeer can benefit!

I guess what is interesting to me is that I see miles and miles of openess in the background. I bet that was the only tree around. A true "rocket eating tree" if ever there was one.

Soooooo.... did it work? Didja get it down?

I got the lower two thirds of mine back. I, however, made sure that there were no pictures to be used against me as evidence.
Besides, I do my rocket hunting in the stygian forests of western Pennsylvania. Why would I find a (almost) wide open place to fly in? That makes no sense at all!


Hey Stymye,
How'd it work out for the marksman in your photo?

Bob!
I haven't shared this story with many folks out of embarrasssment
Many years ago (1975 or 76) I and a group of friend held an impromptu model rocket launch in a vacant construction site field close to our neighborhood in a fairly well populated area about a half mile from the Washington D.C. Beltway in PG county. We had a great day with the exception of putting one of my better models "a starship Vega if memory serves me" in the very top of a 120' Old Oak tree at the edge of the constuction zone. No branches on this old timer for the first 25 or 30 feet and the trunk was at least 8 to 10 feet in diameter..just no chance of climbing this thing without lumberjack gear.
Well Darn it! I really wanted this model back. One of the group sized up the problem and said "Gee John, if you really want it back.. I could go back to my place and get my goose gun! I hesitated for a second but seeing no alternative agreeed to the suggestion...Assuming the Expert "Goose hunter" would be doing the shooting.
Ray returned with his very long barreled, full choked goose gun and about a dozen #6 bird shot shells.
The model way hanging from a single limb about 15 feet from the truck on a limb maybe 6 or 8inches in dia. and well over 100 feet high. We had a very clear shot at the limb from the back side of the tree looking up at about 80 degrees. Ray loaded up, took aim and BANG! blew away better then half of the limb. Grins, turns to me and hands me the shotgun...OK Your turn! he states.. MY TURN!!! RAY! I've never fired a shotgun! OH go ahead it's easy... the group agreeed!
Well OK...So Young DUMB John "Loosly" holds this fully choked thing to His shoulder, wraps his thumb aroung the stock above the trigger..resting it squarely against his unsuspecting nose, and takes aim to the right of the model and just below where Ray had previously clipped the limb. NOT one word of warning was given by the guys in the group "thou some slight giggling was heard" I pulled the trigger... BOOM!! the recoil like to tore my shoulder off, My thumb bloodied my nose real good and the kick jurked the shotgun left sending the pellet pattern SQUARELY into my beautiful Vega! All that remained floating, drifting really to the ground with a peppered Sive remains of the chute.... and of coarse the half dozen guys rolling around on the ground laughing as I attempted to stop my bloody nose, rubbing my brused shoulder while looking up dazed at the complete destruction of that poor Vega...I Mean I didn't fine even a tiny piece of balsa, I don't think I could of hit it any better if I had tried! Sorry there are no pictures of this little adventure, I'd likely have clobbered the photographer if there had!

So to answer your question: OH yeah that pic really brings back some really funny memories I can laugh at it now

Stymye:
Heres another recovery type.. believe it or not necessity is the mother of invention Here I used a short bunge cord attached to the end of my bait casting rod combo "usually reserved for Bassin" to retrive my Mean Machine from one of those darn Rocket eating trees.

I think that tree must have actually moved to get into the exact position to catch that rocket:kill:

Originally posted by Micromister
Stymye:
Heres another recovery type.. believe it or not necessity is the mother of invention Here I used a short bunge cord attached to the end of my bait casting rod combo "usually reserved for Bassin" to retrive my Mean Machine from one of those darn Rocket eating trees.

Click to expand...

Man, I always have a problem when I'm fishing, that when I cast my lure ends up in a tree, and now you're doing that on purpose?!

Is the man in the picture tryng to sever the shock cord and recover the rocket or punish/kill a rocket eating tree??!?!?!:kill: :kill: :kill: :kill:

heres the link to the launch report whence the photo came....

https://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/launch.4.7.96.html