I’m very excited to share that together, Art Hoag and myself will be returning a very special rocket to the skies at LDRS.
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The Gates Brothers Full-Scale AQM-37A Jayhawk first flew in 2001 at LDRS 20 at Lucerne in California. After three total flights (NSL 2002 and BALLS 2002) it is time to give it flight number 4 over 20 years later.
With dual 98mm motor mounts, we’ve decided to keep it old school and fly it on a pair of Aerotech M2500Ts, identical to the first flight. An altitude of 3,000ft is expected, with an ARRD releasing the twin 26ft main parachutes at 1,500ft.
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Art and I are very excited to get this rocket back in the air, and I know that many rocketeers around in the early 2000s will have stories to tell about the first time they saw the Jayhawk fly, or other Erik and Dirk stories. Please come over to our Rocket garden and share those stories. Personally, I wasn’t around the hobby then, but I love hearing stories from folks that were.
If you’ve got a smaller Jayhawk, bring it over and we’ll take a group photo.
Look forward to seeing lots of friends and meeting new ones out in Wisconsin!