GRITS Southeastern Winternationals

Thanks for the info. Chris and I spoke and I will be buying a transmitter from him.

RoyAtl said:

It will be TRA sanctioned, and all three days will be research.

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WOOHOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was clear, calm, and 70 degrees here today. Here's hoping that the weather for GRITS will be more like today's than the weather we had yesterday (cold and rainy)!

We took advantage of the nice weather to prepare a little for the Winternationals.

Bracha did some touch-up work getting the Big Daddy Akavish ready. She finished a ninth-leg that we'll have as a spare!

We laid down some primer on the pair of Estes Mark II clones we are building to celebrate the 40th anniversary of my first launch.

I replaced the tow bar on the back of my mom's RV with a hitch so that it can tow our trailer to GRITS. And, my mom gave us some instruction on how to use most of the features of the RV. I didn't get in any practice driving it, but I know how to light the stove!

We're planning to drive up to Tifton on Thursday, the 20th, and stay at an RV park that night. Then we'll head over to the launch site on Friday morning. We'll spend the next two nights at the launch site and head home Sunday afternoon.

We're bring our "stock of low power motors 'and other stuff'" along with a small selection of kits.

We have most of Estes's motors (1/4A through G) for sale as well as igniters, ejection lighters, recovery wadding, tape, motor adapters, rail buttons, batteries, and other things you might need at the launch.

We'll also bring a few kits to sell. If there's anything special that you'd like us to bring, please let us know through the Contact Us link at www.jonrocket.com.

-- Roger

Sounds awesome, Roger! I look forward to seeing you there.

Now that the launch dates are within reach of a 10-day forecast [scattershot as long-range forecasts may be], it is looking to be a very nice weekend for flying: fair weather with temps in the mid 70s and light winds out of the south.

Yep I can smell that sweat Georgia air already.

Getmore said:

Yep I can smell that sweat Georgia air already.

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I am working on reacquiring my Southern accent.

-- Roger

Roger My buddy just came back from there boy does his words have a draw to them.

I was just thinking if the winds are out of the south will the launch site be at the south end of the field

Getmore said:

I was just thinking if the winds are out of the south will the launch site be at the south end of the field

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Bill,

Most likely, yes, we would have the fliers enter the field from the southern entrance and we would set up there. The GRITS crew has a conference call scheduled soon where we will be finalizing our field layout vs. wind conditions plans.

Hey folks! We've got a couple of things to announce today.

Firstly, there will be a Friday evening meetup at the Tiftarea Conference Center in Tifton, GA from 7-9pm. This is free to attend and drinks / light snacks will be served. The address is: 804 7th St. W, Tifton, GA 31794. It is located just east of I-75 on 7th street (also known as Hwy 82).

Secondly, the Cadillac Ranch restaurant will be hosting a sit-down dinner Saturday evening (I'm lobbying to have it named the 1st Annual GRITS n GRUB dinner). The owner of the Cadillac Ranch will be on site Saturday to collect the orders. Forms will be at the registration area.
The address of the restaurant is: 605 Old Milltown Rd, Nashville, GA 31639

Looks like Saturday will be the day. What do you guys think?

As much as one can trust them, the current weather forecast makes it sound like only Friday will be a wash (pun intended). The day won't be a total loss because we can still convene for the Friday night smoker.

As for Saturday and Sunday, Burl Finkelstein said it best: "You fly as you can when you can."

I'm still pounding the pavement Friday morning.

It seems the forecast is improving (if only a little bit) as we get closer. Just a few days ago it called for thunderstorms on Friday and a higher chance of rain on Saturday. Now, Wunderground is forecasting just rain until Friday afternoon and the possibility of a nice Saturday. The chance of a thunderstorm has moved to Sunday afternoon.

Edit: The forecast changes every few minutes. Now, it's showing thunderstorms on Friday, but nice weather on both Saturday and Sunday. That's not too bad, so I'm not going to look at the forecasts any more!

-- Roger

jadebox said:

That's not too bad, so I'm not going to look at the forecasts any more!

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That is the wisest choice...but I'm too obsessive to make that choice myself. Speaking of...pardon me while I go back over to look at some forecast models.

I know this is a bit late. Is anyone have a Aerotech G40-4 SU for sale at Grits I will be able to attend Sat. only. You can email here. Thanks

I will not be able to attend. Fly a few from me.

I will not be able to make it. I'm having a bad time with my knees and Heel spurs.
To many hours on machine shop floor. Dern it. ><

Massrokit said:

I know this is a bit late. Is anyone have a Aerotech G40-4 SU for sale at Grits I will be able to attend Sat. only. You can email here. Thanks

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We have some Aerotech Single-Use motors as well as most of the Estes composite motors. So, we may have a G40-4 for sale.

-- Roger
JonRocket.com

Raining hard with lots of lightning and thunder in Tifton right now, planning on prepping some more rockets at the hotel. Hope to get out to the field this afternoon?

We're going to stay parked until the weather clears a little. It's messy. Power is out in this part of Tifton.

-- Roger

How about some pictures?

Sitting in the rain...
Just sitting in the rain...
What a mis'rable feeling; wait'n out the rain...

Did anyone fly? We left came into town thinking it was a rain out but the sun came out here in town. We are at chilis having a cold beer see yous in the AM.

There were a few flights in the afternoon including two larger rockets. I flew my quadcopter and took some photos and video. I also helped push four vehicles out of the mud. I'll post any interesting photos when I get a chance.

-- Roger

Thanks Roger. Tomorrow will be a good time for all.

Bill

Bill,

We had quite a bit of rain today. Some areas in the field drain better than others. I still recommend you wear shoes or boots for being in muddy conditions.

There is a new thread where pictures and videos of GRITS will be posted