2nd Annual TRF Gathering

[jflis]

And, for those of you waiting, here is the money shot.

the entire flight, as long as it was, was but a *fraction* of the time spent doing the prep work on, what was publically billed by the LCO, as the most complicated launch of the weekend.

5...
4...
3...
2...
1...
*perfect*

Perfect ignition, perfect burn, Ram-Rod straight boost, simultainious burnout, coast, perfect sustainer ignition, deployment of booster recovery then the sustainer recovery.

perfect, perfect, perfect and a MUCH awed crowed. If they never remember another launch, they will remember this one and tell tall tales about it over beer for years to come. This one is going into the book of legends that will be carried down from rocketeer to rocketeer for generations to come.

simply incredible. Thank you Carl. Thank you *very* much.

here she is!

 

[rstaff3]

Great launch pic, Jim. Man am I sick I didn't go.

 

[sandman]

Carl,

That last pic looks like it should be your new computer wallpaper!

Incredable!

sandman

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by rstaff3
Great launch pic, Jim. Man am I sick I didn't go.

That's OK Dick. I went and I was just sick. Seriously though, I think I have more experience with toilets than anyone on this Forum. Let's just say I was irregular ALL weekend. Ok TMI - back on topic. (Was that a Carl Tulanko Tres buzzkill or what?! )

 

[rstaff3]

Originally posted by rstaff3
Great launch pic, Jim. Man am I sick I didn't go.

Oh, I guess Carl should get some credit too. Fantastic job on the big Tres AND the Cluster Bomb

 

[rstaff3]

Originally posted by eugenefl
That's OK Dick. I went and I was just sick. Seriously though, I think I have more experience with toilets than anyone on this Forum. Let's just say I was irregular ALL weekend. Ok TMI - back on topic. (Was that a Carl Tulanko Tres buzzkill or what?! )

ICK, sorry to hear about that, eugene. I assume the Whittakers folks had their portapotty contract paid up to date

 

[Adam Selene]

OK, how cool is this?
This is post number 100 for me and i get to comment on what an incredible weekend this was! what a great bunch of people you all are and you have an amazing bunch of rockets!

plus i get to say that i got all 6 flights in for my NARTREK GOLD, i just need to finish up the paperwork and send it in. oh yeah, and pick what i want to do for my first advanced level.

and last but certainly not least i get to mention (and will repeatedly for a week or 2 to anyone who stands still long enough) even though Ken already posted it, i certed LEVEL ONE on sunday

i used a film camera to shoot my level one flight, when i get the film processed i'll post a pic, assuming that i got the rocket and not just the smoke trail. that sucker left fast! I also shot Carl's Tres on film, i'll post them too.

 

[Adam Selene]

Originally posted by MattV
That was a great flight, Carl..... and the "Do that one again" kid was mine....he didn't stop talking about that one for quite a while...
All in all, it was a great weekend for flying... and my Thor is down from that rocket-eating tree... no damage other than a pulled rivet from yanking on it...
Looking forward to next year!

Matt, glad you got the THOR down it was so sad listening to it cry for help all night saturday
i remember mentioning to jim that as cool as carl's tres flight was the best part of it was hearing your kid say "do that one again" and i have to agree with him, i want to see it again too

 

[n3tjm]

Anybody have any pics or vids of my birds?

 

[MattV]

Originally posted by eugenefl
Now Matt, you know it's your fatherly duty to go over to fliskits.com and pitch a Tres in the "Add to Basket". It'd be like going to Kennedy Space Center and not buying the kid a Space Shuttle model.

Glad to hear you recovered your THOR. It's a gut wrenching feeling to watch a rocket land in a tree. I figured *someone* would get it down. I know I wouldn't sleep if it was stuck in a tree!

I did my fatherly duty at the launch
My brother (firemanup) actually got Thor down.. he got tired of watching the sling-shot process, so he just bearhugged the tree and started inching his way up until he reached the branch it was caught up on, took out a small saw and sacrificed the limb in the process. Hopefully next time that tree thinks about grabbing a rocket out of the sky, it will remember this.... and duck.

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by n3tjm
Anybody have any pics or vids of my birds?

Ditto.

 

[PGerringer]

Originally posted by eugenefl
That's OK Dick. I went and I was just sick. Seriously though, I think I have more experience with toilets than anyone on this Forum. Let's just say I was irregular ALL weekend. Ok TMI - back on topic. (Was that a Carl Tulanko Tres buzzkill or what?! )

And I think I got your bug. I haven't been out of the toilet since Sunday night.

 

[Adam Selene]

i had 19 flights, 10 on saturday and 9 on sunday:

sat:
Initiator, F52 and again on an F20
Gold, my nartrek gold scratch built, 6 flights, 3 on B6-4 and 3 on C6-5
Dueces wild, C6-5's
Big Daddy, E11-3J

sunday:
PML Lil' Lunar Lander Level 1 cert (did i mention that i certed level one this weekend?) H242
Estes Nightwing, B6-4 and again on a C6-5
x-218 on 2 A8-3 (i think) not a good flight, the chute popped early.
estes BLU whatever that number is cluster bomb on an A8-3, seriously underpowered!
Dueces Wild, C6-5's
Pumpnik, C6-5?
Big Daddy, F12-?J, seemed to burn forever. i like this motor.
Destination: Tree, another scratch built, E11-3J

here's a pic of Destination: Tree

 

[Adam Selene]

Originally posted by n3tjm
Anybody have any pics or vids of my birds?

here's one:

 

[jetra2]

Oh yeah....I gots lotsa pics. I'll post the pix now and write my report later.

This is the view of us arriving at the field....ick...cloudy...

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Here are Ken and Eugene with the Tour de Deuce's talking about them and other misc. things...mainly the Deuce's, though.

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Here are the Deuce's awaiting prep and launch!

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Here is Doug hooking up his Titan! That's a coool looking rocket!

Jason

 

[jetra2]

And now the pre-launch pose! I had to actually TELL him to give us a thumbs-up!

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Now this had to be my favorite non-rocket-liftoff shot of the weekend. Doesn't Carl look like he's having a LOT of fun?

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Here is Ken and Deuce #1. Ken is concentrating REALLY hard...

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Here is the TDD team posing with Deuce #1

Jason

 

[jetra2]

And now here is the lift-off shot of Deuce #1! I'm getting good at this!

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Now here is the entire TDD with Ken Parker posing with DW #2 before it's ill-fated flight...

Jason

 

[jetra2]

And right when I took this pic....just read the file name to see my thoughts...

Jason

 

[jetra2]

Jim described what happened pretty good, so I'm not going to add much on, but as you can see in this picture, the damage isn't HORRIBLE, but it's definately lawn-dart damage! This is Ken inspecting the damage.

Jason

 

[jetra2]

And the last pic for now is a GREAT liftoff shot of a BSD Thor on a J350. I think that this was one of the two or three L2 cert attempts.

Jason

 

[firemanup]

That one would be mine Jet... can tell by the angle it's coming off at.. my brother put his up straight... i cocked mine a hair that direction....

Just got in the door here at the house.. lots of unloading to do then repair time for another two day launch this coming weekend..

We have lots of great pics and video i'll be getting up to the web here in the next few days.. but....... repairs first..heh

 

[Adam Selene]

here are some shot's off TdD #1 lifting off:

 

[Adam Selene]

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