"birmingham Rocket Boys"

[Steward]

Yesterday 12/20/03 was the "Last launch of the Year" for the "BIRMINGHAM ROCKET BOYS"...I was quite suprised with the turnout of both people as well as rockets...!!!
I got to meet Chuck Pierce, current HARA Prez (Huntsville Area Rocketry Association)... He came down to check us out, and brought a large assortment of rockets to fly...We're hoping for his expertise in helping organize this club, his experience with NAR to help with BRB chartering...
A ton of people were out launching almost every type of rocket, from SMALL to LARGE... Organizer Ron Witherspoon was on hand to meet and greet everyone. His excitement for getting this group together was obvious as he ran from pad to pad with support, as well as making pictures for their website...!!! He really wants this club to work, and a man with his passion will certainly succeed...I plan on giving him my support and working with him to create a new and successful club, where learning, building, and flying rockets safely, will be the order of the day...!!!

As for my day flying...well...lets not go there...LOL
Two chutes malfucntioned, with minimal damage, but two fins on two different rockets busted from sneaking up on the ground to fast...My 9yr son had much better luck than I did with succsessful flights from all his birds...(mutter...mutter...mutter)...LOL Nothing that can't be fixed, so maybe not so bad after all.
A great day for the "BIRMINGHAM ROCKET BOYS", and of course next year will bring even more...Here's wishing Ron and his new club the best of luck...!!! Congrats...!!!

 

[Steward]

Estes "FIREHAWK"...all went well for a couple of flights...then it popped a fin....

 

[Steward]

Best flight of the day...man it screamed on a D12 5...

 

[Johnnie]

Steward,

Sounds like fun was had by all, here is what Chuck Pierce had to say about his time well spent in B'Ham:

***************************************************

Well, I spent a great afternoon down in Birmingham. I'd guess that about 8 pads were operational and nearly a dozen flyers showed up...a very nice turnout. We burned quite a lot of holes in the sky, too! <big grin> I was honestly expecting everyone to be flying C's and D's, but there were quite a few E, F, and G flights (not counting my own). These guys are off to great
start!

The temp was quite cool as we were setting up, and the winds were gusty 5 to 10 knots. But, as the afternoon wore on, the temp came up and the wind speed went down... a nice combination. We made quite a few aggressive flights between us all. Clark Word, with whom I've been chatting quite a bit via email lately, probably got the frequent flyer award, as he was
popping off D and E clusters and multi-stagers all day. I think that
Clark's gonna be another 'well, the motor fits, why shouldn't I fly it' kinda guy. I need the company. LOL. Out of my rocket cache, I flew my Clustered Executioner (3x E9) again to 665'. The rocket cocked a bit off the rail, mostly due to the wind, I'm sure. I shoulda done 3x E15's or E30's. I also flew my expendable Estes Blue Ninja on a F21... and got it back!!! Screamin' Mimi screamed on a F21, too. Chor'naya Molniya (Black Lightning...a Mean Machine clone) rocked on a E30, but cracked a fin on landing. I also flew the Port-a-pottie twice (quite appropriate for a landfill, I might add...) on a sotty F23FJ Econojet and a G80 (for a controlled explosion).

To my knowledge, only one rocket was lost, and that was an AT Mustang on a G64. Even I wouldn't do that!!! LOL. But, its owner can also now be inducted into the 'well, the motor fits, why shouldn't I fly it' club.

It was a great day flying, and I want to thank Ron and Trennon and their crew for inviting us down. I think that they're going to have an awesome club in the Birmingham area, which will be a really good thing for Alabama rocketry! I'm looking forward to hosting them at a HPR launch at our field (when we get one) or at Manchester. They definitely want to come up to Manchester one month anyway. If anyone gets a chance to fly with the B'ham
crew, I'd highly recommend that you go. They have a nice field and the guys
are great!

Chuck
--
Chuck Pierce
President, Huntsville Area Rocketry Association
www.hararocketry.org
www.knology.net/~cpierce/rcr/

 

[Steward]

I actually got there a"little" late, and spent way too much time setting up my comfort zone...LOL... We heard and saw a tremendous amout of flying...everyone was having a blast...
Hopefully next time instead of hob nobbing and wasting time building chutes...and chasing our own birds...etc...I'll be able to report better...with pictures of course...
It was a 3...2...1...blast...

BTW Johnnie...could you shoot me Mr. Witherspoons e-mail address again...THANKS...!!!

 

[Steward]

My son acquired this Estes "CHROME DOME" before he got the bug to build his own kits....
For a "RTF" it did quite well...except it blew the shock cord out...thankfully our field had fairly tall grass, so no damage...

 

[eugenefl]

Looks like everyone had a great time. Glad to hear of rocketry expanding. BTW, NICE US FLAG! Great placement.

 

[Rocketman248]

I love the Firehawk! My cousin has one of those. He put 3 18mm mounts in it. It flies great on three C6-7s.

The pic is kinda blurry, but you get the picture.(no pun intended )