CMASS 28 April 2019 - We kick off our season with a shortened launch

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KennB

I-95 Envoy
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Our first club launch in Amesbury for 2019 will be on 28 April. There are plenty of volunteer opportunities still available to help things move along smoothly.

We'll start set up around 9:30 and start flying about 10:30 or sooner (depending on how many help set up).

As of this posting, I'm not aware of any vendors who will be on the field. You'll need to bring all the motors and other supplies you'll need.

We'll keep an eye on the forecast for wind speed and direction as well as precipitation; check back toward the end of the week to see the status of our launch.

We want all of the flights to land back on the field. Lower flights and dual deploy/chute releases are always a good idea. Remember, some of the neighbors don't like us and those who do like us still want us to keep off of their property (ADVICE YOU SHOULDN'T NEED: if you do have to go onto someone's private property to retrieve a rocket, please go to their house first to let them know what is happening). Even our friends with the llamas need to know if we have to go into the pen; they now have some 300 lb rams that could do you some damage if they decide you would be fun to butt.

Our primary concern is safety but we're there to have fun, so let's do both.

Let us know what you'll be flying.
 
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As an added bonus, Jim Moe is planning on bringing one of his telescopes to do some stargazing later in the evening. Weather, of course, will play a role in the event but it will give you a good excuse to come out with the crowd for dinner and then back to the field.

Edit: with the launch moved to Sunday, which has rain predicted later in the day, the sky watch will likely not happen.
 
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I keep checking the weather, and it keeps changing. I guess that's New England!
 
Yup, if you don't like the weather, wait a minute.

Problem is the forecast Friday night will say something like 110% chance of torrential rain, flooding, locusts and frogs, the launch will be cancelled, and Saturday will be beautiful and sunny with 2mph winds.
 
The rain may end Saturday morning but the wind will be near our limit at its slowest all day and it always gusts at the field. Sunday is only marginally better with half the wind speed but we'll move the launch to give ourselves a chance to better fly and recover our rockets. The prediction has the wind blowing up the hill toward the houses so plan accordingly; keep your flights low. HPR should expect to use dual-deploy or a chute release. If a rocket flies off the field, we'll have to impose further restrictions.

Rain is predicted to move in later in the day so plan on flying early. With that weather moving in, Jim's telescope likely won't be making an appearance.
 
I'll drive up after work Sunday. Probably the earliest I can get up there is 1:30. Depending on the weather, I may not get to fly much, but unless the launch is completely scrubbed, at least I'll be there for dinner.
 
The forecast isn’t looking much better for Sunday. Any updates?
 
We're going to start at our usual time, set up at 9:30.
Rain will likely move in to shorten our day. Hot dogs will not be served due to the need to break down quickly, as necessary.
The wind will still be blowing up to the houses so stay low with your flights.
 
Ends up the weather held. We had a group of Raytheon engineers all flying (surprise, surprise) Patriot models allowing for two 7-way drag races and lots of individual flights. There was a smattering of cub an boy scouts flying a few. Jim Flis showed up as a civilian but still had an interesting prototype to fly.

With the help of many club members (Howard, Claude, Jim, Sam, Dan and, of course, Guy - sorry to those I forgot to mention) we had a high percentage of success with the various colleges represented that tried for L1 certs. Congratulations to the ones who played the wind and field correctly and had success. The H118 seemed to be the most popular motor; the H45's were a little weak for the rockets they were trying to loft with the wind we had (but the sims were good!). One of the final cert attempts was tried with an H999 Warp 9. The motor flew beautifully - by itself; the rocket was scattered on the ground only feet from the pad. The LCO (me) was incensed, and Christine had a long talk with the offending student. We need to develop some rules and regs for college clubs so they can prove their skills before they put our safety or field use at risk.

All in all, it turned out to be a pretty good day for flying for those who knew what they were doing. The rain never developed in our area or dried up before hitting the ground so all my hand wringing this prior week was for naught. I'm hoping the forecasts bode better for our Acton launches in July and August and our return to Amesbury in September.

The next activities will be trailer maintenance and the Bill Spadafora Memorial luncheon both sometime in May.
 
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