Launch at Bong on 3-8-2014

[Rrwjr]

With it being Early March in Wisconsin, the only thing you can count on about the weather is to prepare for everything. With snow still covering the ground and areas having between 6 and 30 inches of snow on it, I decided I would try to fly things that would hopefully stay within about ¼ of a mile of the pad, as it gets hard to trudge thru deep snow out in some of the prairie land and marsh lands of “The Bong” ( especially at 6 feet 3 inches tall and 270 pounds).

Actual launch day arrived (Saturday March 8) and we were treated to partly cloudy skies, temps in the upper twenties and winds blowing North/northeast from 5 to 10 Miles an hour. I packed up the Suburban and made the 1 hour plus drive out to Bong.

As I pulled into the site, I couldn’t help but notice the trademark Camper and trailer of Tim from Wildman hobbies was not in the lot. That’s odd I thought as he is usually one of the first at any launch. I found my spot on the frozen, ice covered lot and it turned out I was right next to Gary (crossfire here at TRF) from Top flight recovery. I changed into my cold weather boots, coat, hat, facemask and gloves.

Talking with Gary I found out that Tim had experienced a breakdown (blown tire) on trailer and would be running late. I picked up some goodies from Top Flight that I had ordered and it was time to get my first rocket ready.

I decided to fly my Formula 75 first. This rocket has been a steady flier for me and was the first fiberglass kit I made. Today I decided to fly it on an H123 skid with a 7 second delay. I loaded the rocket onto the rail, loaded igniter, and then look to stand back and take some pictures. I was able to catch the rocket not only off the pad but I got a couple of in flight pictures. Rocket flew up to just short of 1000 feet and deployed chute right at apogee. My chute appeared and I was able to get a recovery shot. The rocket landed just about a ¼ to 3/8 of a mile south of where the pad was (the wind had shifted directions- common at Bong). It landed right in the path of a trail so recovery and the walk was quite easy. I’m off to a good start.

 

[Rrwjr]

Next I decided to launch my “Cool Spool” by LOC on a G76 green. Who doesn’t enjoy a flying spool? I loaded it up on the rod and stepped back to take some pictures. I will now mention that I haven’t had my gloves on for a while as I can’t seem to feel the buttons on the camera with them on (even thin gloves). I was able to get the smoke just starting to come out of motor then I missed the liftoff – darn. I do have this awesome picture of the igniters still falling to the ground. Oh well, a nice flight and the chute did its job. I recovered it just a couple hundred yards South of the pad.










Next up I prepping my 38mm Super Jart with one of the new single use G80 Blue Thunder motors by Aerotech. I had set a delay of 7 seconds and was expecting a height of about 1200 feet. I set it up on the rail, moved back and got ready to snap some pictures. Right before I launched I heard the unmistakable sound of Tim from Wildman hobbies camper and trailer coming up the frozen parking lot.
Again cold fingers and my timing were just a bit off- I went from a bit of smoke to catching the rocket right off the rail and out of the frame ( sorry Jeff (gdjsky01) I wanted to impress you with some good shots). I tried to follow it and again was just off a bit. I need to find some kind of warm thin gloves. The rocket had a beautiful deploy but I know it was way higher than the 1200 feet sim. After a 30 minute walk down some access roads for hunters, I found the rocket right to the side of the trail. Overall it was almost a full hour of walking to get the rocket and getting back to my truck. I think it was at least 5/8 to ¾ mile walk each way. Oh well, I can use the exercise.

 

[gdjsky01]

Beautiful shots! I love my F75 (and F98) :clap:

Uhhh... well maybe it's easier at 79F??? That was the temp yesterday...

 

[Rrwjr]

After I got back to my Suburban - I decided it was time to venture over to the Wildman trailer and see what was going on. As usual, Tim always seems to know the pass code to my wallet. He was showing me a Dual thrust motor- something I had never tried. In particular the G107 dual thrust. It’s a 6 grain 24mm motor. As I told Tim I didn’t have anything to launch motor on, he replied “sure you do, use your 38mm Jart”. I proceeded to tell him I didn’t have a 38mm to 24mm adaptor. I then learned if you use Aero pack reducers they all nest together.

Before you know it I am at the pad loading it up. It flew wonderfully and I was surprised that a 40 ounce rocket flew that high with a 24mm “G”. It went just under 1650 feet. The burst off of the pad, then the slight pause and then the long burn section was impressive. No recovery pictures but it landed with no damage.

 

[gdjsky01]

There ya go!! Now crop that sucker!

 

[Rrwjr]

As the day was slipping away it was time to load up my Lil Rascal. I had decided to fly it on an I180 skid mark. This was to be my first flight on this rocket since a poorly planned ejection event had done a bit of damage last year. As I usually do I added just a bit more BP due to airframe size.
Loaded up on the rail I was determined to catch some good pictures as I had botched up some of the other flights picture wise. I hear the countdown and as he gets close to 1 I begin clicking away and clicking and clicking and clicking and nothing is happening. What the heck is going on? I then here the phrase no one wants to hear – no continuity. Hence the walk of shame out to the pad to replace the igniter, I get out to the pad and reach into my pocket for a new igniter and nothing. It was then I realized I left them in my other jacket pocket. Now I’m doing the double walk of shame and hearing your fellow rocketry brothers giving you a hard time. If you haven’t done it yet- you will.

With a new igniter in place, the countdown resumes and off the Lil Rascal goes. Success- this time I got quite a few shots off the pad as well as in flight. As it hit apogee, I begin to wait for the chute to come out. Im waiting, waiting, waiting- now I’m panicking as I put my camera down and watch it racing to earth. Finally I see the pop and out comes the chute. I had set for a 9 second delay- it seemed like I had a full 14 plus. Since the chute hadn’t come out when I expected, my rod angle to deal with wind was way off, its not gonna drift back East to me (wind shifted again). Good thing I have my tracker with me. I set off to find my rocket.











While listening to my tracker- I notice my signal is pretty weak- at Bong that can only me one thing- the rocket is lower than I am – it’s probably in the marsh. After a walk of about ¾ of a mile- this is what I see. I head down towards the marsh area and I immediately start to get a better signal. After another 15 minutes of searching area looking like this and falling thru snow that’s 2 feet deep I finally see it. This boys and girls is why if you’re flying Bong at LDRS you are crazy if you don’t use a tracker.









With my rocket recovered- now its time for the long walk back. By the time I get back to the lot everyone has left except Tim from Wildman. Once people saw me in the distance on the main trail they knew it was ok to leave.

Tim is wrapping up packing up the trailer, I thank him and we say our goodbyes. I head back to the Suburban and start packing up my stuff. I get to a point and I decide to start my vehicle. I stick the keys in ignition and give them a turn and Click, click. Click. Oh no- really a dead battery, how did that happen? I go to get my phone from back and that’s when I see that I had remembered to bring my portable 12volt jump pack. Problem solved.

5 flights, 5 recoveries, a lot of exercise, a sunny day, the smell of rocket propellant, a few good pictures and no repairs. Id call that a great day. Looking forward to my next launch.

 

[Rrwjr]

There ya go!! Now crop that sucker!

Yeah, I need to work on that aspect more. Believe it or not I spent almost 4 hours , writing text, compressing pictures, and proof reading. I really appreciate the time you put into your reports.

 

[crossfire]

Nice pictures Russ. Not sure why we didn't have more flyers. Like you said a tracker is a must for Bong. Sure hope flyers coming to LDRS keep that in mind. Thanks for the nice picture of my WM Jr. with the 3D fin can. I flew it on a AT-I500T to 3252'. Flew nice and straight and no damage to the fin can at all.

 

[gdjsky01]

Russ for me its a labor of love. I don't know why I do it. But it's nice to share my launch experience. But few people really care (apparently).

I have it down to a routine now. Load the photos into Lightroom. Delete 2/3rds to 3/4s of the junk. Total time: 20 minutes

Then crop and enhance a bit each that is left. Sometimes make a copy and crop the copy because I like both. Generally I add a little exposure and a little shadow brightening. Total time: 1hr

Then export them to an album in Flickr.

Next morning I write the report with the report in one window, and flickr (to get the image URL) in another. Total time another hour.

But then I update my flights stats over in Rocket Reviews. Another 30 minutes.

Best wishes