I tried really, really hard just to let this one go. Over the last few days it's continued to haunt me so this evening, against my better judgment, I decided to write this post.
First a little background. I have been involved in the planning and execution of four LDRS's and was the launch director on two (LDRS 27 and 30). Unless you've done it from a lot closer than the sidelines, you have no idea how much work there is to planning the event then finally pulling it off. If it looks easy to you as a guest it's because a group bright folks thought of everything and put plans in place to deal with the 99.9% of the stuff that occurs. I'm talking hundreds of hours of planning to get it right. By all accounts, ROC got it right!
Then there is the execution of the event. You might not have noticed, as you worked feverishly to prep the two rockets or so rockets a day that you like to fly at an LDRS, that the launch organizers almost never fly anything because they are busy from way before the range opens to way after the range closes dealing with things to make it more enjoyable to their guests. All that infrastructure you see at the launch, someone had to bring it to the lake bed before you got there, set it up and make sure it worked, then they tore it down and took it back to town after you left. After the event, the organizers are so damned tired that all they want is to take a shower and a long overdue rest in their own bed.
What do they wake up to? One sentence of "hell of a launch" then they get blasted for not providing recycle bins. News flash, there is a not so insignificant cost in just getting trash and porta potties delivered to the middle of a dry lake bed. Oh yea, it also took planning and phone calls and someone showing up before they trash folks do to show them where to drop them. But most folks wouldn't think about that commitment, they deserve recycle bins!
ROC, I wasn't there but I do want to say thank you for all the efforts most folks don't see. There are a few of us that understand the magnitude of what you pulled off and we are impressed!
My club gets asked all the time when we are going to bid on another LDRS. After reading this post, it reinforces my decision to not to bid on one anytime in the foreseeable future.
Bob Brown
Prefect, Kloudbusters Inc.