EVENT MDRA Regional Launch April 17 & 18 - Central Sod Farm

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We'll be there of course. A westerly(generally towards John Brown rd) breeze would be nice if it materializes, it tends to give us the 'length'
of the farm for recovery.
 
I'm planning to be there. I'm hoping to do some of the smaller flights I was going to do at Red Glare but couldn't since we only had one (crowded!) good flying day. Probably nothing bigger than a G, might do an H if it's really nice.
 
Does anyone know if a local distributor of Aerotech motors will be there? I know this isn't a "Red Glare" status event and I have not been to many other MDRA launches.
 
Antares JS said:
I'm planning to be there. I'm hoping to do some of the smaller flights I was going to do at Red Glare but couldn't since we only had one (crowded!) good flying day. Probably nothing bigger than a G, might do an H if it's really nice.
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Same here, I still have some other rockets prepped from Red Glare. Looks like it would have been a nice day today (Saturday), I hope to get down tomorrow with a rockets.
 
Hi everyone,

I'm planning on attending ESL 270 this coming weekend, and it will be my first MDRA event. I noticed (to my slight dismay) that Saturday, the day I was planning on going, is only from noon-17:00. On that note, I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of the general launch cadence for low and mid-power rockets? I want to make sure I make the most of this opportunity to attend since they are few and far between for me these days, and I'd like to get as many launches in as I can. Any other relevant info for flying at the Sod Farm is also appreciated! I'll be bringing a pop-up tent for shade, plenty of sunblock and water, and pre-printed launch cards. I've already joined and paid for membership/launch fees online ahead of time to hopefully minimize the time not flying rockets. :)
 
Spitfire222 said:
Hi everyone,

I'm planning on attending ESL 270 this coming weekend, and it will be my first MDRA event. I noticed (to my slight dismay) that Saturday, the day I was planning on going, is only from noon-17:00. On that note, I was wondering if anyone could give me an idea of the general launch cadence for low and mid-power rockets? I want to make sure I make the most of this opportunity to attend since they are few and far between for me these days, and I'd like to get as many launches in as I can. Any other relevant info for flying at the Sod Farm is also appreciated! I'll be bringing a pop-up tent for shade, plenty of sunblock and water, and pre-printed launch cards. I've already joined and paid for membership/launch fees online ahead of time to hopefully minimize the time not flying rockets. :)
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I've gotten up to 12 rockets off in a single 1200-1700 day at the Sod Farm, but those rockets were all fully prepped the day before, so that the only thing I had to do at the field was get the ejection charges set up in my 1-2 HPR's. Otherwise I was recovering rockets and then immediately bringing my next pre-prepped one out. Then I would head back to my table and either clean out rockets that had already flown or prep my HPR's while waiting for the next round of launches to start. I would also sometimes take two rockets and two pads in the same round of launches if they were both low-and-slow fliers and the launch wasn't too busy. (The sod farm launches are usually not that busy and there are only a few dozen fliers at most.)

Good on you for making your own pre-printed launch cards. It makes things more convenient for everyone.

Alongside your sunscreen, shade, and water, bug repellent and rubber mud/rain boots are also advisable. We just had that storm roll through and the field is bound to be wet. I've sunk literally knee-deep in the mud there while recovering rockets.

Be sure to take your membership card up to the RSO desk to get a sticker showing that you paid your fees. If you haven't paid for a full year of range fees be sure to bring $10 with you as well. You also need to make sure you have a lanyard or something to wear your member card on.

See you there tomorrow.
 
The Sod Farm is still active till noon on Saturdays, hence the late start. Don't arrive much before noon. The setup is such that rockets get put onto the racks (generally two, a low power and a high power) and once they are full or people have stopped putting rockets out, then they launch that rack. Then after it is all launch you can go recover your rocket and launch again. You can not recover your rocket during a rack unless it lands safely outside the launching area, eg behind the spectator line. Depending on the number of people depends on how many launches you can get it. If you have them prepped ahead of time you can pop another onto a rack and then go recover your previous one.

Looks like Antares JS beat me to it :p
 
Thanks for the info! I made sure to note the "don't arrive before 11:30" message though I might try and at least get across the bay bridge early to beat some traffic and just chill somewhere before going to the field.

I'll add some boots to my list of gear, thanks for that recommendation.

My rockets are simple LPR and MPR, so prep time is minimal. At the few SEVRA launches I've attended, I've gotten ~7 or so launches in the span of 2-3 hours, if I recall correctly.

Regarding the membership, I purchased that only a few days ago, so I don't have a card yet if they get sent by mail. I only have purchase confirmation of the $25 fee from an emailed receipt. I hope that's sufficient?
 
Spitfire222 said:
Regarding the membership, I purchased that only a few days ago, so I don't have a card yet if they get sent by mail. I only have purchase confirmation of the $25 fee from an emailed receipt. I hope that's sufficient?
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I would have the receipt just in case, but there's a chance they will have your card for you to pick up at the RSO Table. You're far from the only person who has signed up a few days before their first launch.
 
Antares JS said:
I would have the receipt just in case, but there's a chance they will have your card for you to pick up at the RSO Table. You're far from the only person who has signed up a few days before their first launch.
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Great, thanks! I'm excited and looking forward to several first flights on my larger rockets!
 
I've found Saturdays at the Sod farm to be relaxing and low key. Definitely a little more laid back than Red Glare, but it is a nice change of pace. The only thing I'd add for the Sod Farm is to pay attention to the wind direction. Watch the flag, there is a line of very tall trees not too far off that can effectively swallow rockets whole.
 
Just to close out the revival of this thread, I had five successful launches yesterday and five successful recoveries, including four first-flights and my first F motor launch. I only wish I could have launched more! There were some technical difficulties early on that delayed the beginning of launches, and the cadence between launches was a bit slower than I would have liked, but I accomplished everything I wanted to, so I'm very satisfied with how the day went. Thanks to MDRA for a great launch day!

Here's an album of photos that my friend and I got, plus videos of John's Lazarus and Andrew's Iris.

MDRA ESL 270 Launch Day - July 10, 2021

IMG_7123 - Copy.JPGIMG_7151 - Copy.JPG0062f4e3-c469-4a73-ba51-268178ee61c8.jpg20210710_144627.jpg426d1f95-05d3-4e3a-846d-ef7c1b91778b.jpg2ad1e302-b41c-4539-852d-902fbc91b0fc.jpg20210710_170900.jpg
 
Spitfire222 said:
Just to close out the revival of this thread, I had five successful launches yesterday and five successful recoveries, including four first-flights and my first F motor launch. I only wish I could have launched more! There were some technical difficulties early on that delayed the beginning of launches, and the cadence between launches was a bit slower than I would have liked, but I accomplished everything I wanted to, so I'm very satisfied with how the day went. Thanks to MDRA for a great launch day!

Here's an album of photos that my friend and I got, plus videos of John's Lazarus and Andrew's Iris.

MDRA ESL 270 Launch Day - July 10, 2021

View attachment 472468View attachment 472469View attachment 472466View attachment 472465View attachment 472464View attachment 472463View attachment 472462
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Nice video of my Lazarus. Glad you had fun, and hope to see you back next month.
 
Antares JS said:
Nice video of my Lazarus. Glad you had fun, and hope to see you back next month.
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Thanks! Beautiful rocket and flight. I'll be unable to make it to the August and September launches, but maybe Oct. I definitely want to attend a Higgs Farm launch, too!
 
Spitfire222 said:
Thanks! Beautiful rocket and flight. I'll be unable to make it to the August and September launches, but maybe Oct. I definitely want to attend a Higgs Farm launch, too!
Click to expand...

I myself was only able to make it to Higgs for the first time last Fall, but Higgs farm is a better field with more space. Definitely worth braving the cold weather for.
 

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