Any updates on John's physical recovery and overall mental health?
How's the family doing financially given he is out of work?
With MWP coming up in 5 or so weeks, is there any possibility of him paying a visit to spectate and be around his fellow rocketeers? At times, being around your own people is one of the best things for a person mentally and to aid in their recovery.
I owe John......
I completed my L3 certification at Airfest earlier this month and he is part of the reason I was able to be successful in my certification.
At mini MWP this spring, I was about to fly my first rocket that morning and he was RSO, he looked at me and said "You got a tracker in that thing??" I replied "Well, no......I don't have one and have never used them and usually just end up walking till I find my rocket." He said "Nah, you're not flying today without a tracker. You'll never find it in the beans." and went to his car and pulled out a tracker, nomex sleeve, new battery, his receiver, and then helped me set it up and showed me how to use it. Every rocket I flew that day he made sure I had his tracker in my rocket and it paid dividends.
He and I were talking with Tim and the group as the day was winding down and Tim and Jackie convinced me to come to Airfest and do my L3. John chimed in and said "GPS or not, you best put a tracker in that thing!!!!" Well, I got a transmitter and borrowed a receiver from Glen Pietrzyk to take to Airfest. I flew my Extreme Wildman to 13k and we lost sight of it completely, never saw it come down, nothing. Guess what......the GPS told me the rocket was in the parking lot, it was not in the parking lot!!! My rocket landed 2 miles to the south, over rolling Kansas hills and barely a blip on that tracking receiver, not even on the highest sensitivity setting, the needle didn't move. After an hour if hiking and triangulating the faint signal I eventually got......I had my L3 back in my possession, 100% intact.
Without being convinced of using an RF tracker by John at mini MWP, I would have relied only on my GPS and that rocket, along with my L3 certification, would have been lost.
I've been a Tripoli member since 1993 and been flying rockets for a long time. I am still learning and always open to the insight of others. I am indebted to him for his persistence and sharing his experience and insight with me.
I owe my L3 Certification to several people, him being one of them.