RED GLARE XIV

[gdjsky01]

:clap: beautiful Gary. And a spectacular photo.

 

[gregzo]

An awesome! flight of the Albatross on a CTI O4300IM. My new TLA Gps tracker worked perfectly! it took me directly! to the tree its hanging in LOL. MDRA's tree man will be getting it down tomorrow.

Photos by Michelle Weaver.

AWESOME flight Gary!!!! That was really cool !!! Hope it all comes back home safe and sound when it gerts sprung from the trees...

 

[patelldp]

AWESOME flight Gary!!!! That was really cool !!! Hope it all comes back home safe and sound when it gerts sprung from the trees...

Hey Greg - thanks to you and all the others that attempted to push my car out. The people are what make this hobby so great.

I am sure that they do not frequent this forum, but a HUGE thank you to the Higgs boys for finally getting my car out of the mud. Saved me a lot of grief of pulling a wrecker in. No apparent damage to my car, but it definitely won't be out in the mud again anytime soon.

 

[Joe V]

+1 Thanks to the Higgs for getting my vehicle out of the mud! Thanks to MDRA for another great Red Glare!

 

[GaryT]

Justin Gleiter got some cool video.

[video=youtube_share;CVuVriFen9A]https://youtu.be/CVuVriFen9A[/video]

 

[patelldp]

Anyone know if Jerry O recovered his Iris after the main deployed at apogee?

 

[G_T]

Yep. GPS and telemetry is a wonderful thing!

Gerald

 

[Disaster_Guy]

Does anyone have any tips for tree recovery at around 40-50'? I want to try to get the Gizmo down when we return in the fall. At least the basic airframe and (hopefully) the motor case should still be salvageable. Was thinking maybe a set of lineman's climbing gaffs coupled with a pole.

 

[crossfire]

Chain Saw.
gp

 

[Uncrichie]

You might want to find out if the property owner wants you gaffing his trees? A better idea might be to talk with Bob or Neil, I think there is a tree service contracted by the club (MDRA) to recover rockets from Tommies and the neighboring properties. It all has to do with insurance.

 

[cavecentral]

Everything I heard says you need to use the contracted tree service. First step is talk to the launch hosts and find out your options based on who owns the property it is treed it. Who knows, by Fall it might come down on its own.

 

[crossfire]

I know a guy at ThunderStruck who paid and helped the land owner get his rocket down. Not cheap I am sure. Be safe so no one gets hurt. You can always build another rocket.
gp

 

[stantonjtroy]

Go to the MDRA main page. There you will find email links tthe BOD. Contact Bob and he will coridnate with a contractor. It will cost you. There is no other way if it's stuck but good.

Does anyone have any tips for tree recovery at around 40-50'? I want to try to get the Gizmo down when we return in the fall. At least the basic airframe and (hopefully) the motor case should still be salvageable. Was thinking maybe a set of lineman's climbing gaffs coupled with a pole.

 

[gdjsky01]

I think there is a tree service contracted by the club (MDRA) to recover rockets from Tommies and the neighboring properties.

Really? What a fantastic idea! That's cool. At a big enough launch maybe $5 per registrant (more?) for a days worth of rocket recovery done right and safe (with their own insurance). Excellent idea!

 

[FredT]

Had a great time at RG14. Only thing is I have a missing rocket; not lost missing. It simply wasn't where it was supposed to be. I flew my black and gold PML Endeavour around 11AM Sunday on a K1100 to 6200 ft. On board was a Raven and Telemetrum GPS. Lost site of the rocket around apogee, but the TM reported drogue deployment and its position relative to the pad on the way down. When the TM announced main deployment due east I regained visual track and saw it land, clearly in front of the distant tree line. Because the TM gave me the landing coordinates, I took my time getting out there, maybe 45 minutes. By the time I got there the rocket was gone and it never showed up at lost and found.

I double and triple checked GPS coordinates and spent most of the afternoon searching the vicinity. I've flown the TM dozens of times and every time it tracked the rocket to the ground the rocket was within 30 feet of where it was supposed to be, besides I saw this rocket land and that was right where the TM said it did. It turns out the landing coordinates where about 80 feet this side of Rt 313. Its possible the wind could have dragged it closer, maybe even onto the road.

Where could it have gone? Did anyone happen to see that rocket Sunday? Picture of the rocket on a different day and flight track produced by TeleMetrun downlink. Bummed.



...Fred

 

[Rocketjunkie]

Sounds like Argonia syndrome... Ask Jim Hendrickson about missing rockets :eyeroll::hot::bangbang:

 

[GaryT]

Fred, Try calling the local PD maybe it was turned into them? Can't hurt to ask.

 

[THier]

Had a great time at RG14. Only thing is I have a missing rocket; not lost missing. It simply wasn't where it was supposed to be. I flew my black and gold PML Endeavour around 11AM Sunday on a K1100 to 6200 ft. On board was a Raven and Telemetrum GPS. Lost site of the rocket around apogee, but the TM reported drogue deployment and its position relative to the pad on the way down. When the TM announced main deployment due east I regained visual track and saw it land, clearly in front of the distant tree line. Because the TM gave me the landing coordinates, I took my time getting out there, maybe 45 minutes. By the time I got there the rocket was gone and it never showed up at lost and found.

I double and triple checked GPS coordinates and spent most of the afternoon searching the vicinity. I've flown the TM dozens of times and every time it tracked the rocket to the ground the rocket was within 30 feet of where it was supposed to be, besides I saw this rocket land and that was right where the TM said it did. It turns out the landing coordinates where about 80 feet this side of Rt 313. Its possible the wind could have dragged it closer, maybe even onto the road.

Where could it have gone? Did anyone happen to see that rocket Sunday? Picture of the rocket on a different day and flight track produced by TeleMetrun downlink. Bummed.

View attachment 126215View attachment 126216

...Fred

Fred

Check your PMs

Tom

 

[rocketsaway]

Someone needs to invent r/c recovery w/ FPV

 

[crossfire]

Ed
Over the last 20 years I can't even remember how many people have had us make them a custom chute for some type of RC for a way to stear their rockets. I always said I would be more than happy if we could just tear them away from a woods or power lines. Not worried about getting them right back to the pad. A 50lb rocket coming all the way back to the pads might not be to safe.
GP

 

[Rocketman248]

Yet another great Red Glare in the bag. This was a bittersweet launch for me. As many of you know, I'm active duty Navy. I flew rockets before joining, and was certified Level 2. After joining the Navy, I ended up in Japan for 5 years and had to put rocketry on hold. For the last three years, I was stationed in Wallops Island, VA. It was shore duty, so I had plenty of free time, much of which I spent flying rockets. I primarily flew with two clubs, SEVRA and MDRA. Red Glare 8 was actually my first launch after coming back to the states, and that's where I re-certified Level 1. So now, my time in Wallops has come to a close, and in 3 weeks, I'll be headed back to Japan. And so, Red Glare 14 would be my final launch for at least 3 years.

As Neil likes to say, "The weather will be there, and so will we." That rang especially true on Friday. I got to the hotel in Denton on Thursday night, and woke up bright and early on Friday. While enjoying my complimentary breakfast, I sat looking at the rain bat against the window. I knew that flying would be next to nonexistent that day, but rather than sitting in a hotel all day, I decided to swing by the field to see if anyone else was there. As I pulled into the driveway, I saw groups of people huddled under tents, trying to stay dry. The field looked pretty soggy, but no one seemed to be having any trouble getting their cars in, so I slip-slided my way to a convenient parking spot. The rest of the day was spent walking around and catching up with old friends, waiting for the rain to subside. Around 3:00, me and a few friends gave up waiting, and went to get something to eat. After several hours of downpours, and seeing the mud get worse and worse, I made the decision to leave my car on the field, and catch a ride to the hotel. The next day proved that was a good decision.

Saturday arrived with plenty of sunshine and a healthy breeze. We got to the field shortly after 8, and the first thing we saw was a beautiful orange Dodge Charger stuck in the mud right near the entrance to the field. It was at that moment that I was glad I left my tiny Mazda 3 on the high ground of the field. The winds were predicted to be pretty stiff for the day, and that they were. A group of us had planned on doing a 6-way K1440WT drag race, but as I would be the lowest altitude at 6,500', we all chickened out. The winds didn't sway everyone from going high, however. A fellow SEVRA member flew his Extreme Wildman on a CTI M1230 IMax to just over 14,000, setting a personal and club altitude record. It was recovered in perfect shape 2.1 miles away thanks to an onboard Big Red Bee tracker. I ended up not flying anything on Saturday, instead spending the time taking about 1,100 pictures and getting a wicked sunburn. The field was still pretty squishy at the end of the day, so I left my car on the field again that night.

Sunday was more of the same, with sunshine and wind. I knew I had to fly something, but I was still to chicken to fly the K1440, so I traded it in for a K675SK. After a quick prep, I put my Wildman Vindicator up on the big Skidmark to 5,395' for my final flight with MDRA. I spent the rest of the day walking around and taking even more pictures.

The worst part of the weekend came at the end of Sunday, when I had to go around and say goodbye to everyone. Many of the fliers have become like family to me, and I really hope to fly with them again.

Anywhoo, before this gets too sappy, here's the link to my pictures from the weekend. As always, feel free to download them, just be sure to give me proper credit when you use them somewhere.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/78604807@N00/sets/72157633268944907/

 

[GaryT]

Nick
First off thank for your time served, it takes a hell of allot of character to put all that time in for our country and I for one appreciate it.
You've become a regular fixture on the field now and you will be missed... Fear not though as the fields will always be there and so will we. Keep in touch while away and find a club in Japan, I'm sure all of us would love to see pics of that.

If you happen to get leave and a launch is going on? Be sure to come by and we'll put something together for you to fly.
Be safe and like I said keep in touch. Gary T.

 

[Tetrahedron]

Had a great time at RG14. Only thing is I have a missing rocket; not lost missing. It simply wasn't where it was supposed to be.

...Fred

My ARTS GPS didn't work and I lost my rocket also, most likely in them woods east of rt313.

 

[Neil]

Yet another great Red Glare in the bag. This was a bittersweet launch for me. As many of you know, I'm active duty Navy. I flew rockets before joining, and was certified Level 2. After joining the Navy, I ended up in Japan for 5 years and had to put rocketry on hold. For the last three years, I was stationed in Wallops Island, VA. It was shore duty, so I had plenty of free time, much of which I spent flying rockets. I primarily flew with two clubs, SEVRA and MDRA. Red Glare 8 was actually my first launch after coming back to the states, and that's where I re-certified Level 1. So now, my time in Wallops has come to a close, and in 3 weeks, I'll be headed back to Japan. And so, Red Glare 14 would be my final launch for at least 3 years.

As Neil likes to say, "The weather will be there, and so will we." That rang especially true on Friday. I got to the hotel in Denton on Thursday night, and woke up bright and early on Friday. While enjoying my complimentary breakfast, I sat looking at the rain bat against the window. I knew that flying would be next to nonexistent that day, but rather than sitting in a hotel all day, I decided to swing by the field to see if anyone else was there. As I pulled into the driveway, I saw groups of people huddled under tents, trying to stay dry. The field looked pretty soggy, but no one seemed to be having any trouble getting their cars in, so I slip-slided my way to a convenient parking spot. The rest of the day was spent walking around and catching up with old friends, waiting for the rain to subside. Around 3:00, me and a few friends gave up waiting, and went to get something to eat. After several hours of downpours, and seeing the mud get worse and worse, I made the decision to leave my car on the field, and catch a ride to the hotel. The next day proved that was a good decision.

Saturday arrived with plenty of sunshine and a healthy breeze. We got to the field shortly after 8, and the first thing we saw was a beautiful orange Dodge Charger stuck in the mud right near the entrance to the field. It was at that moment that I was glad I left my tiny Mazda 3 on the high ground of the field. The winds were predicted to be pretty stiff for the day, and that they were. A group of us had planned on doing a 6-way K1440WT drag race, but as I would be the lowest altitude at 6,500', we all chickened out. The winds didn't sway everyone from going high, however. A fellow SEVRA member flew his Extreme Wildman on a CTI M1230 IMax to just over 14,000, setting a personal and club altitude record. It was recovered in perfect shape 2.1 miles away thanks to an onboard Big Red Bee tracker. I ended up not flying anything on Saturday, instead spending the time taking about 1,100 pictures and getting a wicked sunburn. The field was still pretty squishy at the end of the day, so I left my car on the field again that night.

Sunday was more of the same, with sunshine and wind. I knew I had to fly something, but I was still to chicken to fly the K1440, so I traded it in for a K675SK. After a quick prep, I put my Wildman Vindicator up on the big Skidmark to 5,395' for my final flight with MDRA. I spent the rest of the day walking around and taking even more pictures.

The worst part of the weekend came at the end of Sunday, when I had to go around and say goodbye to everyone. Many of the fliers have become like family to me, and I really hope to fly with them again.

Anywhoo, before this gets too sappy, here's the link to my pictures from the weekend. As always, feel free to download them, just be sure to give me proper credit when you use them somewhere.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/78604807@N00/sets/72157633268944907/

Nick....not to worry, the weather and MDRA will be here and so will we.......We thank you for your commitment and service, be safe and we look forward to your return.....Remember, MDRA puts the "fun" in dysfunctional....:grin:

Neil

:flyingpig:

 

[H_Rocket]

So now, my time in Wallops has come to a close, and in 3 weeks, I'll be headed back to Japan...As always, feel free to download them, just be sure to give me proper credit when you use them somewhere.

Nick,

Having been away at sea, I know the experience well. May fair winds and following seas be at hand. And ahanks for the absolutely fantastic picture of my 4" EX Wildman. It is getting printed and will be on the wall of my office in a nice frame on Monday.

I know they have that interweb thingy working at sea now, so shoot us a few pictures of where you make port.


Al (Formerly ET1, USCG)

 

[patelldp]

Nick,

Huge thanks to you and your sacrifice for the freedom of others. It was great to see you out at the field again, and I am sure it won't be the last time. You should keep those certifications current while you're overseas, don't want to have to go through L1-L3 AGAIN!

Hope you're available next weekend, I'll have you over for some beer drinking and rocket propellant mixing (in that order?). We can follow that up with a cutting and coring session and a static test on Sunday. I have plans to make a 54-2550, 38-390, and 29-360.

Thanks for all the great pictures over the years!

 

[DavieRockets]

Hey guys,

Great flights and AMAZING photos and videos. Congrats to those who did sucessful level certifications. Wish we coulda been there!

Sorry for those who lost rockets. They may turn up though. I always put return info on every section, nosecone, avbay sled as it can only help if an "honest" person finds your rocket.

 

[H_Rocket]

By the way, My special congrats to my beautiful bride on her successful l1 certification. If anyone has good in flight pix, please point me at it.

 

[gdjsky01]

By the way, My special congrats to my beautiful bride on her successful l1 certification. If anyone has good in flight pix, please point me at it.

Looking good! And the rocket too! Cool name. Works on multiple levels (another pun).

 

[MasonH]

By the way, My special congrats to my beautiful bride on her successful l1 certification. If anyone has good in flight pix, please point me at it.

AL, can you and Karen bring that motor to the launch next week? I have been on the fence about one...