It was a treat to see so many old friends and meet a few guys who I've seen post here but had not met previously. I watched Sponge Bob and left, driving just under 700 miles from the N site to Ames.

I saw the moonburner M in JS L3 cert flight from about a mile away on Saturday - I was looking in precisely the right place at the right time. Impressive as it must have been up close, it was terrific from a few steps back.

I'm going to shorten that I rocket and really push it next time 8) that was my fastest boost ever, and the most gees I've ever pulled... around 75 gees. Phenolic is amazing stuff...

When helping at the Estas pads, there was many times all eight
rods were filled and We were waiting for one person at the
mid-power pads on the right. Then the right woiuld be closed
with one mid-power and eight estas. With the scouts being there
I'm sure We all anticipated a lot of estes.

Something that worked well. After the many ignitor problems,
I put four 29mm ignitors in My coat pocket. Ended up giving three
away. It saved many minutes of running back anf fourth. I would
give a small donation to supply ignitors at the LCO table to save time.

just my 1/2 cent worth.

Adrian Adamson's attempt on John Wilke's world G altitude record...

I'm honored by the the mention, Warren, but the flight itself was kind of the opposite of great 🙄 and definitely not in the same league as the other boosts. I'll write more about it under the Electronics/post-flight analysis section a little later.

Adrian, John has -some would say perhaps for too long - held an utter lock on club altitude records. I know he's said as much to me at the same time he took quite a bit of time to mentor me in various aspects of how to take them away from him. I think I was the first competitor serious enough to even try for them a few years ago when I took the E record and came within a few feet of taking the club F record from him. Then I started losing rockets and with two or three major F and G project birds laying out on the prairie wherever they are, I backed away somewhat dissillusioned. I have a bird set up for both the F and G in 24mm, but it has absolutely no room for tracking and now THE motors necessary to beat those records - the F32 and G55 - are out of certification. While I could still take the club record and possibly set a new world record, it won't be a Tripoli or NAR record due to the motors. Further, the thing that has kept me from doing it is the near 100% likelihood that once the button is pushed they'll never been seen again. Since 2004, I've gotten a tad sick of losing rockets. At this point I would guess there are three altimeters of mine on the prairie - all Perfectflight MAWD's. (By the way, if anyone finds them - there is a reward.)

Making the attempt is what counts. It is an impressive design and you're the first flyer I've seen who actually put a reasonable amount of noseweight in. My G record bird is carbon with carbon fins, an Estes plastic nosecone and 127 grams of bb shot in the nose.

Warren

With regards to all the posts about the need for more help to make things run smoothly - please remember this enthusiasm for future launches.

For most launches we can barely get someone to commit to driving the trailer.

When you’re talking about two pad managers, an RSO, LCO, and registration table that’s 5 people for a total of 25 shifts per day, times 3 days is 75 people needed. Plus someone should be watching over all this.

Let's remember that what's mentioned in this thread is that a lack of help is a major problem. Looking at it the other way --- it's volunteering that make this club work. Having new people chip in and learn what to do is the best thing ever. Acting as LCO or RSO let’s you see all of what is going on and it’s a great way to see what incredible projects our members put together.

My take is that we shouldn’t even think about adding another Pad Manager until we have people that can tow and RSO, and someone other than Joe to push the button at most launches. (Has anybody looked at the LCO standings lately?? - Prior to MHM it's basically all JH)

There is no question that our three day launches have grown. If we want to keep them alive and keep them three days, then we need to recognize that it is people that are needed more than anything.

Having said all this, I need to point out that we had a great group of people help out this weekend. Many of the old standbys and a lot of new volunteers stepped up too. We should all give a huge round of forum applause to those who made this show go.

Thanks!!

Adrian, John has -some would say perhaps for too long - held an utter lock on club altitude records. Warren

Actually, there are now many capable guys wading into the competitive end of the pool and I'm sure some of those records will fall. Many are within reach (hey, the I just got incremented this weekend!) and the rockets that currently own those marks are really are not that complex. My "I" record was PML phenolic which had 2 layers of glass applied. No vacuum bagging, etc.

I really wanted to fly that same rocket with a J350 for SSSS, as it uses the same casing, but I really enjoyed just lounging around.

As previously noted, there were some really nice flights!

I totally understand Bruce's frustration, as I was supposed to be working pad manager from 12-2, but got bogged down in my 1 flight of the day. I ended up working from about 2:30 to 6 doing pad manager, RSO, and LCO. Thanks to all for showing me what to do, or at least most of it 😉 . Like Adrian, I did the "pushed the wrong button" newbie LCO trick and fired the cannon when someone's rocket should have gone. Sounded like one hell of a CATO. When Adrian left to help his family with dinner prep, I took over as LCO (and RSO and PM), as it was quiet. Boy that changed quickly! I was the proverbial one-armed paper hanger for a bit.

Lots of fun, and a good experience. Next time, I think I'll try early shifts so I can focus on flying after. I rushed too much on my one flight of the day and screwed it up, though not catastrophic.

Ken

I think it would be very helpful for the PM job (and the RSO if he's doing pad assignment as I did), to have some sort of identifier at the pads to tell what rod/rail is on each.

Something like a color-coded card below each rod, so we can tell how many 1/8, 3/16, 1/4, etc. From the table, the rails and HP rods need ID as well. I think it would speed it up considerably, as I spent a bit of time swapping rods and trying to match up people in line with what I had open.

Ken

I have a bird set up for both the F and G in 24mm, but it has absolutely no room for tracking and now THE motors necessary to beat those records - the F32 and G55 - are out of certification

If it has at least 2.25 inches of 24mm coupler space for your current altimeter, then it has room for a beeline and a Parrot. I have 4 G37s left. I want to reserve 2 for attempting a 2-stage 24mm bird later in the year, so if I'm successful with a G re-do this summer, I'll sell you one. Its cert runs out at the end of the year.

Warren, I have an extra Beeline w/ radio you can borrow anytime you want. I have one set up on a small mount that makes it easy to work with....
Greg

Ken, thanks for your yeoman's job as pad manager on Saturday afternoon, and taking over LCO when I had to help with the family. Good idea about the launch rod cards.

Another relatively simple improvement would be to make the card holder configuration for the left range match the pad configuration, or vice versa. The pad 7/9 switcheroo didn't help either.

Just want to say thanks to all the guys who ran the event so slackers like me could come out and just launch rockets. My family had a blast. The UFFO has been repaired and is ready for more flights - I love that little thing!

BTW, to all who watched my Phobos take a digger after a perfect lift off on an AMW I220 skidmark (and thanks to the guys on fire duty - sorry, if I'd known it would be such a hassle I'd hove gone w/something different!), Tim helped me figure out what happened. Classic newbie error - forgot the BP. Doh!

Anyway we did find the remains and managed to dig it out and recover most of the pieces, including Tim's casing. The section w/Homer Hickams signature was undamaged - the rocket gods must have been smiling- so all I lost for my dumb mistake was an $80 rocket and the sadness of seeing my first HPR in pieces. Oh, it was buried about 2 feet deep - based on the projected altitude w/that motor I figure is was going around 325mph when it hit - yikes!

Next time I promise I'll help run things - tho sadly I won't be back til August. Hope we aren't under fire ban by then, but it doesn't look good, does it?

Greg

PS If anyone has pix of the Phobos last flight I'd love to have 'em - it was yellow on top, red on bottom, on a skidmark.

Becky was very impressed at how well everything moved along and was managed, so the folks feeling the most stress are the ones that worked. Thanks to everyone who put in extra time so that others could play.

If possible, the club could consider how racing organizations, like the SCCA and NCCC plan weekend activities, like autocrosses, are managed when it comes to getting full participation. At an SCCA event with 140 drivers, everyone has to select a job assignment from an online list at pre-registration or be assigned a job at registration, before they are allowed to compete. When everyone shows up they are given their assignment and time block to work. Similar jobs are registration, safety inspection (RCO) course set up, timing and audit (same as LCO), cone chasers, corner captains, radio operatrs, announcers, runners, course tear down, as well as driving the equipment truck. In essence, EVERYONE has a job assignment, during the day, and because they have four heats, there is plenty of time to work on your car, drive your heat, and work another. For this privilage we pay $35 and race for a total of 3 minutes. (3 runs 1 minute long).

The NCR rocketry structure may be a lot looser and more flexible, especially if you find yourself out in the field longer than expected recoverying your rocket, but I think we could make work assignments mandantory for event participation. The scouts could do a "walk through" to clean up any trash before they leave.

For all you workers, especially those who set up and tore down the launch pads, a heartfelt THANK YOU!

I also don't want to forget Tim and Sarah for all the hard work and logistics in supplying us all with the means to fly these rockets. They make this possible.

Mike, I definitely lean in the direction you speak of. "You want to fly then you're gonna work." Up until a couple years ago, the completely lassaiz faire method of management worked just fine. It no longer does. Having a line with 50+ people standing in it to get out on a pad is tiresome in the extreme.

I'm working up a plan to put to the rest of the exec comm.

W