NARAM

I\'m returning from NARAM with the same amount of rockets I left with (more if you count what I bought)in pretty much the same condition they left in. Here\'s some video:

billspad wrote:

I\'m returning from NARAM with the same amount of rockets I left with

Except the one you lost to \"finders-keepers\" or was she nice enough to give the rocket back to you and not just your camera? You were so close to hitting the truck, too. And it was one time it wouldn\'t have been yours.

Looked like a great place. What launch limits were in place (I\'m too lazy to look on the NARAM website)?

That was Mary Roberts of Estes Industries. Bill\'s model landed right near their tent - or the remnants thereof. It was one of several that were blown down in a severe thunderstorm Monday night. You can see in the video that the contestants\' tent collapsed in the storm. Fortunately, everyone got off the field safely and tents and EZ-ups were the only casualties.

They\'ve got a great field, but not a clue how to run a range. The guy who owns the land flies rockets and put in a gravel area so they could fly sparkies. Originally, they weren\'t going to be allowed, but he got that changed. They\'ve also got concrete pads for their HPR launchers, a shack where they store their equipment and bleachers for spectators.

Bill\'s K flight was beautiful, but I\'ll let him tell the story.

I forgot how many acres that ranch is but it\'s in the thousands. There are so many huge fields out there it just doesn\'t seem fair. They should take some of our trees and buildings to even things out. I think the waiver was 12,000 feet and they actually fly that high.

John is right about the sport range. They told me their regular launches are around a couple hundred flights with the majority being high power. Most of the pads couldn\'t be adjusted which makes it a little interesting when you\'ve got a lot of cars and a competition range nearby. I think the locals thought I was a little crazy when I was looking for rocks to put under the legs of the pad so the rocket would come down where I wanted it to.

My K flight was a lot of fun. It took three tries to get it going and I\'ll only take responsibility for one of the misfires. If you\'ve been to one of the meetings in Saugus you probably saw the pieces of the rocket in my workshop. It is 4\" in diameter, 6 feet tall, all fiberglass and weighs around 15 pounds with the motor. It flew to around 4300 feet. I put a large chute in it because it was dual deployment. I also put in a lot of black powder. Enough so that the apogee charge was strong enough to knock the nose cone off and pull the main parachute out. According to the altimeter it was in the air around 5 or six minutes. I had it in sight all the way until it disappeared into a canyon. While it wasn\'t the Grand Canyon it was close enough for me. I think it took three of us a half an hour to find it and bring it back. Fortunately the other two people came out in an ATV and I got a ride back. Otherwise I\'d still be out there. Riding in the back of the ATV and holding the rocket while we zipped up and down hills and through brush was quite an experience.

Now John can fill everyone in on his contest flying experiences.

billspad wrote:

Now John can fill everyone in on his contest flying experiences.

Do I have to?