We all know that old joke (at least if you are of a certain age).

What's the last two words of the National Anthem?   ...   'Play Ball!'

Last Sunday in Amesbury it was   'Fly Rockets!'   And the new season has begun!

      It was a windy day, with some lulls but mostly moderate to strong winds blowing up the hill most of the day, with temps in the 50's. There were 192 flights ranging from MicroMax through J motors. Considering that flights tailed off around 2:00 and we ended the launch at 3:00 due to winds, that actually was a pretty good number of flights. There was the usually good crowd for the first launch of the season and included Pack 21 from Newburyport and U. Mass Lowell. Pack 21 had no experience with rocketry at all and needed help from prep'ing their rockets for launch to loading on the pad. A lot of CMASS people helped out and the scouts really appreciated it. I want to thank everyone who helped them out as well. They had a really good time and should be back.

      There were 13 HP flights with at least two successful L1 certifications and one failed L1 certification. One HP drifted way beyond Whitehall Road, and I believe at least one other rocket landed in the trees. We had six CATO's that I counted. One was an Estes F15-4 as part of a three motor cluster for my 'Are You Experienced'. That is the first time I've seen an F15 CATO. Luckily there was only minor damage. The six does not include an actual Estes CATO rocket flown by Bailey Sostek. They're fun to see. There were six competition flights; all by Stephen Maire. Unfortunately it was a little too windy for any successful flights. There were no motor vendors at the launch but Happy Chutes was there. If you haven't yet stopped by their table, do so the next time. His chutes are really well made. Bruce Strong was busy over the winter months arriving with at least one new creation, his Terror-Dactyl (not a name that inspires confidence for the RSO). Jeremy Herman flew his Falcon Heavy and Starship Super Heavy, successfully as usual. The largest rocket with the largest motor of the day was Joshua Drummand's Jupiter 3 Lite flown on an Aerotech J435W. It was big and loud and a neat flight.

      One of our neighbors returned a fiberglass HP rocket that lawn-darted into his lawn last November (picture is in the Gallery). The number on the fin, assuming it is an NAR number, belongs to William Hanlon. If anyone knows William, please let him know that I have his rocket.

      Lastly, but not leastly, CMASS tried out a new flight line arrangement, moving the prep area and spectators off to the northwest side of the launch circle. All to make things a little more safe for everyone. It worked well, and we'll be using this arrangement going forward.

      Thanks to Kenn, Guy, Bruce, Jim and Liz, Harry, Joe Robertson, and everyone else who helped out with food, set up and take down. Pictures are in the Gallery. Please post yours. Also, some really nice pictures of the launch were taken by Amanda Goldman; you can see them here.

      Our next launch is May 11th in Acton. Let's hope for no crickets!