Spokane Area Rocket Club

I am pleased to report Dayton WA and the Blue Mountain Rocketeers are well worth the windshield time for rocket fun! I recorded just over 2 hrs actual driving time from the intersection of hwy 195 & I90 (plus another 45 minutes from my house (Deer Park)). Models Rule, Mid Power rocks, and High Power exists. I experienced an unequalled implementation of a 'concession stand'. The food wasn't just good it was unique, handmade and plentiful. Bob Grossfield from Sun River was on-site with a full compliment of supplies. He wasn't just vending, he was flying too. Congratulations to Joe Cooney for successfully tagging L1. Prior to that, he was doing his best to wear out the GSE with numerous flights. As he does at our local SPARC launches, he was active all day Friday. Unfortunately he had a dog to tend to (I can't argue with that priority) so he headed north before dark. Mark Lyons saved my bacon with supreme little home made igniters. I borrowed 3 (like I'm going to return them) and had 100% success getting motors lit. It was good to see Bryon Schopp make the trip down too. I didn't get to visit much with him but he was flying steadily on Saturday. On a somber note: a guy by the name of Monty Bennett (sp?) passed away recently. I never knew the guy personally but came to know him during my visit. One of his requests was to give away all his rocket stuff and this guy had an impressie stash of rocket items. When I pulled in, I thought maybe I was intruding on a vendor as there were fully built rockets, partially built rockets, tubes of all sizes, Nose cones, parachutes, and other goodies spread out for 30' or more. All free. If you want it and can use it, take it was the word of the day. There were also several motors that were being handed out to folks who could use them. There were numerous H-128's and H-180's being held in trust for future JR L1 certification attempts. A fellow by the name of Bruce Johnson (I think that's right) happened to be parked to my east and he too was in 'give away mode'. He's a few years from retirement and planning to relocate so was reducing his rocket 'clutter'. I’m not sure just what was his and what belonged to Monty as everything came down with Bruce in his truck. I can't believe all that stuff fit and according to stories of his arrival he barely had breathing room. There was a pristine and complete set of Kosdon 29mm hardware that he somehow found out I could use. Talk about a Christmas surprise when, after showing it to me, he said "keep it"! My West neighbor was Tim Quigg so I was in fantastic company without leaving 'home'. The main recovery area was freshly mowed hay, the camping area was mowed grass, and the surrounding terrain was hilly (big hills) that were either plowed or recently harvested. There was some talk of XPRS and the consolation of "hey at least we are launching rockets". After hearing of the weather conditions on the playa, I now feel guilty thinking of BMR as 'consolation'. As always it was good to see Darrell Smith and Robert McMillan again after unexpectedly running into them at LDRS back in July. This time around they were sporting orange vests and looking official. One oddity that I noticed was the overall percentage of motor homes present. Normally, I expect a bunch of cars and a few motor homes, but here motor homes were the rule with family oriented folks who all seemed to know each other. Sam Grado had a big smile on his face as he picked up his booster section lost at Brothers in July (and found in August) along with two other MIA motor casings that he will return to OROC's lost-n-found. He didn’t just stop by to pick up stuff; he also put up some rockets. It wasn't enough to have all the special give away stuff so there was also a raffle. All you had to do was fly something as flight cards represented the tickets. I came away with a 'ROLLING THUNDER' cap just for being the second flight of the day on Saturday. I managed to get in a total of 5 flights. First up was an 18mm 2-stager via C6-0 to C6-7 and streamer recovery. It flew to just out of sight, deployed the streamer and once again became visible recovering 'in the green'. The conditions late Friday afternoon were pristine so I decided to fly my F10. That little sucker just burned and burned before deploying a small chute and recovering a moderate walk away. While the waiver closed at 1800, FAR-101 continued about another hour until the sun dipped below the horizon. Saturday morning was breezy (Ok windy), but mild and comfortable. Had I known about the conditions at Black Rock I would have been giddy, but instead I pouted. By noon the winds were dying down and rockets were launching at a comfortable pace. I started by cramming an E9-6 into a 24mm airframe that had seen some wear and tear. The MMT had swollen some over time and I just couldn't get the last inch of motor up into the tube. I checked with Tim and he agreed the CG/CP relationship was marginal but at 1 caliper so OK to fly. Well, my CP calculations were based on a motor fully installed so stability came up a tad short. It was close enough to make the rocket act like a car on ice as it looped around the CG several times deploying the streamer just as it hit the ground. No damage (other than to my ego). Conditions continued to improve so I decided to put up my 29mm GTV via G35-7. After two misfire attempts, I realized my igniter wasn't in the game. Physical appearance was good and so was continuity but it just wasn’t going to turn DC amps into fire. Good ole Mark Lyons stepped up and took the worry of ignition out of the equation. I knew the 7 second delay was short but opted for a small chute anyway. Poor decisions always seem to have consequences lurking nearby. After an arrow straight boost to the limits of visibility, the eject charge went off and the chute immediately stripped. I had visual on the chute, which I thought at the time still had a rocket attached. It didn't take long to realize that the chute was solo and not returning to earth any time soon. Without a bearing to search, I just gave up. So, who do I see wearing a GTV necklace?......Mark Lyons! He lights em and finds em too. What a guy. Bruce Johnson was showing off a stash of dinky E25-10's and proposing a snitch drag race. While I didn't have a snitch, his offer of "want one" was a no-brainer. I had a little 18mm airframe that I thought might be fun. I guess it was fun, but I never saw the thing after T-zero. I heard it so I knew it launched but never saw nuthin. I just can't seem to visit a launch site without leaving something behind so BMR is now on the list. I figured that flight was kinda like the ole Mach Buster but Robert McMillan refreshed my memory with a classic Mach Buster fight on a G55. While we saw the apogee tracking chalk, that was the last sign of his rocket. I hope he finds my rocket while searching for his. Oh yea, they did get the snitches off, all E25's lit beautifully and I think performance was about identical as all snitches hit apogee at the same time. Saturday conditions continued to improve as my vacation pass expired at 1500 and I had to pack up and depart.....danGIT :-( BMR represents a very well organized group and fantastic opportunity to enjoy rockets, camaraderie, good food, and fun. Fun is GOOD! Bob Yanecek