Snow Nymph, Rick M, and rockets

[MikeJ]

Snow Nymph's first post on this board and she gets hijacked by model rockets! Aren't we nice. Snow Nymph, I'm sure most of us have seen your wonderful trip reports on other boards. I'm glad to see you here as well.

So that's why I started a new thread. I want to find out more about the model rockets. Rick, when I read your first comment about your rocket I thought you had hit the zero key one too many times. I've joined ROC at Lucerne Dry Lake a couple of times. When they get a waiver from the FAA it's to shoot a rocket up to 10,000 - 15,000 ft range. But you are trying for 350,000! Where do you go to do that? I would love to watch that.

[Rob]

Rockets like this?

[asabat]

Rockets like this?

My son was on that team and I was there to watch the three Phoenix rockets launch. The first went up 100 feet, stalled, and came down loaded with a couple hundred pounds of jet fuel leaking while venting LOX (think 300 pounds of dynamite ready to blow). The second shot flame 50 feet to the side after a hard start. The third (Phoenix Delta) made it up 1,000 feet when the engine burned through and the rocket turned southbound towards Edwards. Thankfully it crashed a mile down range and the fire was contained to a 1/4 acre. (There's a cool video of the flight on their site.) I understand the SDSU project has not been restarted after a number of graduations, but Cal State Long Beach is still launching from the same RSS site.

[Rick M]

MikeJ: I thought Snow Nymph's photos of the flowers were great and said so in the first reply and I still think they are great. I later responded to people's questions about seeing so many flowers while out launching rockets. Sorry Snow Nymph if I was encroaching on your thread...should I edit them out on that thread???

The RSS site and the ROC site are the ones I normally use in California. The RSS site does have a waiver for 50,000' if it doesn't conflict with operations out at Edwards. For 100,000' flights and above, the nearest places are in Nevada. Some of you may have heard of the "Burning Man" event up at the Black Rock Desert. This is also the site of the first civilian rocket into space (2004 GO FAST project of Ky Michealson and team that reached 74 miles (sixty-two is considered space). These are EX rockets not model rockets and certification and lots of other red tape is needed to launch them. A project I was helping with last year blew up at 11,000' going almost mach 3 that was suppose to reach 100,000' and yes that's one hundred thousand feet and mach three.

I'm not sure if this forum is the place for rocket discussion so for those interested locally you might go to rocstock.org or to Balls17.com

[KathyW]

Wow - I never knew that people launched rockets out in the desert - that is pretty cool.

[MikeJ]

Rick M, I absolutely, positively did not mean to come across as if I was scolding anyone. I was actually chuckling as I wrote my entry. Sorry if it sounded that way.

Thanks for the information about the rocket launches. My experience is limited to the little Estes kits with the boys but it sure was fun watching the bigger rockets.

[Rick M]

No problem MikeJ. I sort of thought you were kidding but I still felt bad about stepping on Snow Nymph's thread which is timely. We are going back out again to see more flowers this weekend out in the Mountain Pass area and launching out at Tripoli Vegas' "SpringFest" regional rocketry meet out at Jean Dry Lake just across the Nevada border.

http://www.tripolivegas.com

[asabat]

Oh, fine, now hijack the rocket thread and talk about wildflowers!

[Snow Nymph]

Ha! Not a problem! I just posted a 'rocket' joke on that thread! I couldn't find it this morning. I didn't know they launched rockets out there either.

Thanks for being concerned, though.

[Rick M]

Winter "seems" to be over, absolutely beautiful weather this weekend. Our "team" launched six good sized projects yesterday. Got about 10+ miles hiking with zero elevation gain retrieving payload sections each day. Reminds me of the Tonto Trail in the Grand Canyon!

No flowers or snakes or any wildlife except a Kangaroo Rat that appeared last night out of nowhere while packing up...great 'rocket' joke Snow Nymph, we all loved it out here

ps Easily went through a gallon each day for hydration...don't forget to drink up!