above Ray’s Mesa in a remote corner of the Grand Valley in Colorado, just west of Grand Junction near the state line, organized and coordinated by the local Warp Core rocketry club. About a dozen men of all ages participated in the event and huge fun was had by all.
The Ken's Lake Proving Ground...
in the southern Spanish Valley is a nice alternative launch site for higher powered rockets. Several were fired off today.
No fooling around...
this morning with the launch of a small rocket to celebrate a friend’s birthday and the arrival of April.
A growing club of rocketeers...
gathered this morning at the Round Mountain Missile Proving Range. It’s not a very diverse group. Heh.
Career Day for Moab middle schoolers...
brought them to the Utah State University campus where one of the activities involved model rocketry. We launched and successfully recovered four rockets in a series of demonstrations as small groups of students rotated through the various activities. It was big and chaotic fun.
Observing the first day of spring...
by lofting a rocket.
It may look menacing...
but it’s just a model rocket, albeit a very big model rocket. The HV Arcas by Aerotech stands 56 inches (142 cm) tall and is mounted on a rigid rail used for launching high powered rockets. I will seek Level 1 certification this coming summer from the National Association of Rocketry in order to fly this impressive projectile on larger engines to several thousand feet in altitude. It’s important to have goals in retirement. Go big or stay home.
"Rocket Men"...
reliving their childhood, featured in this week’s Castle Valley Comments. The young lad pictured below plays a leading role.
With a mighty roar...
on a “F” engine, the unpainted Doorknob model rocket leaps skyward off the pad in a sparkly liftoff. The one minute-long flight reached 832 feet in altitude according to the onboard flight recorder.
The moment of ignition...
at the business end of the Patriot model rocket as the engine pressurizes and spits out the electrical ignitor. Milliseconds later, liftoff!
Model rocket descending under chute...
after an early launch on a calm, clear and sunny morning. This one flew to 501 feet on a “C” engine and pulled 9.4 Gs at peak acceleration, softly landing less than 20 feet from the pad.
Who needs a drone...
when you can launch a camera on a rocket?! I’m anticipating that the Castle Valley Town Council will prohibit such activities in three…two…one…
The largest rocket in the arsenal...
was launched today on a “F” engine, also carrying a strap-on downward-looking video camera to record the flight. Too cool for school.
Lift-off...
of several model rockets this afternoon, with a digital flight recorder onboard. The rocket engines have gotten a lot bigger, and the gadgets have gotten a lot cooler, since I was a kid. Fun beyond words.
A Christmas launch...
of a model rocket, my first in 55 years, went off with a satisfying woooooosh! Just as I remembered it as a fledgling rocketeer in my youth. Priceless.