Launch Summary for 2/5/12
As reported by Jose:
There are some things that just go together… like burgers and beer, retirement and crocheting, or Superbowl and Gisele Bundchen (NOT!). Make that Superbowl and rocketry. Yes, the hardy folk at CENJARS braved another wintry Superbowl Sunday to push 45 flights into the sky, ranging from 1/4A to F powered. This actually exceeds the typical turnout in the summer months! If you really need to know, the flight statistics were as follows:
Motor Class |
Number of Engines |
|
1/4A |
2 |
|
1/2A |
2 |
|
A |
12 |
|
B |
10 |
|
C |
16 |
|
D |
2 |
|
E |
4 |
|
F |
1 |
The launch controller system performed much better after the reconstruction work done on it by Dave Statham. Club president Charlie Kirlew was at the controls, doing double-duty as LCO and RSO. In between the required countdowns, he managed to fly his Snitch and Lemon-Drop. I propose that we give him a break next month so that he can enjoy himself too.
We had some newcomers like Jenna, a pretty young lady that seems just as likely to fly some serious birds into the sky as to break many a young men’s hearts in the future. Tyler came back victorious after a bout with the Rocket Grinch. For those unfamiliar with it, the Rocket Grinch is a devilish creature that threatens to make waste of any brand-new rocket kit. This time, however, the Rocket Grinch had suffer through Tyler’s moment of triumph as his Heavenly Hobbies’ Brutus 2.6 roared upwards under E15 power. The crowd was quite pleased.
Sniffing around, I heard that Chaka Freeman has an E-powered, homebrewed project in the works. He did not volunteer any details, but he carried a bagful of parts and balsawood under his arm. Ray Godown brought his beautifully constructed Madcow Super DX3 (L2 project) for ejection charge testing. I’m looking forward to see this bird take to the skies under J-class power! Jim Zindle flew his new Heavenly Hobbies’ Resistor 224 a couple of times, first loaded with two C11’s and later with a couple of D12’s. I hear Jim is going to try it on two E15’s in the near future. Aliens beware!
Mike Centrella, our past club president, donated to the club a mid-power rocket for anybody to fly or to develop further. Tell Charlie if you are interested in taking up this open-ended challenge!
Did I mention that the Giants won the Superbowl? Sorry Gisele!
Next Launch February 5th
As of today, February 2nd, the weather is forecasted to be partly sunny and in the mid 40′s so unless the winds pick up beyond the NAR safety limit it looks good that we will have our launch on Sunday February 5th at 12:30pm.
Please check back periodically for updates.
Bring a Giants themed rocket to fly!
Gooooo Giants!!
Observers and new fliers welcome!
January 8th Launch Report
As reported by Jose:
“Old Man Winter took a couple of days off in the Caribbean, so the members of the CENJARS club were quick to take advantage of this golden opportunity to send some rockets into the wild blue yonder. Freshly installed president Charlie Kirlew performed admirably as senior technical support specialist, LCO and RSO. According to Charlie’s flight log, there was one 1/2A flight, four A flights, six B flights, 5 C flights, three E flights and one F flight. Looks like a nice normal distribution to me!
There were some issues with the launch controller, as many rockets failed to ignite while on the pad. We have already begun to address the issues as Dave Statham volunteered to install a new set of alligator clips donated by Heavenly Hobbies. If the problems persist, a new launch controller may be necessary.
A new member, Chaka Freeman joined us on Sunday with part of his family. Chaka admitted to being a BAR, and proved it by flying several Estes kits of various sizes. My favorite was his black Mean Machine, which took to the skies under E9 power. After a long absence, Dave Statham graced us with his presence and the beauty of his museum-quality models. Dave flew various rockets including an Aerotech Cheetah that had no qualms in pushing the limits of our flying field on a “properly aged” Aerotech E15. Tyler, a young guest from neighboring Manalapan, dragged his family down to the field and flew several Estes models on B and C engines. I’m sure we’ll see him again as I’m afraid he was seriously bitten by the rocketry bug.*
Ray Godown continued working for his Nartrek pin, using an Estes Alpha in an attempt to attain a 1-minute total time of flight. He also tested an Estes Alpha III on a 1/2A10 engine, using a 13mm engine adapter from Estes. Other featured flights were Charlie’s Estes Fatboy , Jim’s scratchbuilt 13mm Superroc model and Jose’s Heavenly Hobbies Backdraft. The Backdraft model is a dual-engined contraption that has yet to have a successful flight at CENJARS. It was flown once by Dave (ending in a core sample) and again by Jose, ending in a “Was it supposed to do that?” kind of flight. I’ve heard that three is the charm. We’ll see…
*Dragging your family down to the field is an old CENJARS tradition, as to which our our president, Charlie Kirlew, can attest. ”
Next Launch January 8th 2012 – Update
Our next launch will be at 12:30pm on Sunday, January 8th at the 18th Avenue Location.
It will be weather permitting so please check back regularly for updates to this launch.
All Current and New Members please fill out the form and send a check in for your dues in the JOIN Section
New Fliers and Observers welcome to come!
We look forward to seeing you there!
Happy Holidays
Thanks to all our members for making CENJARS a success in 2011. We recently held elections and Charlie Kirlew is our new Club President. Congrats Charlie! Charlie can be contacted at ckirlew @ att.net (remove the spaces).
Keep checking back for an update on our next launch and or meeting.
Have a great Holiday season!