Quote from Eric Becher on July 6, 2026, 6:24 pm

July 5, 2026 Launch Report

Well, it was a hot day, but not as bad as the previous few days this past week. And the good news was the lack of wind. As far as that goes, it was perfect. Generally speaking, most rockets went straight up, and landed close by in front of us. Couldn’t have asked for better!

Engine totals:

7 – 1/2A Engines
13 – A Engines
9 – B Engines
24 – C Engines
4 – D Engines
2 – E Engines
8 – F Engines
3 – G Engines
Total of 70 engines on 70 flights.

View Launch Statistics

It was our 4^th of July launch, and this being the 250^th birthday of our country, some kind of observance was certainly called for. There were plenty of Red, White, and Blue rockets flying. Some rockets had a red glare, but no bombs were bursting in air, thank goodness. In fact, with the light breeze, I think we got everything back too. Jeremy was, I think, the only one to fly across the street, but that’s just what Jeremy does all the time. We even had a special visit from Uncle Sam himself! (I suspect a video will be coming soon)

A nice variety of flights were made, and the lack of wind brought out the gliders too. Dan’s “Astron Invader” flew a couple of times. Bill’s new “Gryphon” glider flew for the first time. Mathew’s “Blue Beam” (suspiciously similar to a Space Shuttle) flew and glided nicely 2 or 3 times. His “Super Orbital Transport” also looked and performed well. And Bill’s awesome looking “F-15”, while not technically a glider, kind of did that anyway.

There were all manner of other rockets flying. Sputnik, spinny thingys, Mars landers, helicopters, and a pair of the dreaded “Leapers”, which actually landed upright (on a bounce) for a change. New member Leon flew his first rocket – a “Mercury Redstone” to a perfect flight. Now you have to paint that rocket! There was Henry’s “Big Red Egg” carrying Oreos, because why not! And finally, Neil, our resident “G-Man”, woke up the neighborhood with a couple of G-motor flights in his Loc Spool. Christian followed suit with his “Rolly Polly”.

Feeling patriotic and historical-like, Eric ran a contest. He built a pair of “USA250” rockets to commemorate our country’s independence in 1776 and our history bringing us to today. The contest was to name the faces of our founding fathers and other significant figures on the fins of the two rockets. There were 10 entries. Joe Z. was declared the winner, but with others close behind him. Thanks all for participating. I was happy to see not just the interest, but to see that so many people did so well. The scores ranged within a 5-point spread, which I think is pretty good. For those who didn’t see the answers, I’ll post them separate to this.

Thanks also to Mike for donating a box of nice kits to use as prizes. We’ll have to come up with some contests throughout the rest of the year so everyone can have an opportunity to win one or two of them. Stay tuned.

Welcome back to our intrepid explorer and rocketry vendor Joe of Rocketship Games. Joe missed last launch because he was climbing Mt. Denali in Alaska. Why? Because it was there! He may have also been looking for another of Jeremy’s rockets that left the reservation. Congratulations to Joe!

A few pictures are in the Gallery. Feel free to post more if you have any good ones, and check back for Joe’s, I mean Uncle Sam’s video soon.

The next launch is scheduled for August 2^nd. Bring your tents, because it will likely be hot again. Also, this is usually our annual pot-luck picnic. Always lots of great food! Mark it on your calendar and stay tuned for details and a signup for what you might be bringing.