Quote from Eric Becher on May 8, 2023, 12:47 pm

May 2023 Launch Report

What a GREAT day for flying! It has been a while since I could say that. A little breeze popped up now and then, but we really couldn’t complain. Warm sunny skies and a generally light breeze made for a nice day to be outside. Good attendance and lots of flying were the result. We even stayed a little later than usual, launching past 5PM. We just didn’t want to leave!

Motor totals:

5 – 1/2A or less motors

9 – A motors

13 – B motors

30 – C motors

17 – D motors

9 – E motors

3 – F motors

4 – G motors (FOUR G motors!)

View Launch Statistics

Total of 90 motors on 88 flights.

With so much going on, it’s hard to know where to start. Let’s start with the Holidays. A belated Happy Easter as Brian ran our late (better than never) Easter Egg launch contest. One of the first ones off the rail was Dan’s Apogee Omelet. Similar to one of Dan’s rockets last year, it defied the laws of physics and broke our promise to never leave a rocket in the sky. Dan’s egg was last seen passing beyond city limits, and still raising. Next stop Europe! Without verifying the egg’s survival, we had to DQ that one, but there were 8 other egg flights. Most eggs survived their flights. Eric’s Hoppy Easter won, just beating Jo Ann’s Candy Corn rocket by a few seconds (a little tension at home after that). Honorable mention to Jeff and his colorful “Organic Valley Low Fat Milk” carton rocket, which landed hard, but looked festive doing it. Thanks to all who participated, and to Brian C. for running the contest with help from Joe working the timer.

Next up was “May the 4^th Be With You” day. There were many Star Wars related activities. Death Stars, X-wings, Tie Fighters, Light Sabers, all took to the skies. Eric & Jo Ann brought an array of Death Star cake pops, one of which Charlie launched as the “Delicious Death Star”. We even had a visit from Darth Vader himself! Joe Z will have a video posted soon showing Vader’s quest for just the right starship.

What about Cinco de Mayo? Well, we didn’t have a Mariachi band, and there were no flying sombreros (there’s an idea for next year!), but May 5^th marks another occasion. In 1961 Alan Sheppard became the first American in space flying in his “Freedom 7” capsule on top of the Mercury Redstone rocket. In that honor there were a bunch of Mercury Redstone rockets flying.

And with Mother’s Day approaching, Charlie launched his “Acme Spitfire” in honor of Mother’s Day. I’m not sure why he picked that rocket, but it was fun to see regardless.

Other launches of note included a few of Dan’s gliding rockets, a couple of bomb-like rockets, Brian’s detailed, nice looking and nice flying Super Orbital Transport (also with a glider). Alex had a pretty tall Mean Machine. Jeff’s Katana Jr. looked pretty nice. And Brian C’s “Moondog” flew well for a big rocket on an F-25. Kim flew a couple of nice-looking rainbow-colored rockets that were perfect for spring. Joe flew anything with a Sci-fi theme, plus a space shuttle that maneuvered like the ones from the movie Armageddon. Eric released his Baby Kraken, then his King Kraken. Neil brought us some rockets that we could all aspire to, including his Phoenix, Goblin, and Bullet Bobby XXL, all flying on G motors. (Neil also displayed a big rocket that will NOT be flying at our field, but was cool to see – Thanks Neil)

There were also a few CATO’s, involving Estes’ D12’s and E12’s (plus one Q-Jet). See my “fix” for these issues, that so far and had a perfect record over about 10 flights of these motors. Link to article here.

We held a raffle for anyone who has paid their membership for the year. Thanks to all those who paid and help support the Club. Money is used to maintain our launch equipment and conduct outreach events like Scouts, Wall Community Day, and so on. The prize of an Estes Crossbow SST kit (donated by Joe Z.) goes to Jay H. Jay – see me at the next launch you attend and I’ll have it for you.

Joe Z. also announced another contest coming soon. For details and rules you will have to check out the Club’s website, CENJARS.org. He will post about it soon. While you are there, set up an account, check out the wealth of info, pictures, videos, calendars, etc. You can also subscribe to the Forum so you never miss a post.

Thanks again to Joe at Rocketship Games for his attendance. With the light winds Joe didn’t have to worry about his tent for a change. He’s been expanding his line of kits and motors, so if you’re looking for something unique, Joe’s probably got it. His prices are great and you can save on shipping, so take advantage when you see him.

This week we have a couple of events on the calendar. On Wednesday the 10^th is an evening “Scouting Extravaganza” event in Ocean County. Then on Saturday the 13^th is another Scouting event, this one a launch at Dorbrook Park in Colts Neck. Poohbah is trying to nail down the details, so if you are interested in helping out, stay tuned to the CENJARS website and emails.

Next launch is scheduled for June 4^th. Summer will likely be on hand, so get those shade tents and umbrellas ready!