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GHS2005
Photo right: Rocket Team Vatsaas in uniform and ready for participation in the 2005 G. Harry Stine Memorial Launch in Phoenix, Arizona October 22-23.
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Friday before GHS 2005
T minis 26 hours and we're up at dawn
and waking the neighbors with the power tools
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Brad instructs Dave Erickson on how to
attach fins so that they shear off at maximum velocity
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Loren is busy turning a length of
square tubing into a Chapman Stick.
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Meanwhile, Mark is frantically trying to prevent the bed
covers from blowing away.
Actually, he and Brad pulled two all
nighters trying to get the launch controller working
again. Dave arrived and got it working by wiring
everything backwards. Now our launch controller achieves
ignition by wrinkling the space-time continuum. (Now if
we can get it un-rumpled before anyone notices).
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Eventually, Mark comes down to the
garage to ask us if he has bed sheet wrinkles on his face
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Loading the car at midnight. before day
one of GHS 2005. We are gonna have to fit ourselves in
there, somewhere.
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GHS 2005 Day One
Arriving at the launch site, it looks
like a great turn out for 2005! This is only half the
flight line, it extends just as far to the east.
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Is Christian happy to be here? Yes he
is! He and cousin Joey joined Stefan this year for the
festivities
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The boys impressed us with their
independence, prepping their rockets without our help,
most of the time.
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Dave and Loren Prep Dave's BumbleBeeOne unfortunately he panicked
about the CG and didn't get it ready to fly until too
late
<<<<The boys had a blast with
their rockets........
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Halloweener prepares to fly again,
completely rebuilt from the ground up.
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Interesting trajectory.... A wing sheared off at
Max Q. (Aren't they supposed to flap?)
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Mark suddenly wakes up and decides to
start building a rocket
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We had the hottest babes on the whole
flight line!
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Brad's Blowfish Avenger no longer bobs like a
porpoise, but flies like a a bird
A big, round, flatulent bird. A pied
pelican, sorta.
The photo to the right is the Blowfish at the burnout
of the K1270 motor as it soars to 3400 feet.
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Rick and the Robo-Halloweener pause to pose with
Loren's better half
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Rick is about to learn he shouldn't
argue with Brad about how pack a chute.
Click [HERE!] for the shocking outcome!
<<< Incidentally, Rick has been
wearing those same shorts for six GHS Launches in a row.
Four more years, and they'll be pants!
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Stefan's Talon 2 Hammers on a G64 reload
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Ejection Charges are a good thing to
remember
The impact crater indulged our affinity
for symmetry.
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After the range closed
for the day, we head back to Brad's house, stopping by
Caramba Mexican restaurant for a burrito, and Walmart for some more epoxy.
Many more late-night hours were whiled away in the garage working on rockets
until we staggered into bed in the wee hours of the
morning.
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GHS 2005 Day Two
Day two at RTV Headquarters. Christian
bites the navel off a J350 reload.
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Great father son moment:
Preparing to launch a rocket you and
your boy designed and built together.
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Jay Dennis flew his upscale Alpha, the
Alphasaurus.
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It was way cool.
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Happy Birthday Party Napkin of the
Apocalypse makes its first flying apperance at GHS
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And fly it did! Click [HERE!] and [HERE!] for
enlarged Photos
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Christian flies the Space Brigader
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Dave was determined to cert level one
during GHS, so he built a rocket between 11 and 1 am
Saturday night. He ignored our exortiations to call the
rocket "Sleep Deprivation", and instead dubbed
it "Key Lime Pie of Destruction"
It was delicious.
Details [HERE!]
<<<<Dave experiences the
euphoric sensation of level 1 certification...so often
confused with dehydration and heat exhaustion
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Rick's 1/16 scale SS1 was the last
official Launch of the day
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And it was a doozey! Click [HERE!] for Details.
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Once the range closed, we hung around and launch
a few more mod-rocs and Mid power rockets. It was relaxed and
fun.
These "Schooner" rockets were
a big hit! The airframes are constructed from polypropylene drinkware, just like the Scarab.
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Besides rockets, we played a little pin
the tail on the cowboy. Perhaps we should add this
activity to things more dangerous than rocketry
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Setting up for the Three Martini Launch
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Dave labored all weekend to get this
new Halloweener "Frankenberle" ready to fly, but we
missed our chance with shortened range hours on Sunday. (This rocket is named for its facial similarities to Milton Berle, not any relationship to RTV member-at-large Burl Finkelstein...)
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Click
[HERE!]
to return to the central index of pages describing RTV's annual participation at GHS!
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