REPEAT IN THE HEAT

The first and last time I had ever been in Argonia, Kansas was LDRS-18, in July 1999, which was memorable for me in many ways, not the least of which was the extremely hot, dusty, and windy environment.  In fact, LDRS-18 was held at the time of the great Summer drought of 1999, and temperatures did not dip below 100^º during the day the entire time I was there.  Little did I imagine that LDRS-22 would almost exactly duplicate these miserable conditions.

Much else would change for the better, though. In 1999, I was the lone representative of Tripoli Pittsburgh; such would not be the case this time. With our new large club canopy, luggage, rockets, and various rocket necessities jammed into a rented minivan, Dave Rose, Chris Rose, and I would set out for a long drive to Argonia.  And we would rendezvous at the host hotel in Wichita with Jim and Woody Hoburg, and Dave and Matt McKeown.  No lack of Pittsburgers on hand this time!

Our Gang: Matt McKeown, Dave McKeown, Jim Hoburg, Woody Hoburg, Ken Good, Dave Rose & Some Guy Named Chris!

This was also the first LDRS for the McKeown’s, so they were especially eager to be there.  And we had  entered one of the  Discovery Channel/First TV “Rocket Challenge” competitions, “From the Ground Up”, in which teams are timed on how quickly they can successfully build, launch, and recover a K-motor rocket. Due to the larger than needed number of interested teams, it transpired that we were among those not selected (a shame, because I think we would have done very well), but I was pressed into service as a timer for one of the teams.  Acknowledging my suave persona and obvious appeal to females (hey, who’s laughing?), I was picked to time the only all-female team, the “Rocket Babes.”  It was a great experience…. but I’m getting ahead of myself.

I confess that between an extraordinarily high number of TRA Board meetings, and the oppressive heat, I wasn’t the one doing a great deal of actual rocket flying.  And frequently, I was off in some meeting, or supporting some function, or out looking up people who I wanted to talk with (or vice-versa), or scouting out something cool to drink.  It was really the Rose/Hoburg/McKeown triumvirate who did the most real rocket stuff at LDRS, and who clearly had a better grasp of what the LDRS22 experience was all about. 

My rocket experience at LDRS 22 really begins several weeks before our trip to Kansas.  Sometime in May I thought it would be good to bring a new “feature rocket” to this LDRS, based upon real rocket materials – Dynacom, of course.  I submitted an original design to Eric Haberman for a 8.5’ rocket, based on his 4.125” OD tubing; Eric got back in touch quickly, saying, “I have an alternative for you…”  It turns out that Eric is in the middle of launching a new line of kits, all based on the same basic layout, in 3”, 4”, and 5” diameters.  His new line goes under the name of “Air X” (a clever play on his first name), and his “Delamar” kit looked very similar to my proposed design. Eric suggested that if I wanted to obtain a prototype Delamar, and fly it at LDRS, thus helping him promote his new line through direct exposure at our national launch, he’d get the kit to me quickly and work out some special pricing.  How could I resist? Eric was as good as his word, and delivered the Delamar kit quickly.  Despite my getting a painful case of the shingles, which pretty much limited my physical activity for a week, the kit went together extremely easily, and Tom Blazanin did a wonderful job of laying down a superb paint job (in a NASSA GPP/GPQ-esque kind of color scheme) a couple of days before the new Delamar had to be loaded up for the trip.

The story of getting the Delamar flight ready at LDRS was, as one may infer from my earlier comments, a series of frustrations, but I did manage to do so by Sunday, the last day of commercial flying. Although I toyed with the idea of seeking out an L-850 (Eric would have liked that!) for a an aggressive flight to about 10K ft, Sunday’s cloud cover decided things, and it wouldn’t be until early afternoon that a less-ambitious K-700 flight would be feasible.  It was a memorable one, though.  First, as I walked to my assigned launch pad, I was serenaded (using the term loosely) over the PA system by new TRA Board member Pat Gordzelik and Neil Milburn, singing “happy birthday” to me (they were tipped off by Bill Davidson).  Then as my flight was queued up, there was an LCO snafu, and when they thought they were launching my rocket, they launched another one instead, fooling Dave McKeown into videotaping the wrong rocket. When the correct button was pushed, the Delamar flew beautifully, and recovered perfectly within a few hundred yards of the launch pad.  And scarcely a mark on the cool paint job.  Nadine McKinney got some great shots of the rocket and me as well.

We stayed through Monday, and had the chance to witness some great EX flights. A Monday highlight was the final Discovery Channel competition, “From the Ground Up.” There had been a great deal of pre-LDRS member discussion and concern about this particular event.  Some were worried that by encouraging a fast build of a K-powered rocket, we were inviting disaster, but very close ongoing scrutiny by TAP chair Bill Davidson, TAP member Jim Rossen, and me, and a final, “no-nonsense” pre-flight RSO inspection by Bill and Jim ensured that the entries were properly built.  It would turn out that all rockets flew straight with no structural problems, and all recovered perfectly as well.  There were some memorable moments here too – Barry Lynch of LOC, part of the winning “LOC-Ness” team, was affixing large “LOC Precision” stickers to their entry, despite the fact that the tubing was supplied by PML!  They completed a very good build job on their 8’ long, 6” diameter rocket, complete with a half-decent paint job, in 48 minutes.  They ended up winning by a large margin.

But my team, the “Rocket Babes” I think deserves special mention.  Of all the teams, theirs was the smallest, having only four members, one of whom needed to make a prolonged unscheduled visit to the air-conditioned Discovery Channel/First TV trailer due to the cruel heat and the unfortunate placement (partially in the sun) of their assembly table.  Despite these disadvantages, their entry turned out to be a well-built, good-looking one that flew and recovered perfectly.  And they were a game bunch of gals that continued undiscouraged despite the hurdles they faced.  They may not have won the competition, but they won everyone’s hearts with their cheerful good spirit and guts.

Acres & Acres & Acres & Acres & One Tree!

I have a few other random impressions that will stick with me.  The “deluge of Biblical proportions” that we drove through west of Indianapolis on the way to Kansas, Jim and Woody packing an enormous parachute in the hotel lobby, me falling asleep in a comfy chair in the hotel lobby at the conclusion of an ad hoc, late-evening Board meeting, Dave and Matt McKeown surrounded by various rocket parts under their tent, Chris “salvaging” fins and nose cone by smashing a well-zippered QT body tube to pieces, and Dave Rose and all of us trying to figure out where Dave’s beautiful red Python had gone after the LCO had “itchy trigger-finger.”

And of course, the relentless mid-July Argonia Kansas heat, which was a challenge but one everyone managed to cope with.  But above all else, LDRS-22 was a well-run event, and a well-attended one too.  Despite all the challenges of motor shortages, ATF problems, and misgivings that HP rocketry may be smothered to death, this LDRS was enthusiastic, innovative, and forward-looking.  And for me, it was a memorable life experience, shared with a great group of rocketry colleagues. My thanks to Dave, Chris, Jim, Woody, Dave, and Matt for being such fine LDRS companions, and congratulations to all of them for so effectively upholding our prefecture’s tradition of advanced rocketry.

LDRS THINGS OF INTEREST

Chris Rose preps his Pterydactyl

Dave Rose with his DynaCom PYTHON

Dave, Chris and Ken next to Dave's Bulldog