NCR Club Launch - March 2006

Saturday March 4th, 2006

Launch Summary

Regularly scheduled club launch at the Atlas site. Range and waiver were operational by 9 AM thanks to all the help from volunteers. Nice visit from the Greeley High School TARC team. 24 different flyers put up a total of 118 flights. Bob Messner opened the day with his Thunderhawk on a Pro 38 J285. Chris Frazier and John Erdkamp had ten flights each throughout the day, closely chased by Steve Frazier with 9 and Kaylee Reilly with 8. Other Notable flights included Bruce Schaefer's Vertical Assualt on a J350 for his Level Two certification; Ed Dawson's Chute Happens also on a J350 featuring a three parachute bridle; Troy Hummel's Gladiator sporting a new paint job making it's 11th, 12th and 13th flights; four flights from Bob Messner earning another 13,024' in the Race To Space; Kelsey Dawson's and Kaylee Reilly's Hopper Hauler flight with 44 bug passengers; and a mind numbing 33 flights of Art Hoag's Mini Spool. One rocket reported lost - Tim Thomas' Stinger - punched up there on a D-13 and never found - Yellow and Black paint scheme and streamer recovery. A's=12, B's=23, C's=37, D's=8, E's=5, F's=3, G's=5, H's=8, I's=10, J's=7 Clustered motors count as one flight with three reported, one with 2 C's, one with 2 D's and 1 with 3 E's. Two reported Stage Flights - a D to B and C to C. Flight operations ended about 3:30. Huge thanks to all the volunteers for helping with the range set up, operations and tear down. Thanks to Bill Heath for trailer storage and towing out and to John Nelson for towing back to Dale and Patty's. Another very fun and beautiful day on the prairie. Thanks to LCO's Bill Heath, Tim Thomas, Warren Musselman, Steve Marshall, Ed Dawson and even Cliff Hohenstein pushed the GO button. Thanks to Bob Messner for RSO duty and finding Joe Hinton's Sigh Kha Rus. Next scheduled club launch is April 1st at the North Site.

Weather Conditions

March weather can be so un-predictable and today's calm, clear skies and 60 degree temperatures couldn't have been more welcomed. Winds high aloft were manageable but made for some good walks. The ground breeze was comfortable and never excessive, peeking at 10 mph, but generally in the three to five mph range.