Tis
the
Christmas season and what is Christmas without a Christmas
rocket
launch in December. Toni and I woke early to scrape the frost
off the
Highlander and head over to the Maryland’s Eastern Shore with
some
rockets. We met fellow rocketeers at Holly’s and enjoyed a
hearty
breakfast before continuing to Higgs Farm. The weather was cold
and
breezy with variable skies. We made short work of setting up the
field
and were soon ready to fly.
As usual, I let others fly before me until I was satisfied with
the
upper winds. Soon I had
Shaken, Not Stirred
on the pad with an Loki H144 for propulsion.
Shaken, Not
Stirred
jumped off the pad at the end of the countdown and ascended to
1,228
feet before deploying its drogue chute.
Shaken, Not
Stirred
danced during its descent until the main parachute inflated at
400
feet.
Shaken,
Not
Stirred came to a rest just past the ditch. The rocket
was
retrieved without any damage.
See
Shaken,
Not Stirred
Christmas flight here.
I had also brought the
Mars Lander but
the winds were too strong to attempt to fly it. Instead Toni and
I
enjoyed burgers and hot dogs from the Road Kill Café. The
day was cold
and we did our best to stay warm by helping where we could. I
also
filmed some other flights. We looked forward to our journey home
with
the nice heated seats and warmth of the Highlander.
Sunday morning I woke late and headed back to Maryland’s Eastern
Shore
for a second day of rocket flying, leaving Toni behind to make
her
traditional Gingerbread House. I stopped at 7/11 for something
that
passed as a breakfast sandwich and a large cup of coffee. The
field was
already set up when I arrived. The weather was cloudy and the
winds
were very low. I was excited as I hoped to get the
Mars Lander
up.
I prepped my
Big
Der Red Max with a C11 because I knew it would go about
as high
as the
Mars
Lander.
The
Big
Der Red
Max quickly ascended to about 800 feet as part of a
drag race
and successfully deployed its parachute. As feared,
Big Der Red Max
descended into the spectator area and landed on the club’s
trailer. The
winds had to change direction before I endangered the
Mars Lander
and
worse, someone’s vehicle.
See Der Big Red
Max flight
here.
The winds never changed direction and I was disappointed that I
could
not fly the
Mars
Lander. For those that are not familiar with the Mars
Lander
Project, click
here.
I continued to film other flights and tried to stay warm the
best I
could. There were periods of snow and very brief periods of
sunshine.
The sunshine provided an illusion of warmth that made all the
difference in the world. Eventually the cold drove most of the
rocketeers back to the warmth of their homes. We ended the
launch early
and packed up the equipment. The brave few that remained enjoyed
a
Champaign Toast and farewell to the 2011 flying season.
See
all the launch fun here. January’s launch will have the
traditional
Christmas Tree drag races. I enjoyed the remainder of the
Redskins game
on the radio during my journey home and savored in their rare
victorious sweep of the Giants. I hope everyone has a Merry
Christmas
and a Happy New Years. Until the next launch . . .