Launch Date: 28 April, 2018

 

A check of the wind and weather websites revealed that today would be a warm day in Colorado with a minimal-wind launch window between 9:00 a.m. and noon.  It has been well over three months since I have had an opportunity to launch rockets, so I am long overdue for getting in a good flyin’ ‘fix’.

For today’s launch session, I would be flying at nearby Douglas County High School, so smaller power rockets would be the rule.  Off the shelf came the Hornet, the Generic E2X, the newly-built Star Seeker for its maiden flight, and….the Mosquito.
Arriving at the field at 11:00 a.m., I quickly got things set up and ready to go.  Wind speeds were estimated at around 5mph with no overhead clouds, and plenty of sunlight.
The first model prepped was the old familiar Hornet for flight #39. The old bird turned in yet another great flight on an A3-4T engine with recovery by a 10” parachute equipped with a spill hole.  Again, the model was returned with no damage.

Next bird to poke a hole in the sky was the freshly-built Estes Star Seeker. Not wanting to fly this bird in tumble recovery mode as specified by Estes, I equipped it with a 1”x 12” plastic streamer.
The model boosted high and straight on a 1/2A3-4T. 

 Following ejection, I saw no streamer, but observed the model falling in one piece. The cel phone video I took of the flight recorded me saying, “There’s gonna be some damage here”, as the bird was rapidly falling.  Reaching the crash site, I found that the Star Seeker was intact.  The streamer had ejected, but tangled along with the shock cord around one of the fin assemblies. The only damage to the model was a crack in the paint on the rear body tube, probably from engine heat.

I quickly prepped the model for a second flight.  Again it boosted straight and high.  This time at ejection, I completely lost sight of the model- no streamer again.

Spying the model lying on the turf a short distance away, I found it in this condition:

The motor casing had ejected instead of the recovery system. The fin damage was the result of,essentially, tumble recovery.  Easy fixes, though, and the Star Seeker will fly another day!

Next bird to be prepped for flight was the tiny Mosquito.  
The model performed its usual straight, high boost on a 1/4A motor.  The ejection cloud was highly visible against the clear blue sky, after which I caught a flash of sunlight off the model’s silver Monokote wrap.  To my great surprise, I actually detected the model descending in stable trajectory all the way to the ground, where it impacted, hopped in the air a couple of feet and fell back to the turf.  This is the first time I’ve ever witnessed an entire flight of one of these elusive birds.  Up until now, I didn’t think it could be done.  Needless to say, recovery was quite easy.

I quickly had an igniter installed in a new ¼A engine, and the Mosquito on the pad for flight number two.  Again, a nice boost was followed by a highly visible ejection cloud.  This time, I lost sight of the model, but walked in the direction of where I had seen the ejection charge.  I easily located the bird on the ground.  I counted 40 paces back to the launch pad.

 

Flight #2

Well, now, I was having so much fun launching and recovering this little bird, I figured I might as well have another go.  This would be flight #10 overall for this Mosquito.

Flight #3

Again the model flew nicely, and again, I was able to catch sight of its descent and follow it all the way to the ground, where it stuck in the turf ‘lawn dart style’.  Another short, leisurely walk to pick it up.
I had intended to stop at 3 flights, but I still had one more ¼A motor left.  Why not?

Up went the Mosquito again, and for the third time I caught sight of it streaking in for another ‘bounce-on-the-grass’ impact right in front of the soccer net. 








Had the model bounced a little further in the right direction, it might have scored a goal!




I had brought along the Generic E2X model to fly today as well, but found that the low-wind weather window was coming to an end.  Judging from my marker streamer I estimated that wind speeds had picked up to over 7mph, so I opted out on flying the GE2X.

As I was packing up the gear, I noticed this:

First time I have ever seen a starter plug land on the launcher!

7 flights on the day with no lost models and only one real mishap.  I’ll roll with that.

Hangin' Out With 'Mr. Cineroc' Part 8 - I Found 'Em !!

After much moving boxes around, rummaging, and sustaining a cut on my finger, I found two 8mm film reels containing some Cineroc flight footage I had taken for Herb Desind.  These were processed by Herb and sent to me.  The pieces of tape identifying the reels are his hand writing. 

The next step is to get them to one of those outfits that can convert 8mm film to digital and throw them on a CD Rom.
I haven't viewed these films since the late 70s, so I have no recollection of their content. 

The one labeled Bear Creek Park makes sense because that was the location of an annual demonstration launch that the Skywatchers Club put on for the Skyway Homeowner's Association in northwest Colorado Springs.  Bear Creek Park is a lovely location - a well manicured park nestled in the foothills against a scenic mountain backdrop of Colorado Springs' Rampart Range.

Copies of these same flights may reside in Herb's vast collection of Cineroc films, wherever that may be.

Once I get digital copies made, I'll see if I can post any interesting still frames here.

Cheers!

Hangin' Out With 'Mr. Cineroc', Part 7 - Herb, The Science Teacher

In a short letter dated February 24, 1978, Herb enclosed a newspaper clipping with a photo.  This was a rocket demonstration launch conducted at Eisenhower Junior High School , presumably the school where he taught science.  According to the article, the launch was put on by the Eisenhower Rocket Club as part of a science fair on February 16, 1978.

 

Also enclosed with the letter was a super 8mm film roll, the first of which Herb had processed which contained some of the Cineroc flights I had flown for him here in Colorado.

Hangin' Out With Mr. Cineroc, Part 6 - Us Guys Here In Colorado

At the time that I was corresponding with Herb Desind starting in 1976, the local rocket club I belonged to (Skywatchers/ROMAR) had dwindled to only five or six regular members.  We had lost our ability to maintain NAR Section status because we didn't have the required 10 NAR members.
Also, at the time, there were no other active clubs or sections in the vicinity. Organized model rocketry was pretty dead along the Colorado front range.
In one letter I sent to Herb, I lamented this state of affairs, but enclosed some pictures of some of my own models, some club sport launches, and a copy of our newsletter, the Cosmic Steppingstone.
Herb and his fellow Marylanders were delighted to hear from a rocketeer in Colorado, but were very surprised at the lack of activity in the place where model rocketry virtually began.
They were all really impressed with the wide-open flying fields we enjoyed here, as suitable large open spaces in the D.C. area are few and far between.
Here is an excerpt from Herb's April 4th, 1977 letter:

"I enjoyed looking at the photo material you sent and your publication is very good. I am sending you a number of items here.  I am sending along some copies of ZOG which is the NARHAM publication, and the Nike-Larc, which is the Laurel area publication.  This is all I could get as of now.  All here were very interested in your publication, especially since your club is on Estes' doorstep.
Yesterday, when I delivered one of your copies to NARHAM, the president took it and ran to his car with it amidst objections from others, but all will get to see it at our next meeting."

Herb was also amazed when I wrote him that, to date, I had only visited Estes on two occasions.  He thought that, being so nearby, I would have been down there bugging them quite often.  I did mention that I was loosely acquainted with Wayne Kellner and Dane Boles.  In a February 6th, 1978 letter, Herb wrote:

"Please tell Mr. Kellner, whom I do not know, that many here want the Cineroc and Camroc put back on the market, not Star Wars toys!"

I never passed this on, but I sensed there was a lot of frustration out on the East Coast over the unavailability of Cinerocs at the time.

Ya think?

Hangin' Out With 'Mr. Cineroc' - Part 5 - Herb at NARWIN-1

In a letter dated January 6, 1978, Herb wrote;

"Now on to other things.  I went to NARWIN-1 'Winter Nationals' in Phoenix over Christmas.  They were great and well run.  I met Stine, L. Reese, and many others."

A month later, a letter dated February 6, 1978 arrived in my mailbox with a nice surprise.
Herb had sent along some photos he took at NARWIN-1.

Here are scans of those pictures along with Herb's descriptive texts:

  "An F-100 powered Class 5 altitude of G. Harry Stine, who is seen launching the rocket."

"A blow-through of an Estes D12-7 in a super-roc--show that one to the guys at Estes."

"One of Gary Rosenfield's G-engine rockets he was showing captured at the moment of liftoff.'

There was a fourth photograph enclosed in the letter, but I am unable to locate that one.  The description Herb wrote reads:

"A scale bird which went on to crash into little bits for reasons I do not know."

If there is one of you old timer rocketeers out there who happened to be at NARWIN-1 in December, 1977, and are the owner of such a scale entry that crashed, please enlighten me!

Hangin' With 'Mr Cineroc' - Part 4 The Day I Lost Herb's Rocket

Following is a tale of woe and sorrow surrounding an ill-fated Cineroc flight which I conducted for Herb Desind:

This event occurred in the Winter of 1977 - I don't remember the precise date -when I accompanied my room-mates on a skiing trip to Breckenridge, Colorado.
Since I wasn't a skier, I decided that this might be a good opportunity to take a Cineroc and booster rocket along to see if I could get a good film shot of the resort and surrounding mountain scenery.  Herb was always keen on encouraging me to take flight films that showed mountains.  Well, now - here was a golden opportunity!
Once we arrived at the resort, I noted that the parking lot was of ample size to accommodate a single stage D-engine flight with no problem.  It was a crystal-clear day with a bright blue Colorado sky and no perceptible wind, whatsoever.
So, whilst my buddies were 'shooshing' down the slopes of a nearby mountain with boards strapped to their feet, I prepared to 'shoosh' a Cineroc into the sky strapped to the Mountaineer, an Omega rocket built by Herb and mailed to me all the way from Silver Spring, MD.
This first photo shows me in my 60s purple 'mod' cap preparing the launch 'pad'. 

No, I didn't just stick the launch rod into the snow and call it good.  I was actually using a vintage MMI-style wooden launch stand (remember those?), secured in place by packing snow on top of it.  Nice thing about this setup is that no blast deflector was required.
The next photo is of the Mountaineer ready for its flight.

Upon ignition, the rocket and its camera took off on a straight-up trajectory.  The sudden noise startled a nearby group of skiers who were unloading gear from their car.  The model boosted very high in the rarified mountain air, arced over, and popped the ejection charge.  I gleefully watched the parachute blossom out.
My glee was short-lived however, when I noted that the model began drifting - very rapidly drifting  - toward a pine-wooded area outside the bounds of the parking lot!
Even though air conditions were dead calm at the launch site, there appeared to be a very brisk cross-wind going on at a few hundred feet aloft!
With growing dismay, I helplessly watched the parachute carrying the Mountaineer and its valuable payload drift over the forest and disappear from view.
@#$%^&* !!
With a heavy, sinking feeling, I set off to see if I could hopefully, maybe, possibly, recover this thing out of a whole forest of RETs.
When I reached the edge of the parking area, I discovered an altogether different heavy, sinking feeling - 4 feet of snow!  I nearly fell down and buried myself in my own little personal avalanche!
OK, what do I do now?  I really do want that rocket back.
Thinking quickly, I ran back to the launch area next to the car and grabbed the launch rod. Taking bearings toward the direction I had last seen the Mountaineer, I walked to the edge of the lot and planted the rod in the snow as a directional marker.
Since the car keys were on the person of one of my buddies up on the slopes, I walked to the town of Breckenridge.  I found a shop where I was able to rent a pair of snowshoes. Now this was SERIOUS Colorado-style model rocketry!
I valiantly spent two full hours traipsing through those woods on my big webbed feet searching both the ground and treetops as far as I could see.
I never found the Mountaineer.
Needless to say, it was a very dismal ride home that afternoon from Breckenridge, Colorado.
Not only did I lose a Cineroc and its booster rocket, but with it went what I am sure would have been a magnificent piece of film footage that Herb would have been extremely delighted with.  Luckily, this flight was made with a new film pack that didn't have any previous flight footage on it.
Later that week I called Herb and told him the bad news.  He took it well, saying he wished he had a dollar for every Cineroc he had lost, or had destroyed by a crash or CATO.  He even thanked me for the attempt, and shared in lamenting the loss of what was probably some really nice footage.

Nowadays, as a BAR, I don't think I would have tried something like this with such an expensive rocket vehicle.  If I did, I would probably take along an expendable small 3FNC marker rocket to test the prevailing wind conditions before risking a camera-carrying vehicle.
Hindsight is 20-20  (And, at my age, 20-20 is hindsight!)
Cheers....

Hangin Out With 'Mr. Cineroc' - Part 3 - One Of Herb's Rockets

Here is another photo which Herb Desind sent along in one of his letters....

 Following is an excerpt describing this flight:

"This rocket pictured is my very first 2-stage F-100 Cineroc carrier, the Janeine II.  It was named after a rock-and-roll 'pirate' music ship I visited in the North Sea when I was in Europe. The station was Radio Atlantis on the ship Janeine in the North Sea.  That rocket flew to a high altitude of about 4,000 feet and the film came out real nice, except the second stage spun a lot."

I would have loved to have seen the video of that flight.

Speaking of F-100 two stage Cineroc flights, Herb describes one that he launched at the Estes Industries plant during a visit to Colorado: 

"...launched at Estes and which got 5,000 feet above them and saw so much it is really great."

I wonder to this day if that flight stands as the highest powered rocket launched by a visiting guest witnessed at Estes Industries .  Herb didn't describe too much more about it, but I would wager to guess that a good sized crowd of Estes employees may have turned out for that one!

Herb did go on to say that he was surprised at how many body tubes and nose cones in great shape  were strewn about Estes' flying field.

"I put the grab on them and made a few good Omega rockets out of those parts."

Likely, these were the leftover pieces of many a Big Bertha which was Estes' go-to demo launch bird for visiting guests.

He was also amazed at the number of old expended engine casings lying around the field.

Hey, it is the proving ground at the 'Model Rocket Capitol of the World', after all!