BEFORE
Ok, here we go... Doug is going to fly his stock Praetor on a composite D13 motor. He wonders if the fins will stay on. I doubt it very much and tell him that all bets are off fella!
AFTER
With a look of questioning on his face, Doug reviews the remains of his Praetor after it began shedding fins at Max-Q. Fortunately, the fins separated cleanly and the Praetor is easily repaired. If Doug had his camera pointed at me, you would have seen a "look of I Told You So" on *my* face... LOL
Doug has a bad day... Shortly after the ill fated Praetor flight, Doug flys his FlisKits A.C.M.E. Spitfire on another D motor but the delay charged burned WAY too long resulting on a Lawn-Dart landing, crimping much of the body tube and engine tube.
The Pheord X150 redneck pickup saucer working for a living, hauling this Athena saucer (from the Triple Threat) on a 2-stage flight.
Perfect boost, perfect stage separation and perfect landing, not 20 feet from the pads. Great small field multi stage combination!
Kathy Flis hard at work at the FlisKits booth. Fortunately for me, she loves these road trips.
Carl takes his time and works very deliberately in preparing the upscale Tres for her maiden flight. Special Note: The upscale Deuce's Wild! was Carl's first ever composite cluster. The upscale Tres is his first ever composite multi-stage.
Meanwhile, Ken Parker keeps busy with bits and bobs of his own.
Another perfect flight for the soon to be announced Freedom Forge Missile!
A young rocketeer poses with his Deuce's Wild! kit. Can anyone help me name this young boy??
Doug and a new friend bring Doug's Richter Recker in for safety check. Doug also has his "Crystal" (i beleive) rocket made with a FlisKits dual cluster engine mount kit with the motors twisted at opposing angles.
The FlisKits Drake (official anniversary kit of NSL-2003) waits her turn on the pad
While the Deuce's Wild! wastes no time screaming into the sky!
Then, off she goes for a spectacular flight. Another FlisKits kit that looks OH so good in the air!
The lawn dart. A perfect (and I mean PERFECT) up-scale reproduction of a competition dart. Please help me with the name!
Several folks cluster around Eugenio's (i think) Bull Pup.
Doug Gardei's Crystal takes to the air, but I did not notice any spin, which was expected with the canted motors.
The Bull Pup rips into the air. Help with motor type!
The Dart performs flawlessly! Help with the motor type!
Doug's Richeter Recker screams into the air!
A young fan poses near Carl Tulanko's upscale of the Estes Cluster Bomb. This adorable young boy is holding the kit version.
Carl says the obligatory prayer to the RSO while filling out a flight card for the upscale Tres. The excitement is mounting!
Ken Parker holds the sustainer while the RSO inspects the booster.
Off to the launch pads, Carl, Ken and Mark Brown get ready to prep the rocket on the pad.
They seem to be looking for the sky, wanting to be sure they know where it is before attempting to punch a hole in it with the Tres upscale...
Seeing as they were successful in locating the sky, they point the rocket "UP" while installing the 3 ignitors in the booster.
Carl bites a red bullet as he carefully installs the ignitors.
Carl, with help from Randy, feeds the long ignitor wire through the body of the sustainer to the timer bay.
Using a ladder, Carl places the sustainer onto the booster section
Calling for quiet, and asking folks to stand back for safety, Carl activates the ships electronics bay.
A stunning view of a stunning vehicle.
Last minute adjustement of the pad
Meanwhile, we have the FlisKits pad with a Deuce's Wild!, a Stingray and a 2-stage Crayon readyto go!
The Tres looks lonely, yet majestic, out on pad 1, waiting her turn at some air.
But FIRST! A Deuce's Wild! launch!
Ok, back to the excitement. The Tres turned in a picture perfect flight. This picture shows all 3 smokey motors at full burn as the rocket is about 4 feet off the pad. Leaving an incredibly thick, dense cloud of smoke that drifted in over the LCO table, you could clearly see all 3 smoke trails then you could see the ignition of the sustainer after drag separation left her to her own devices.
Here is the booster coming down on a perfect chute. Both parts easily recovered, no damage. Simply awe inspiring!
Doug's high power rocket closed the day off well (Doug, what is the rockets name again, and motor combination!?)