TARC Qualification launch with CMASS, March 2006

And we have LIFTOFF!

Our first official club event of the year was a TARC qualification launch in Amesbury on 26-March-2006.  It was chilly, but nothing like last year where we had to hike through the snow...

The event was well attended by young and old alike with over 77 people there at one point (when you're cold, with your hands in your pockets, you haven't much else to do but count heads...)

We had some successes, some failure, a lot of learning and a lot of fun.  It was odd in a way too.  Many of us go out and fly rockets without giving it a second thought. "Hmmm, yeah, this'll look cool with a D12-5 in it!" (prep, prep, pack, pack, off to the RSO table, check in, pad assignment, hook up the leads, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, LIFTOFF, run and chase it, next...)

Not here.  This looked more like mission control!   Laptops everywhere, teams with jigs and levels, leveling out their pads and aiming the rod based on wind conditions, entire teams huddled around the rocket after landing, carefully unpacking the payload and getting an altitude reading.

For an outside observer like myself, it was "cool".   For these teams, it was a lot of hard work taken from their drawing boards and note books, turned into paper, wood and plastic and brought out to this field to compare real vs. simulated.  It was exciting.  It was daunting.  It was, at times, frustrating and, at times, exhilarating.

If you get a chance to participate with a TARC team or even just observe one in action, do so.  You will be glad that you did.

The photo album on the left is from our March 26th TARC qualification launch.  I don't have names and such, but if someone wants to fill me in I will add to this album.  Click on a picture to bring up a full size image here.   I have higher resolution versions of all of these pictures.  If you would like one, please identify it by file name and send me an email.

Enjoy!