NSL-2004 - Hearne Texas
Hosted by the Austin Area Rocketry Group

Fashion statements of NSL-2004, L-R, Jim Flis, Don Magness, James Gatrell
WHEW! What a handsome lineup!

Hot  ...  HOT  ...  HOT!!

Whew! yep, 'twas a tad warm in Hearne that memorable memorial day weekend!  But it was wonderful as well!

We had a lengthy 3 day drive down to San Antonio (where Kathy's sister lives) to spend a few days before the event.  This also gave me time to do some rocket repair that I didn't have time for back home.  We also took this opportunity to visit some local hobby shops, then off to Hearne.

To say that this was a big field (and hot) would be an understatement (but then I come from New England, the "Land of No Fields"... (and cool weather)) Running about 3/4 of mile wide and several miles long, with the wind blowing downrange, made for perfect flying even if you *did* have to get in your truck occasionally to retrieve your rocket.

We arrived on Friday and settled in then went to the field to set up with plans to show up at the field at the crack of heat to open up shop.  We got there and met up with Gabe and wandered around till we found someone who could show us where the vendor setup area was going to be.  Then we started unpacking.  We only set up our tent and tables (claim our spot, as it were) then headed back to our room to relax after the long drive.  Kathy's sister (Sue) and her three kids came along for the fun on Saturday.  After dinner we all piled into our room to chat and watch some TV with the A/C on to recover from the heat.

Saturday morning we got in early and began to set up.  It was very warm and getting warmer and the winds were blowing very strongly.  It didn't bode well for flying, but I was proven wrong.  We flew darned near everything.  We *did* have a problem with a low ceiling so we couldn't launch any of the really big rockets, but that left a lot of room for the smaller stuff.

Did I mention the heat?

James Gatrell was the first customer (Hope you had a great time, James!) and we were off!  Kathy is a God-send as she runs the booth allowing me the time to fly and socialize.  As a national event goes we noticed that sales were off and that the "social life" seemed rather subdued.  We attributed that to the heat and humidity.  We were on the far side of the runway (from the RSO table) so it was quite a walk to divert to the vendor row.  Near as we could tell, if folks were going to be hot and sweaty, they'd rather do that in their own camp :)

I flew a lot, but not as much as I usually do at these event.  However, I did fly everything I brought with me, at least once.   It was a great chance to show off our newest kit, the Freedom Forge Missile as well as the Stingray as the commemorative kit for NSL along with commemorative kits from Squirel Works and Art Applewhite Rockets.

We met a lot of new friends and folks we've met only online in the past (like Bryan of The Rocket Garden), along with old friends (like Gabe and Tim [Wildman] Lehr).  Getting to Meet Simon Crafts was great too.   Another TRF member and the host of the Tour de Deuce in Texas to boot!

All in all, we had a great time.  We are very pleased and proud to be able to support and help sponsor such events as the National Sport Launch.  Next on our list of big launches is LDRS followed by NARAM.  If you are in the area, please stop by and say "hi".

After our last launch (the Drake), we began to pack up (sure enough, we were all packed when one last customer came over :) ).   We took advantage of the early shutdown of the field to put some miles behind us that first evening and spent 4 days on the return trip, taking a different route up through Virginia.

Thank you to all the folks at AARG for a wonderful time!