The second meeting of the H.A.R.T. rocket club in 1999 again turned out to be a cold and wet one. Laurie and John turned up first but neither of them had brought rockets as Laurie wanted to video the rockets today instead and John was a newcomer to the hobby.
I arrived a little while later and as it was still raining we started to think that we should cancel the meeting.
As the rain was only fine and was slowly stopping, I suggested that I launch Hairy H.A.R.T. on its maiden flight first then if no-one else turns up we go home.
With a little help from Laurie and John, Hairy H.A.R.T. was soon armed with 5-D12-5 engines and placed on the pad. The rain has stopped and there was no wind so there was nothing to stop the launch. I checked the launch system and then started the 5 second countdown.
I looked through my cameras view finder as I triggered the launch system and saw a small puff at the base of the rocket before the pad was engulfed in white smoke and the rocket roared into the sky.
The next 5 seconds were worrying as I was unsure if the 5 D's would be enough to deploy the parachute. I shouldn't have worried as just as the rocket reached its height limit and started to fall, the ejection charges fired and with a little help from the nose cone the 36 inch parachute deployed and slowly brought the rocket back to earth.
Ivan then turned up with a small selection of nice rockets including an Amraam which he soon armed with 2 D12's and sent it skywards. The rocket did a straight flight and deployed its parachute for a perfect recovery.
While I was busy rearming Hairy H.A.R.T. for a second flight, Ivan armed an Estes Maniac with a E30 engine. The countdown soon started and with a bright flame the rocket leapt off the pad and headed for the clouds and vanished. A quick search of the horizon and sky turned up nothing and the Maniac was sadly lost.
Ivan then launched a new rocket called the "Big Daddy" on a D12, again Ivan's rocket did a nice flight but the parachute failed to deploy. Luckily the rocket came down in some large grass and was saved from damage.
I then launched Hairy H.A.R.T. again, and the rocket did a even better flight and landed within 40 feet of the pad for a nice quick recovery.
The last launch of the day was my Mustang on a D12-3. Laurie again got into a position to video the launches and waited for the launch, but instead the engine Cato'ed sending a large fireball into the sky and destroying the shock cord. The nose cone went up around 100 feet before it darted itself in the ground just inches from where Laurie was filming.
The second meeting went well despite the weather, but we all still hope that the May launch will be warm and dry.