Our next launch is Sunday May 4th 11:00 - 4:00
Research Launch will be Saturday May 3rd.
You must be a member of PARA and Tripoli and certified L2 to fly at a research launch. Click here for details.
Our next Meeting is Tuesday June 10th
To prevent excessive dust, PLEASE keep your speed down to 5 mph on the farm roads.
If you take pictures at our launch, your pictures could be here - if you email them to me. Phil
Message from the President
April 17, 2008
We had a good launch on April 6th. The wind was sporadic but it did allow quite a few flights. There were four teams and quite a few people attempting TARC qualifications. It is always nice to see young people working together towards a goal. Especially when it results in some cool rocket flights. I hope the team members will continue to attend our launches. Congratulations to Ken Derstine for a successful Level 2 certification attempt.
We had a meeting on April 15th at the Fox and Hound Pub & Grille. We discussed being consistently vigilant about safety and how to get started making your own propellant.
Phil
February 3, 2008
We had a great launch today. The temperatures were in the 50's, the sun was shining and there was no wind. All recoveries were close to the launch pads. Conditions were close to what we had for our launch on January 6th. We had a nice visit by an officer from the Tinicum Township Police Department. We chatted a while, he checked out some rockets and headed for the car wash. The road leading to the field wasn't bad when we arrived because it was slightly frozen. As the day progressed, it thawed out and turned the road into mud. I also made an emergency stop at the car wash on the way home.
Today, there were 9 fliers who made 30 flights on 35 motors. A few of them were staged. We should give Michael Okonski an award for landing a rocket within a foot of the launch rod. Unfortunately, the three stage Estes Cherokee did not deploy its streamer. His rocket was damaged but it can be fixed and back in the air by our next launch.
Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures at the launch. I'm hoping that some of the people that were able to take some can send me copies for the web site.
We will be discussing Research Motors at our meeting on February 12th. We will have a Research Launch on Saturday, March 1st. You must be a Tripoli Level 2 Certified flyer to fly at this launch. We will have our regular launch the following day Sunday March 2nd. Everyone is welcome to come fly as usual on Sunday March 2nd.
I hope to see everyone soon.
Phil
November 4, 2007 click here to see launch pictures
Today, we had another great Autumn day for launching - but then again a bad day launching is still better than a good day at work. We had a great visit from the Bear Den of Cub Scout Pack 107. They came from Whitemarsh Township, PA. The boys had a lot of Estes Alphas that they built and they had many great flights. I hope they had as much fun launching as we had hosting them. We had 55 flights with three 2 stage rockets flown by Ken Derstine and Mike Wajda.
I'd like to welcome Scott Tyrell and Justin Gleiter back to PARA after a long absence. Among other things, Scott and Justin flew their rocket called Beater on a G339. This was the first time we've flown Warp 9 propellant at PARA. I think the people that saw it were surprised at how fast it burns. It puts out about 90 pounds of thrust and has a burn time of approximately .4 seconds.
Mike Wajda brought a new launch pad that he made. The variety of launch rods it can use make it very flexible, and the blast deflectors make it really cool. The picture shows Mike's G-Force getting ready to take off from his launch pad on a G64-4.
The following motors were flown: 5-A's, 3-B's, 28-C's, 5-D's, 7-E's, 3-F's, 5-G's, and 2-H's.
We have arranged for a members only discount with Al's Hobbies. Keep an eye on your email for specifics.
See you next month.
Phil
October 7, 2007
We had great weather for most of the day. There were a few periods where it was a bit breezy but everything landed fairly close to the pads throughout the day.
Today we had 31 flights. The motors used were 2-B’s, 9-C’s, 4-D’s, 4-E’s, 4-F’s,6-G’s and 3-H’s. I think one of the highlights of the day was Jim Hansen’s Apogee Aspire on a G77. At PARA, it is not that often that we see a rocket move that fast. Jim predicted that it would go Mach 1.1. The airframe might have but the fins had other ideas. Thanks for the entertainment – it was a really cool flight! Another cool flight was Mike Wajda’s Estes Renegade which staged from a B6-0 to a C6-7. Congratulations to Blaine Moyer for achieving his NAR Level 1 Certification.
We have several new members to PARA. Since I haven’t written the President’s Message for a few months, I’ll mention everyone that joined during that period. Welcome to Michael Okonski, John Charlton, Michael Wajda, Jim McGraw. I hope you’ll enjoy flying with us.
Remember our meetings will be held the Second Tuesday on even months. We will have a meeting on October 9th at Wilsey Tool.
Phil
