This year's Harvest Classic competition was definitely considered a success by all in attendance. We had some friends from Pittsburgh Space Command (Brian and Sean Guzek) join us, Mark made it down from Newmarket, Matt and I participated, and Grace and Charlotte competed for A-Division supremacy. The weather could have been better, as it was cold and windy, but the sun was shining most of both days and the fun of rocketry couldn't be stopped.
Saturday started late but quite a bit of flying got done in the few hours on the field. There was a steady wind from the back of the field toward the house, so we trucked ourselves and the launch equipment through the field and set up along the creek. The wind stayed steady and straight all day, so predicting launch direction and drift was fairly easy. Hitting our spot landing target was certainly more difficult than it would have been in calm weather, but we still managed two flights within the 50 m window. The Guzek boys flew a Centauri Hummingbird clone for their Classic Model and earned mission points for ejecting the motor tube assembly and gliding to a safe recovery.
On Sunday, we arrived very early to try to avoid the big winds. We were somewhat successful and managed several flights in calmer conditions. Brian and Sean flew their "F Postal Altitude" entry which made it to 2000' and still recovered within our field! They also launched a shuttle prototype with RC controls that flew better than us onlookers predicted. The last flight of the day was their large cluster, multi-stage scale model that flew like a charm, even in pretty windy conditions.
There were, of course, things that could have run a little better ("Got any rockets, Matt?" and "Five...launch!" come to mind.) but everyone had a great time launching rockets, sharing stories, and helping each other. Rocketry at its finest! Can't wait for next year!
Saturday started late but quite a bit of flying got done in the few hours on the field. There was a steady wind from the back of the field toward the house, so we trucked ourselves and the launch equipment through the field and set up along the creek. The wind stayed steady and straight all day, so predicting launch direction and drift was fairly easy. Hitting our spot landing target was certainly more difficult than it would have been in calm weather, but we still managed two flights within the 50 m window. The Guzek boys flew a Centauri Hummingbird clone for their Classic Model and earned mission points for ejecting the motor tube assembly and gliding to a safe recovery.
On Sunday, we arrived very early to try to avoid the big winds. We were somewhat successful and managed several flights in calmer conditions. Brian and Sean flew their "F Postal Altitude" entry which made it to 2000' and still recovered within our field! They also launched a shuttle prototype with RC controls that flew better than us onlookers predicted. The last flight of the day was their large cluster, multi-stage scale model that flew like a charm, even in pretty windy conditions.
There were, of course, things that could have run a little better ("Got any rockets, Matt?" and "Five...launch!" come to mind.) but everyone had a great time launching rockets, sharing stories, and helping each other. Rocketry at its finest! Can't wait for next year!