Airfest 24

This Labor Day weekend was Airfest 24. Two years ago, I attended as a spectator, and I must say, it is far more fun to fly and participate. Sam and I volunteered the weekend prior to help set up and prepare the range. Since we are university students, we get to fly for free (ordinarily it is $45-$60 for the weekend), and volunteering lets us make up for that.

This launch was especially exciting for me personally because my father would finally be able to join. His last three attempts to attend a launch in Kansas were thwarted by bad weather or car troubles. He drove up to Stillwater Friday afternoon and together Saturday morning, we headed north to the Rocket Pasture. I was flying the sustainer of a two-stage project on which I’m working, so I wanted to have an early start to get that flight out of the way.

My flight didn’t even crack 800 feet on an H148R, but it verified the functionality of my RRC3 altimeter (I had reason to think it wasn’t working properly) and put my skills at building small diameter rockets to the test. The altimeter bay was a disaster because I drastically overestimated how much room I had available inside. I’ll be borrowing one of the team’s TeleMega flight computers for my recovery and staging for the full two-stage flights. It they weren’t $400, I’d buy my own. 

That afternoon, Chris Short flew his 16’ tall, 200+ lb rocket on a P motor to almost 30,000’. Sam was volunteering at away RSO, so I joined her, and we had extra close spots to watch this launch. It was gargantuan. Unfortunately, the pyro charges failed to separate the rocket, so it lawn-darted a couple miles away. The base of the fins was found 2 feet below the soil, and only some glass fibers remained. Even the experts can experience recovery failures. 

With Saturday wrapping up, my dad, Sam, Garrett, and my roommate, Charlie all showered in town and began cooking nachos and tacos for dinner. Sam invested in some camping gear for cooking outdoors, and that was a lot of fun to prepare dinner right there at the Rocket Pasture. I slept under the stars. and that was something else. I’ve never seen so many stars before.

Sunday morning Sam launched It’s Fine, the rocket she also used for her L1 and L2 attempts. She was hyped to be using a J316 Cesaroni motor that burns with a pink flame. There is also a pink M motor she can use for her L3, and I’ve been trying to convince her to do it at LDRS next year since it is being hosted right there in Argonia, KS. I may have been successful.

She had a good flight, and the rest of the day we grilled brats, and I hung out with her at away RSO. I saw a 4-stage flight, but unfortunately the day was cut short as rain moved in. It rained on and off, but we eventually decided to call it for the weekend (we’d intended to stay until Monday morning). We packed up in a torrential downpour, and all our gear managed to fit in Garrett’s car, thanks to Sam’s real-life Tetris skills.

It was an awesome weekend, and Charlie is thinking about getting into high-power rocketry too which is awesome. I really am glad we are lucky to be so close to the Kloudbusters and can attend their launches each month. I’m already looking forward to October.