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Winter Follies & TARC Launch - 22 Jan 22 - Acton, MA

  • KennB
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2 years 2 months ago - 2 years 2 months ago #10951 by KennB
It’s January and Winter Follies time is upon us. I hope everyone had a good and safe holiday season. 

Sunday will be a little warmer but Saturday will have sunshine and that should feel pretty good. The Follies are a bit less formal than our regular launches so you won't need to fill out flight cards. There will only be six pads set up and we'll launch in salvos as opposed to our usual continuous launching with the circle. A few club members may be tied up with NAR S&T motor testing so if you can help out with safety check, pad management or launch control don't hesitate to step up. 

We’ll still need you to read our  COVID-19 restrictions  and fill out the second page so you can present that for tracing purposes at the launch. 

If you are on a TARC team or know of anyone involved with TARC this year, we'd like to invite you to join us for any practice or qualifying launches you'd like to do. We'll have four TARC-only launches scheduled for the Acton field in the coming months; check our website calendar for those dates. 

As usual for Acton, there are no high-power or sparky flights allowed. Match your low- or mid-power motor to your rocket so it will land on the field; you don’t want to put it in the trees and we don’t want you to put it on Route 2. While we are paying rent for the field, we do not charge launch fees for the Winter Follies. We will be charging launch fees the rest of this year so it would be a good time to order a season pass.

As we'll only be flying from 10 to 2, we won't be serving our famous hot dogs but they'll be back in April. So bring your rockets, motors, starters and wadding; we’ll supply the launch equipment and all the advice you need and probably more than want.
Last edit: 2 years 2 months ago by KennB.

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2 years 2 months ago #10956 by DeltaVee
BIG thanks to Kenn -n- Guy for a "Fine Day Out"! It sure was cold compared to November, but it was definitely a good day!

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2 years 2 months ago #10960 by KennB
You're welcome, John. It was great to see the large turnout we had especially the members who have joined us in the past year. It's always great to see what the "old-timers" have going, too.

Extra thanks to Guy for setting up and breaking down (along with whoever helped at each end of the day) and the electrical upgrades he has instituted. He swapped out the 1/4" connectors on the clip wires and one end of each lead wire for Anderson connectors and loose connections were not an issue all day. The relay box had a heater bulb inside to keep the inner workings at a good temperature for optimal operation. And most importantly, he acted as our liaison with the goose hunters ensuring we wouldn't receive any unwanted buckshot.

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2 years 2 months ago #10962 by deangelo54
I want to add to what John said in thanking Kenn and Guy for their efforts to provide us with a great day of rocketry. Special recognition to Deborah for driving over two hours each way to launch rockets in cold weather. Question, isn't it against the law to hunt geese? Not to mention the discharge of fire arms across from the School Street Field.

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2 years 2 months ago - 2 years 2 months ago #10963 by DeltaVee
I'd bet that since they were on private land, all they needed was permission from the land owner and the appropriate hunting licenses etc.

It's possible that technically they were sufficiently far enough away from the street(s) but pellets from the shotgun shells don't know that :-) If it were me? I would have set up in that field such that I've been shooting in the opposite direction. Just sayin....
Last edit: 2 years 2 months ago by DeltaVee.

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2 years 2 months ago #10964 by KennB
The goose hunters came back about the time the last of us were leaving. They had to jump through multiple permitting hoops to get to do what they were doing so it wasn't being done on a whim. This is one part of the year that allows for goose hunting. The seasonal migration flight paths determine where and how they set up on a field so changing their range isn't so easy. Besides, the other direction has it's limitations, too.

They were quite surprised to see such a large crowd on our side of the street. They were there previous weekends and will be back for the rest of the season. The good news is their season ends before our scheduled TARC launch in February.

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