http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/ALRS2008
This is probably my last rocketry event of the year, so now time to concentrate of a bit of mountain biking and plan the next ski vacations. Winter is nearly here :)
Monday 22 September 2008
ALRS 2008
Well not long after getting back from Scotland and Kansas it was time to get back to more rocketry, but this time in Switzerland. I think that this was my 5th attendance at ALRS IX but I can't be certain. The weather was cooler than some years, the wind was a bit stiff, and to spice things up a bit there was a TV crew there all weekend filming a segment for a programme which airs on the ARTE French/German channel.
I didn't fly anything in the end, but did take a large number of photos, a selection of which can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/ALRS2008
This is probably my last rocketry event of the year, so now time to concentrate of a bit of mountain biking and plan the next ski vacations. Winter is nearly here :)
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/ALRS2008
This is probably my last rocketry event of the year, so now time to concentrate of a bit of mountain biking and plan the next ski vacations. Winter is nearly here :)
Thursday 4 September 2008
3 Weeks of Rocketry Madness (pt2)
26th August
Flew to Kansas City via Philadelphia on the Tuesday lunchtime. US Airways was surprisingly not bad, despite being only £392 for a return transatlantic flight. We were sure that one of the attendants was the woman from Prisoner Cell Block H (the one that looks like a bloke). Philadelphia airport is strange - food outlets everywhere, and calming classical music piped everywhere. In the unlikely event that you go there, you can get free WiFi near to gate C28 (Saxby's Coffee has open wireless, unlike the rest of the terminal ;) ).
Kansas City airport is even stranger - given its size, it is empty, and only a few paces between plane and pickup/dropoff.
27th August
Kansas City itself seems to have little of interest, but we do recommend the Wowieccinos in the mall near the Old Station, Mimi's Cafe for breakfast (Zona Rosa shopping mall) and Smokehouse BBQ (also in Zona Rosa mall) for dinner.
28th August
This was actually the first day of LDRS, but we knew it would be a bit slow, so we used the day to stock up on supplies and travel on down to Argonia.
The Kansas Turnpike has a few rest stops on the way, and conveniently they place them in the middle of the Highway, so there's only one services for both directions, and you exit from and re-enter to the fast lane. The best bit was the shop - 15 full floor to ceiling fridges full of drinks, of which 3 were all Red Bull and similar energy booster drinks! Oh and then there was a separate self-serve post-mix drinks kiosk.
Walmart was an essential stop off point, since we were going to be camping in Argonia. US Walmarts sell everything, literally, including firearms right next to the camping and DIY sections! We did work out that denatured alcohol works very well in Trangia stoves (lights first time and less sooty than the purple Meths found in the UK), and costs peanuts.
29th August - 1st September
Argonia itself has literally nothing. Just a few small stores and a Railroad Crossing, and when a train passes, it must be easily a mile long! Very Very Impressive!
The LDRS rocketry event was the best event I've ever been to, and was buzzing all day every day. There were way too many flights to note them all, but some of those worthy of a mentions were: Insane Projects Q-motor powered Pershing (which was a fantastic sight, but then crashed), the 5lb rocket powered by an L1300 (which seemed to warp into another dimension), all rockets powered by an M2200 SkidMark motor (they are very cool to see and hear).
The Saturday was by far the busiest day, and all days were scorching hot. Lots of sunblock and ice cool drinks were called for. At the banquet in Wichita, I managed to win an Aerotech 38/360 casing (inc. closures) in the raffle and Phil won a 54mm motor retainer. Everyone on the table except Eric Cayemberg won a prize.
Monday was a bit slower, since this was Research day. Never seen so many P motors (and 1 Q motor) fly.
2nd September
We knew the last day would be slow too, so we left around lunch time, and traveled back to Kansas City via Topeka. Dinner was at Smokehouse BBQ in the Zona Rosa mall. Excellent service and good food there, with a wonderful aroma of hickory smoke inside and out.
3rd September
Got a refund for the canopy that we bought a few days earlier, cos 1 guy rope snapped off in the wind! Handy, cos we had the shade all week for free, and no need to ship anything home afterwards! Weather in KC was pants, but in Philadelphia on the way home it was perfect. Unfortunately the weather on arrival in Gatwick was dire and the ferry back was dreadful, but it was good to be out of the 36C heat.
On the whole, it was a fantastic rocketry event to go to. The best by a long way IMHO, and we made many friends. Everyone there was very welcoming, especially the Kloudbusters organising team, and those involved with the Insane Projects Pershing II. Can't wait until next year's event now... in New York :)
All of My Pics and Phil's Pics are here...
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/LDRS27
http://picasaweb.google.com/wikrok/USALDRS27
Flew to Kansas City via Philadelphia on the Tuesday lunchtime. US Airways was surprisingly not bad, despite being only £392 for a return transatlantic flight. We were sure that one of the attendants was the woman from Prisoner Cell Block H (the one that looks like a bloke). Philadelphia airport is strange - food outlets everywhere, and calming classical music piped everywhere. In the unlikely event that you go there, you can get free WiFi near to gate C28 (Saxby's Coffee has open wireless, unlike the rest of the terminal ;) ).
Kansas City airport is even stranger - given its size, it is empty, and only a few paces between plane and pickup/dropoff.
27th August
Kansas City itself seems to have little of interest, but we do recommend the Wowieccinos in the mall near the Old Station, Mimi's Cafe for breakfast (Zona Rosa shopping mall) and Smokehouse BBQ (also in Zona Rosa mall) for dinner.
28th August
This was actually the first day of LDRS, but we knew it would be a bit slow, so we used the day to stock up on supplies and travel on down to Argonia.
The Kansas Turnpike has a few rest stops on the way, and conveniently they place them in the middle of the Highway, so there's only one services for both directions, and you exit from and re-enter to the fast lane. The best bit was the shop - 15 full floor to ceiling fridges full of drinks, of which 3 were all Red Bull and similar energy booster drinks! Oh and then there was a separate self-serve post-mix drinks kiosk.
Walmart was an essential stop off point, since we were going to be camping in Argonia. US Walmarts sell everything, literally, including firearms right next to the camping and DIY sections! We did work out that denatured alcohol works very well in Trangia stoves (lights first time and less sooty than the purple Meths found in the UK), and costs peanuts.
29th August - 1st September
Argonia itself has literally nothing. Just a few small stores and a Railroad Crossing, and when a train passes, it must be easily a mile long! Very Very Impressive!
The LDRS rocketry event was the best event I've ever been to, and was buzzing all day every day. There were way too many flights to note them all, but some of those worthy of a mentions were: Insane Projects Q-motor powered Pershing (which was a fantastic sight, but then crashed), the 5lb rocket powered by an L1300 (which seemed to warp into another dimension), all rockets powered by an M2200 SkidMark motor (they are very cool to see and hear).
The Saturday was by far the busiest day, and all days were scorching hot. Lots of sunblock and ice cool drinks were called for. At the banquet in Wichita, I managed to win an Aerotech 38/360 casing (inc. closures) in the raffle and Phil won a 54mm motor retainer. Everyone on the table except Eric Cayemberg won a prize.
Monday was a bit slower, since this was Research day. Never seen so many P motors (and 1 Q motor) fly.
2nd September
We knew the last day would be slow too, so we left around lunch time, and traveled back to Kansas City via Topeka. Dinner was at Smokehouse BBQ in the Zona Rosa mall. Excellent service and good food there, with a wonderful aroma of hickory smoke inside and out.
3rd September
Got a refund for the canopy that we bought a few days earlier, cos 1 guy rope snapped off in the wind! Handy, cos we had the shade all week for free, and no need to ship anything home afterwards! Weather in KC was pants, but in Philadelphia on the way home it was perfect. Unfortunately the weather on arrival in Gatwick was dire and the ferry back was dreadful, but it was good to be out of the 36C heat.
On the whole, it was a fantastic rocketry event to go to. The best by a long way IMHO, and we made many friends. Everyone there was very welcoming, especially the Kloudbusters organising team, and those involved with the Insane Projects Pershing II. Can't wait until next year's event now... in New York :)
All of My Pics and Phil's Pics are here...
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/LDRS27
http://picasaweb.google.com/wikrok/USALDRS27
Monday 25 August 2008
3 Weeks of Rocketry Madness (pt1)
Since the International Rocketry Week and LDRS fell on consecutive weeks, with a 2 day gap between them, Wik and I decided to attend both :)
IRW moved to a new base camp on the other side of Largs, which meant a slightly longer trip between base camp and the HPR site, but also meant no hassle with the horsey people and rubbish management. At IRW, flew Qubit and Saucer a couple of times, and also the Loc Legacy on F25 twice.
Pics can be seen here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/IRW2008
Further pics from Pete and Phil can be seen here:
Pete's Pics
Pete's Aerial Pics from Kite
Phil's Pics
IRW moved to a new base camp on the other side of Largs, which meant a slightly longer trip between base camp and the HPR site, but also meant no hassle with the horsey people and rubbish management. At IRW, flew Qubit and Saucer a couple of times, and also the Loc Legacy on F25 twice.
Pics can be seen here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/IRW2008
Further pics from Pete and Phil can be seen here:
Pete's Pics
Pete's Aerial Pics from Kite
Phil's Pics
Tuesday 6 May 2008
Big EARS 2008
No not the character from Noddy that got renamed due to poncy political correctness, but the annual long weekend event of the East Anglia Rocketry Society at Elsworth.
I'd been to 2 BigEARS events before and again this coincided with my birthday weekend and a public holiday :) so I had to go again. Managed to find a few geocaches too, and picked up a load of travelbugs from TDW to frop off in Germany.
Did a few flights... first up was TDW's Estes something-or-other with a D12-7 in the business end (which had been designed only for a C6 motor). Then popped off my usual pair of Art Applewhite Saucer/Qubit on E15's (they fly really well!). Loc Legacy had a double shock-cord snap, which was totally unexplained, and fortunately some kids saw all the bits land! Finally was a PML Small Endeavor on an I212-SS (3grain Pro38), which flew a bit too well, and was lost :(
Can't wait for the next events.
I'd been to 2 BigEARS events before and again this coincided with my birthday weekend and a public holiday :) so I had to go again. Managed to find a few geocaches too, and picked up a load of travelbugs from TDW to frop off in Germany.
Did a few flights... first up was TDW's Estes something-or-other with a D12-7 in the business end (which had been designed only for a C6 motor). Then popped off my usual pair of Art Applewhite Saucer/Qubit on E15's (they fly really well!). Loc Legacy had a double shock-cord snap, which was totally unexplained, and fortunately some kids saw all the bits land! Finally was a PML Small Endeavor on an I212-SS (3grain Pro38), which flew a bit too well, and was lost :(
Can't wait for the next events.
Sunday 16 March 2008
Skiing in Wengen
Would you go on holiday with a group of ski geeks from the internet that you've never met? I did, and it was probably the best ski holiday I've ever had!
The snowHeads Mid Season Bash was in Wengen, Switzerland again in March. The snow was not bad, although it did rain mid-week, so a bunch of us decided to walk down to Lauterbrunnen, along the valley, and then up to Mürren and back by train/cablecar.
The highlight of the week was the slalom race on the top section of the famous Lauberhorn world cup circuit. I didn't crash on either run, but did come close on the 2nd run! My final times were right in the middle of about 40 people, which was not bad for a rookie.
Back of the Lauberhorn Start Hut before the race
After an excellent week, and meeting a great bunch of fellow skiers, I cannot wait for the next bash!
The snowHeads Mid Season Bash was in Wengen, Switzerland again in March. The snow was not bad, although it did rain mid-week, so a bunch of us decided to walk down to Lauterbrunnen, along the valley, and then up to Mürren and back by train/cablecar.
The highlight of the week was the slalom race on the top section of the famous Lauberhorn world cup circuit. I didn't crash on either run, but did come close on the 2nd run! My final times were right in the middle of about 40 people, which was not bad for a rookie.
After an excellent week, and meeting a great bunch of fellow skiers, I cannot wait for the next bash!
Sunday 3 February 2008
Cotic Shakedown Ride
First ride on the new bike, just to bed in the brakes, check that everything is adjusted and tweaked to best performance, and that nothing falls off. Just a few km along wide/flat cycle track with plenty of braking, then decided to take it on a loop of the forest, mostly on fire lanes, with a bit of gravel, sand, mud, leaves and icy puddles.
Built, but brake hoses still need trimming
Surprisingly, nothing fell off, and gears front/back seem perfectly adjusted. Forks probably need a bit of attention (I only put in the minimum pressure), and tyres need a bit more air too. Rather impressed.
Built, but brake hoses still need trimming
Surprisingly, nothing fell off, and gears front/back seem perfectly adjusted. Forks probably need a bit of attention (I only put in the minimum pressure), and tyres need a bit more air too. Rather impressed.
Saturday 2 February 2008
Skiing in Zillertal Arena
My first ski holiday of the year was a weekend in Zell am Ziller, in Austria, in January. Snowed all day on the Saturday, and was glorious sunshine all day on the Sunday. What I cannot wait for is my main ski vacation in Wengen, Switzerland in March.
Next trip is the snowHeads MSB 2008 :)
Next trip is the snowHeads MSB 2008 :)
Sunday 27 January 2008
Cotic Soul Build pt2
Wheels and remaining parts arrived, so could progress with the build. Fitting Nobby Nic and Racing Ralph tyres was a bit of a pain (RR were trickier than NN). With wheels in place, the stem could be adjusted to work out where to cut steerer tube. Formula brakes fitted (a hint of rub on both F+R, which I'm hoping will go away when the pads are bedded in). Gear cables all installed, tensioned up, and adjusted.
Now just need to take it for a spin. Bed in the brakes, and adjust bits here and there as necessary.
Now just need to take it for a spin. Bed in the brakes, and adjust bits here and there as necessary.
Sunday 20 January 2008
Cotic Soul Build pt1
Most parts have now arrived, so started to bolt them to the frame.
Test fitted the Forks, Headset and Stem to the frame. These will have to be separated again later so the steerer tube can be trimmed. Really need the wheels installed first to test the height.
Bolted on Bottom Bracket, Chainset, Front and Rear Mechs, and fitted Saddle and Seatpin.
Pics can be seen here...
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/CoticSoulMTB
Test fitted the Forks, Headset and Stem to the frame. These will have to be separated again later so the steerer tube can be trimmed. Really need the wheels installed first to test the height.
Bolted on Bottom Bracket, Chainset, Front and Rear Mechs, and fitted Saddle and Seatpin.
Pics can be seen here...
http://picasaweb.google.com/andysrockets/CoticSoulMTB
Saturday 12 January 2008
Cotic Soul MTB
My Cotic Soul MTB frame arrived just before Christmas. Bike24 and CRC supplied the components to attach to the frame.
Spec is:
That's how it came out of the box
The friendly guys at Cotic fitted the Hope headset cups for me, since I don't have the tools to do that properly.
Spec is:
- Cotic Soul frame (Large, Black, Grey decals)
- Magura Menja forks (100mm travel)
- Hope Headset
- Bontrager Race X Lite Stem, King Earl Bars
- Formula Oro K18 Hydraulic Disc Brakes
- Mavic Crossride disc wheels
- Shimano XT F/R Mech, Shifters, Chainset, Cassette
- Thomson Seatpin
- Fizik Saddle
That's how it came out of the box
The friendly guys at Cotic fitted the Hope headset cups for me, since I don't have the tools to do that properly.
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