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Bonneville Salt Flats launch

So I guess I cannot use the actual name of this launch here in this group, or the message ends up getting kill-filed by your programs before most of you see it.

The event name starts with something like "aytch eee double hockey-sticks".

So anyway, we went out there Saturday. Many very cool projects leapt from the salty playa, including the "Lancer" which was reported at the launch as the "largest rocket to lift off from the surface of Utah". I don't know for sure about the claim, but the launch was phenomenal! I don't remember the specifics, but the rocket had 4 K motors for liftoff and an air-started central M motor that took it out of sight. What a rush! Evidently they had some trouble with the laundry, but recovered the main section, as it reportedly landed in mud at the edge of the flats

The friends I took out there with me are well hooked... line and sinker and all. I love seeing that "first" experience where you hear that deep gutteral "whoauuuuuuuuuu-hahahahaha!" Probably because I remember the first time I felt that first time... and still do!

Kudos to UROC for a great event... in an area that in my book qualifies as one of the wonders of the world... Salt that looks like fresh crust-hardened snow... for miles in every direction!

It was great to see so many faces there that I knew 4 years ago when I was a little more active in the hobby.

Kudos to all who went and launched and made it fun for all! I still have a good couple of inches of salt-cake to remove from my wheel-wells.

You ROCK, UROC!

Cheers!

~ Duane Phillips.

Reply to
Duane Phillips
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Cool but what makes you think */anyone/* filters on the word "Hell"?

Thanks for the info!

TK

Reply to
TDKozan

Actually, I think that several have in their killfile is on "Hell Fire" and "Hellfire" due to the many posts that flake through as religious posting.

It was just a guess on my part... partly due to a lot of recent off-topic posts that have that phrase in it, and a few posts others made about kill-filing those.

...

Either way, I had a great time, and thought I'd mention it. I have been to two of these "Hell Fire" launches now, but the first time I went, the salt flats still had too much standing water from a recent rainfall, and they moved it to the other side of the mountain where it was more dirt than salt. It was nice to see how it looks out on the flats proper.

Someone made a huge mock-up of the Spiral Jetty out on the salt. It was made of huge fake eggs over 1 foot in diameter, made of foam filler (the Spiral Jetty is a man-made spiral levee that juts out from the shore into the northern portion of the Great Salt Lake, in Utah). Some of those eggs were actually shrivelling as if frying on the playa. There were hundreds of them in a huge double-column spiral.

Many people with toys large and small made their marks in the salt. One youth was making a killing fetching rockets accross the bright and hot salt, for a price... a price that seemed steep until you personally have to go a fair distance out there . Some people, getting into the spirit of it, would say, "Aw, that's only a $10 recovery... Hey! You...(name of young fella inserted)..." and so on. Some recoveries were worth more. I am sure that some of that money was converted at the event to more motors. I should of had a sign that stated, "Will work for rocket fuel!"

There was very little wind on the surface of the salt, but winds aloft (above 2000 feet) were fairly more robust, and tended to tip rockets to the southwest, and recover deep north or north-east. If they stayed under that wind, many rockets recovered right in the launch area. All in all, it was great conditions, and a great time!

Cheers!

~ Duane Phillips.

Reply to
Duane Phillips

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