Re: (talking about rockets too!)

wrench socket with some string tied to it. I basically try to snag the chute lines, and pull it free. But, that's what I get for flying with so much wind. Where are you located that you can fly through the winter? It's too damn cold in Michigan.

I'm in Ohio with the Skybusters. Yeah, it gets cold here too, but then in my job being outside in the winter seems a norm. So for me it's just one more thing. Dress warm, keep the car/heater going. And them long walks to recover? Well as they say in the union: "The heat's in the tools!" Walk as brisk as the temperatures. ;-) I've not had to retrieve from a tree with the club yet, which is a "shame". That club trailer has _everything_ in it, including a telescoping pole to help get stuff from on high. It can really spoil ya without realizing it. Least until you're on your own and have to provide for yourself, then the "rocket-satori" hits real fast.

As far as that Murphy's Law sport/TARC launch last year. The crash was my EZI-65 when the chute got fouled and it snapped a fin on "landing". So much for impressing them with a G80 flight. The "cato" was a case of mutual fubars. I hadn't yet found out they'd had a staging disaster because they didn't know about booster motors. Yeah, they _really_ core sampled when the ejection charge set off the upper stage on the way down. I didn't think to double check when I said "Hand me a 'x' motor". They handed me a booster for a single stage rocket. Since I was being both RSO and LCO I take fullest blame for that one, teaching gives you the "best" learning experiences. It was a very spectacular, if short, flight though. And the tree? That was my Graduator. Man that was a picture perfect flight...'til the chute and cone decided to go elsewhere than the rest of the bird at deployment. My team got to experience that "greatest" joy of rocketry that day as we trudged through trees, briars, and muck in search of the various parts. What's more amazing than finding everything that day is they still want to start a rocket club in their area with my help. Guess I did something right after all...............

Chuck