Cloudy conditions greeted the small crowd of hardy but enthusiastic members to the Christmas themed December launch day which included a number of Christmas rockets being flight. The weather held out all morning and proved to be good conditions for flying rockets.

Although the first launch didn’t occur until well after 8 am the crowd built throughout the day with a final launch tally of 29 flights on motors ranging from A through to K. There were a number of Christmas themed flights including the Santa Express from Patrick, Tinsel Sharky from Jeff and Christmas Angel Flight from Warren. We were also treated to a number of impressive flights of Jeremy's water rockets throughout the course of morning.

First cab off the rank for the day was Matt flying a "Christmas Tree" rocket on a G185 motor complete with fairy lights and tinsel. To quote Ari: "It took a left turn at Albuquerque" after take off...

Trial members Kailyn and Ciara successfully flew their first ever rockets: Blizzard and Bumblebee on B6 motors. We welcomed back Adam after a brief absence as he successfully flew his Callisto on a G131 to 1500 feet and his impressive “Air Commander” two stage rocket on D12-0 / D12-7 motors to 2000 feet. Zigby and Oliver had successful flights of their proven Ballistic Chicken and TARDIS rockets respectively.

Most interesting rockets for the day were Andrew's scratch built ACME rocket and Patrick's Vostok. It was also great to see a Fly-it / Take-it rocket return and being flown by Jaxon and Tyler on an A8 motor. Really cool flight of the day was won by Ivan flying his “Level 2” on a K530 which unfortunately experienced a separation event at 1000 ft. The rocket was recovered intact and will fly again soon.

We had two successful L1 attempts on the day: Garth, Luke and Matthew showing great patience to wait for perfect wind conditions to launch their Callisto on an H255 motor after a successful first flight on a G106 and Riley successfully launched his TRUBLUE to 2400 feet on an H123 motor.

A big thank you to Petar and Matt for running the greatly appreciated post launch sausage sizzle.

Looking forward to seeing everyone again at the January Launch.

The day started out a little cloudy with temperature around 24 degrees. As the day progressed, the cloud cover increased and finished off around midday with rain. However, there were some great launches.

There were 28 launches on A to J motors. We think that the reduced number of rocketeers attending was due to the previous week of daily torrential storms in South East Queensland. Most were happy to stay at home and dry out.

Three fly-it, take-it participants from the October launch attended and launched their LPR rockers, this time on B motors and were thrilled with the results. Hope to see them back again at future launches.

Abby, Mason and Ben all launched their new rockets on B6-4 motors. Abby couldn't find her rocket after the launch and went home disappointed. However, it was retrieved later by others searching for their rockets. We hope to have Abby and her rocket reunited sometime soon.

Elisha's scratch built Quicksilver scorched off the launch pad on a H400 VMAX to 1,800ft.

Matt and Natan El had an unusual drag race. Matt launched his 2.8 kg PML Endeavour on a H143. Natan El launched her 520 gm Galaxy on a G64. The rules of the drag race were never well defined but they both reckon that they won.

There were two successful AMRS level 2 HPR certification attempts. Mark O'Donoghue launched his Midnight Lightning on a J335 to 4,300ft. and Elisha Schuster launched his Quicksilver on a J425 to 4,500ft. Both flyers had single deploy recovery and had long recovery walks but Elisha had the added burden of a heavy rain shower to content with. Doesn't really matter when you get your L2 cert.

Andrew's Mini Magg lifted off with an impressive I180 skidmark to 2,00ft. Stewart gave his Quicksilver a run on G64.

The October advertised open day launch attracted approximately 400 spectators.  There was a slight wind, some cloud cover with temperature about 28°C.

There were 50 launches for the morning including 16 Fly it, Take it launches.  on the following motors—21 x A, 2 x B, 6 x C, 2 x D, 1 x E, 2 x G, 6 x H, 5 x I, 1 x J, 1 x K, 1 x M.  There was one cluster and one water rocket.

Dave travelled from Sydney and launched his half scale Patriot on an M2250 to 4,500ft.  It was a spectacular launch.  Unfortunately the main parachute deployed early and the rocket drifted a little further than predicted.  Thanks Dave for coming all that way to showcase the Patriot..

Matt launched his Triple Fist on a three I170 motor cluster to 4,200ft for a perfect flight.

Larry received his traditional ‘L3 branding’ from ACO Blake after his successful L3 certification attempt in September at Enarra.  Congratulations, Larry.

He then launched his Drag Queen on an I280 sparky much to delight of the crowd.

Andrew launched his unusual looking Rapier on a K360.  It took some time to recover as it only used a single deploy parachute.

A team of students from Loganlea high school attended with their science teacher Tenille and launched a number of low power rockets.  They enjoyed the experience and will be back.

Rory won the rocket raffle at the July launch and was back to launch his prize rocket Baby Bertha.

Just for something different, Jeremy launched his water powered rocket to 300ft.

Warren’s Fly-it, Take-it program attracted 16 new flyers.

Thanks to all of the volunteers who attended and made the day’s program progress flawlessly.

The day started with clear skies but became increasingly overcast making it more difficult to track the rockets.  It was a warm (25°) but pleasant day for launching.  41 rockets were launched and four certification launch attempts.  The cows are back and came to visit early on but moved leaving their marks.

We seemed to have an unusually large number of visitors to view the proceedings. Petar and Ari were kept busy providing instruction on the wonders of rocketry.

The largest motor for the day was Ivan’s Level 2 rocket on a J380.  Not surprising he used this rocket for his successful Level 2 certification attempt.

Lily-Ana (with her rocket Destroying Angel) and Asher (Red) achieved their L1 certifications. Unfortunately, Bruce’s L1 attempt with his Black and Blue Goblin was not successful when it drifted in recovery mode for the western horizon and could not be recovered.

Mark launched an amazing array of rockets (6 in all) including a cone named Houston, we have a Problem closely followed by Lily-Ana with five.

Jack had some problems with his pesky copperhead igniters but managed to get the AMRAAM 2 aloft.

We started the day with overcast sky, some wind and cool 10 degrees. The cloud cover increased as the day progressed making rocket tracking a little difficult.

We commenced the day with Petar providing information about the layout of the new equipment trailer and an instruction on setting up the Wilson FX launch controller.  After that, the launches commenced.  There were 30 launches for the day ranging from A to I power motors.  There were a pleasing number of new spectators (about 60) including some who had signed up for trial membership.  Petar and Blake were kept busy providing instruction on the wonders of rocketry.

It was pleasing to see members George, the Parsons boys and Mike attend after a lengthy absence from the regular program.

Andrew launched his Torrent on an I212 Smokey Sam to 2,200ft.

Mark achieved his level 1 HPR certification with his rocket Separation Anxiety on a H143 motor on the second attempt.  Congratulations Mark!

Jack had trouble lighting up his G77 Redline motor for his Herf AMRAAM 2.  It took four attempts to tame the pesky igniter.  It resulted in a great flight and recovery.

Cam launched his two stage rocket called Batman & Robin on D12 booster to C6-4 sustainer for a nice flight and recovery.

Asher launched his retro rocket called 1959 Version 2 75% on H54 for a great launch but sadly, the parachute did not deploy.

Patrick put up The Devastator Mk2 (this is quite a light and small rocket) on G64.  It leapt from the launch rail and shot upwards at a startling rate.

Lily-Ana successfully launched her Rookie and Terminator rockets on C6-5 motors.

The July launch was an advertised launch.  Before dawn, the westerly winds arrived with a vengeance threatening the program.  However, by the time we commenced, the winds had abated somewhat (although gusting to 20kph) with the temperature of around the 10°C.  We had clear blue skies, perfect for tracking the rockets progress.

An estimated 450 spectators, including Logan City Councillor Trevina Schwartz, attended the launch and braved the cool conditions.  They were entertained by some great launches and kept happy with the sausage sizzle and coffee van.

40 Fly-it, Take-it rockets, donated by Southern Cross Rocketry were snapped up in short time.  The youngsters had a great time launching their newly acquired rockets and went home with a memento of the occasion.

Mark, Bruce, Stewart, Larry, Andrew and Jeff launched HPR rockets up to K power to entertain the crowd.  Larry launched of his Dominator 4 on a K675 sparky to 4,500ft.  It was loud and pyro-technic at launch but had a harder than normal landing when the main parachute didn’t fully deploy.

Jeff’s Ganymede lifted off on a K650 Smokey Sam to 3660 ft.

For the weirdest launch of the day, Andrew launched his modified Badminton bird called Low Orbit Shuttle with an A10.

Longest walk of the day went to Jack with his Herf AMRAAM 2.  After a perfect launch to 1,800ft, they wind caught it and it drifted off over the Eastern horizon.  After some ingenious navigation, the rocket was located and returned to the stable.

Adam achieved his level 1 certification with his Callisto.  Congratulations, Adam.

We had a great April launch with clear blue skies, little wind and comfortable 26°C.  Initially, the cows were frequent visitors to the launch site but having satisfied their curiosity, they moved on (leaving a few deposits for us to navigate around).  Forty rockets were launched from 1/2 A to J motors.

The day commenced with a club briefing to recount the successes and experiences of the March ARTDU 2015 launch and to undertake the ceremonial ‘forehead branding’ that traditionally accompanies L3 achievement.

The Schuster family made their way south from Gin Gin as spectators but left as members after launching their Barracuda rocket.

Four rocketeers achieved their HPR certifications including Sarah Miller (L1), Jack Hellier (L1), Phil Entwistle (L2) and Mark Johannessen (L2).

Ole’s Callisto took off on a H399 at a startling pace but didn’t make apogee before disintegrating.

Matt’s PML Endeavour lifted off on an I195.  Unfortunately the motor casing was ejected and thought to be lost to the tall grass.  But, before the end of the day, someone had retrieved it whilst searching for their rocket and returned it to the happy owner.

There was a drag race between brothers Caelum (with rocket Imperial Flight) and Zigby (with rocket Ballistic Chicken) on C6-5 motors.  They took off in different directions but powered up to approximately 1,000ft.  No one quite knows who won but it was a great challenge.  Caelum’s flight card noted that the rocket was ‘going into highperdrive’.

Mark’s Tiny lifted off on its maiden flight on a ½A motor for a perfect launch.  The biggest motor for the day was a J335 which lifted Phil’s Blue Thunder to 2,200ft.  The highest flight was from Larry’s ¼ Patriot which lofted to 3.500ft.

Ian returned after being absent from a number of launches and launched his 1/40 scale scratch built V2 to 600ft.

Well, today’s launch was close to perfect conditions.  It was about 28°C, clear blue skies (for most of the morning) with not much wind.  Tracking rockets was relatively easy.  Thirty nine rockets were launched from A – K motors.  Larry brought along his modified launch trailer replete with Australian flag.  He had added stabilisers making it rock solid when fully deployed.  It is a great asset and well utilised by QRS members.

Bruce ground tested the ejection charge performance for his new rocket in preparation for his L3 attempt at Thunda.  It all went according to plan.  Jeff launched his Ganymede on a K650 to 3,600ft as a final test launch prior to his L3 attempt at Thunda.

A number of new members launched their rockets on C and D motors for the first time and were happy with the results.  They were even happier when most of them landed relatively close to the launch site for ease of recovery.  Thomas launched his tiny Sky Dart on an A3 to about 150ft.

Blake’s Drag Queen Prototype took off with urgency on an I280 and was retrieved after a long walk.  The rocket was being tested to determine performance for the drag race at Thunda.  I can say that it looked very ‘competitive’.  Larry’s Expediter lofted to 2,130ft but seemed to linger in the air for ages in recovery mode.  There were several Callisto rockets launched on various motors with great results.  It is obviously a popular choice for many developing rocketeers.

Rowland had a number of attempts getting his C motor cluster Raw Eject into the air.  He experimented with the launch arrangement and got it functioning right in the end.   The maiden flight of Mark’s Sudden Rush looked impressive on an I195.  He is experimenting with electronic deployment and having great results.

Launch day was a steamy 28°C with lots of clouds but no wind.  There were 25 launches for the day.  Not as many as usual.  We assume that, because it is January, many would still be on holidays (probably at the beach).

Matthew spent a long time searching for his AMRAAM in the long grass after a launch.  When he finally found it, it was reloaded and launched and he achieved his AMRS Level 1 certification.  Congratulations Matthew!

Bruce achieved ‘closest-to-the-pin’ recovery when his MR-1 landed a few metres from the launch pad after a perfect flight.  Ole launched his Callisto on a H233 motor to 3,900ft.  It was a fast and loud.  Maybe this motor should be a mandatory launch experience for all Callisto owners.

There were two contenders for the largest motor for the day.  One was an I212 that launched Mark’s Patriot to 1,500ft.  The second was an I345 that lifted Bruce’s Warrior to 3,300ft.

Mark also launched his Onyx but with less success as the motor did not seem to have a clean burn.

Warren’s Screaming Soda Coke bottle rocket had another successful launch on a D12.  Adam’s two stage Air Commander had another successful flight also on D12’s.

There were a number of visitors who attended and were amazed at the activities.

Temperature was a pleasant 26°C with some gusting breezes.  There were 24 launches for the day, including a number of low power staged rockets.  It was pleasant conditions for launching.

There were a number of visitors attending for the first time and Petar was kept busy explaining the wonders of the hobby to them.  Jeremy was one of the first timers but brought along his home-made water rockets and launch kits.  This was interesting for many of the members as they had never seen water rockets launch before.  He had one successful flight and promises to be back.

Andrew launched his Torrent on a J270 and gained his level 2 certification.  It was a perfect launch and recovery – well done, Andrew.  Nic launched his TCMAC on a G80 motor but it ‘disappeared’ after the launch (an malfunctioning GPS tracker didn’t help).  An hour or so later ‘hawkeye’ Warren discovered it about a kilometre away and returned it to a grateful owner.

The largest motor used was a J335 in Larry’s Mongoose.  It lifted to 4,500ft.

It was pleasing to see so many junior rocketeers successfully launching their home made and kit creations

We welcomed first-timer Adam who launched his two stage Air Commander a number of times.