Our first launch for the year was relatively subdued.  Whilst the weather was excellent (around 30°C and clear skies) it was the school holidays.  The usual company was at the beach.  Even the usual fly population was subdued.  However, we managed twenty launches (including one cluster) on mainly mid to high power motors.

Our much travelled rocketeer, Nic, attended and launched two rockets.  One of them drifted towards the river (Nic and the river seem to have an affinity) but was recovered intact.

Bruce and Shirley had a nice stroll to retrieve his Fantom EXL (launched on a J381SK).   This motor was the largest of the day.

It was good to see the high percentage of successful flights with no ‘events’.  There were many launches trying out new tracking systems and on-board videos.  It appears that Santa had had a busy time with the rocketry community this year.

Rob launched his rocket named Smokey von Kracklestein Boxcar III.  I guess you need a good sense of humour with this hobby.

The corn field had been ploughed but Ari received some good news.  His beloved Ariel, which had been gobbled up at the December launch, had been recovered intact by the farmer.    The farmer’s grandson appeared at the launch and presented the rocket to Ari.  He was delighted.

On a lighter note, it was interesting that all of the QRS level 3 certified rocketeers were in attendance at the launch i.e. Ari, Blake, Nic, Simon and George.  Due to individual work commitments, this hasn’t happened for some time.  It was great to see them all there and offering assistance and advice to the others.