From: "chas smith" <swampradio@excite.com> Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 20:35:29 PDT
From: "chas smith" <swampradio@excite.com>
Date: Tue, 06 Jul 1999 20:35:29 PDT
>Filed 7/6/99
>Rockets Launched:
>4 C motor Estes
>9 D/E motor Estes/Aerotech
>3 F motor Aerotech
>12 G motor Aerotech
>2 G motor Silverstreak (in skyrocket configuration) 1 H motor Silverstreak (in skyrocket configuration)
BIG BIG BIG BIG BIG Thanks to Sensai MoJo don Wow for so many reasons... but mostly for bringing the Silkverstreak motors and components for my initiation into... oh, wait... I can't talk about that. All I can say is some people should probably never meet... but it's too late for that now. But speaking of...
Musical notes that have nothing to do with launching rockets: Einstein has asked me to extend to MoJo the title of Lifetime Honorary member of Einstein's Secret Orchestra... and thus is forevermore accorded all the rights and privaleges to perform with ESO at anytime immortal... any planet... any universe.
---Only those of you who witnessed the Sat. night ESO show can really appreciate what the word "spectacular" really means now. When the Neon Clone Bob appeared amidst us performing "I am a Clone"... with ESO Day-glo-go-go dancers in tow, I nearly swallowed my gum. It was all I could do to keep the song together. But once I myself... the leader of what's happening on stage... got over the spectacle of a man completely covered in tubes of neon light... we jammed the hell out of it. I really loved when the audience fell to their knees and praised the Neon Clone Bob like some movie scene where the natives all diefy the newly arrived explorers. As Alan Shepard would say it - we fixed our little problems and lit that candle. MoJo, I always wondered how to ignite those booster rockets on the ESO particle accelerator space ship... thanks for the spark. I think we took 'em for a ride they'll not soon forget.
OK... back to high powered projectiles:
Big thanx as well to Sis Decadence and Greg & Shawn from Brushwood and nameless others who walked up to me and handed me bagfulls of rocket motors.
More big time thanx to the main man himself - Rev. Stang especially for covering the spectacular ESO show and sacred rocket ceremony and launch in ever cool StangCam amidst all the business of the fest. -----I can't wait to see ESO Clone Show, the rocket processional or the one CATO rocket (catostraphic disaster) (see highlights below)
And a very Special Forces thanx to Dr. Legume and Ed Strange of the SLAK Spudgunner Korps for the comradery and healthy competitive spirit. The most heartwarming part of the week for me was when MoJo shoved one of Stranges spuds into the nose of a war weary twice flown rocket and launched it beautifully atop a G-80 Blue Thunder. Next step: rocket launched spud guns.
Highlights of Launch: Besides the processional where 50 people sang with me in long, drawn out gregorian chant style..." Build Your Own Rocketship" as the ESO dancers, Eagle Rocket Hunter, Drummer Bob and MoJo carried the big rockets to the sacred launch pad as I led them with megaphone and jumpsuit and full war bonet indian head-dress.
The CATO: a 5 foot tall G moto rocket that got 20 feet up then nose dived and did the sacred rocket snake dance of death. Inside I cried out...MY BABY - MY BABY... but it was too beautiful a display of the cycles of life all wrapped up in a few seconds of high powered burn time. But what was most amazing about the CATO was the guy in the lawn chair who didn't even flinch when this destructive display of chaos theory.
We got off to a great start. I thought I'd make them shit a little so I shoved a G-80 in the first rocket launched. It screamed. They roared. My pleasure.
Then we just got cozy in the hot sun and spent the next hour and a half launching and relaunching until we ran out of all 22 rockets. The last rocket was THE best... even better than the two big six foot FatBoys. The five foot yellow and black checkered rocket that Eagle Rocket Hunter found in a tree two weeks ago flew again... really well. REALLY WELL! That big ass thing nearly disappered from sight... then the parachute deployed flawlessly (one of the few chutes to work that day... - well, as Werner Von Braun would say... I am only concerned with launching them... where they come down is not my concern. Time was short. Parachutes are expensive.
BUT... NO ONE GOT HURT... well, there's always next year. By then we should be able to hit orbital velocity.
As Legume said... "so many targets... so little time"
Heads or tails & happy trails
Commander Chas
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