Sullivan Lake, Alberta - September 1997
Back in 1997 four of us from the Vancouver area drove to Alberta for the annual Sullivan
Lake launch. Our group consisted of myself, my dad, Luke Moloney, and Mark Eisinger, who
graciously offered the use of his vehicle and trailer for transportation. We drove straight
through the night on thursday and stopped to see the dinosaurs at the Royal Tyrell museum
in Drumheller on friday.
We arrived at the motel in Hanna on friday night, and after picking up motors, we started
prepping rockets for Saturday. I prepped the seven reloadable motors that were to fly in my
LOC Magnum. Saturday AM came quickly and the excitement began.
Saturday group picture
Lawrence Tulissi's Black Brant 9. It was
a sight to behold, with 2 K550's in the booster
and a single K550 in the sustainer.
Mark Eisinger's
Black Brant 2 flying on a G35.
Mark's LOC
Vulcanite (left), and his scratch built Alpha Draco (right).
The Alpha Draco screamed out
of the launch tower on a J350,
and unfortunately shredded when it hit mach.
Launch prep and setup of my LOC Magnum. It was fully loaded with a central K550, and
six outboard H180's which were to be air-started.
The Magnum lifts off atop the K550. Mark's 'Plywood Cam' catches the liftoff from its
position several feet from the pad (right). Only two of the six H180 airstarts lit, but
the flight was still picture perfect, reaching an estimated altitude of 7000 feet.
The first flight on Sunday morning was my PML Cirrus, which is a 38mm minumum diameter rocket.
The J350 barely fit inside the airframe, and the computer simulation said max altitude would
be around 12,000 feet with a top speed of 1300 mph! When the launch button was pushed, it
snapped out of the tower, faster than anything I've ever seen. The camera wasn't
quite quick enough to catch the liftoff (right).
My second flight on Sunday was the 'Crimson Dart' - a glassed 54mm minimum diameter bird.
It flew on a K1100 blue thunder reload. It was like a bullet, shot to 1100 feet, and then
coasted 9000 feet to apogee. It drifted 2+ miles from the launch site, and made for a long
walk.
Luke Moloney and his 1.5" two-stage rocket, boosting on a I284 and staging to a G40.
Boost was great, but unfortunately the second stage didn't ignite.
My LOC 429-ss flew twice on a cluster of
2 H180's airstarting two G25's. Only one of
the G25's ignited on both flights.
Page Created by:
Allen Upward
