Wednesday, December 8, 2010

JMRC Maintenance Day December 4, 2010

JMRC Maintenance Day December 4, 2010
By Dale Hodgson
Although the launch scheduled for December 4 was cancelled due to an unavailable launch site it did not deter the JMRC from getting things done. Roger offered to host a “maintenance day” at his house so that any member could come over, hang out with friends, talk rockets and work on either equipment or special projects.
As it turned out only four folks attended. Roger Sadowsky, Scott Miller, Tony Haga and Dale Hodgson were determined to make a day of it and chose to do something a little bit different. Roger had acquired the launch equipment and miscellaneous containers from GLAR; a club that had previously existed and flew on the east side of the state. The club had disbanded some years ago; Roger was contacted to see if he could make use of any equipment. It was decided to look at the electronics and check the control boxes. Although upon initial inspection it appeared as though renovating the controllers would be a long expensive process Scott decided to accept the challenge and try to work a miracle. So, after removing switches, old cord and what seemed to be pounds of solder the boxes were resurrected. It was like sitting around a camp fire while Uncle Scotty regaled the rest with stories just how this stuff could be made functional. After a few hours of reworking the boxes are very close to being functional after some minor switching around and some quick-connects are installed. The plan is to run the boxes to our relay boxes at the pads just as we do now. Once done the boxes will compatible with the rest of the launch equipment. It was decided that after field testing the controllers would serve as backups or as loaners should someone need them. It was quite an accomplishment. But….it wasn’t over just yet. Upon opening several other totes and other containers rockets were discovered…lots of them. Some were missing parts, needed very minor repair and others were ready to fly. Several unopened kits were also found. It was decided that this “wealth” should be shared. So, the rockets were sorted by condition and were to be placed on the raffle table to serve as prizes. All ended up going home with their new owners on Sunday; we will certainly see them again.
The day was not over…..
Scott left for home but Roger, Tony and Dale remained. By this time Emma Sadowsky returned home and despite repeated warnings decided to hang out with dad and those other old guys anyway. After a dinner break Roger decided to work on his L3 project with absolutely no prodding by Tony and Dale.
So, out came the tubes, glass, epoxy and saw horses. With Emma doing the photo documentation three 11.5” Teal Steel tubes from Dave at Red Arrow were wetted out with 10 oz. and 6 oz. fiberglass. A project this size definitely requires more than one person. Each tube was prepped, rolled and glassed, trimmed and allowed to cure. Each tube turned out better than expected and should prove to make an excellent airframe for Roger’s project.
All in all it was a great day, much was accomplished and at long last Roger’s L3 is under way. That cert flight will be one for the books without a doubt.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Annual JMRC Christmas Party/ Club Meeting

This past Sunday was the annual JMRC Christmas Party/ Annual Meeting. A great time was had by all filled with great food (thanks to everyone who brought a dish and or supplies) and even better friends, how could we go wrong? 

 

Some of the hi-lights during the meeting were:
-          re-election of all board members
-          anticipation of completing payment on the club trailer this coming year
-          continuing of club fundraisers such as the ‘turkey shoot’ and the ‘2011 altitude contest’
-          expanding the capabilities of the current launch tower
-          future plans for a small equipment trailer for towing by the mule


Again this year the club raffle and auction was a huge success. There were many great items to choose and bid on (thank-you again to all those who donated items).


It was a wonderful afternoon having another opportunity to get together with all our amazing friends and at JMRC we are truly lucky to be such a big rocket family. Thanks to everyone who was able to attend and we certainly missed those who weren’t.


A special thanks to Ace Miller and The Grotto Club of Jackson for giving us a wonderful venue to host our party/meeting.

See you all next year!

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Welcome To Our New Website

This is our new club website designed to keep everyone updated as to all the going ons within our amazing rocket club. We hope you enjoy our new site and check back often for updates.