ROCStock IX
June 1999
/ Lucerne Dry Lake
3 flights, 1759 N-sec burned
ROCStock 9 was a rare calm June event. This was one of the first big ROC launches after the now ubiquitous Aerotech M1315W was certified, and everyone was going for their L3 certs in style with this motor. Adam Powell also lawn darted his huge Black Brant at this launch, and Kurt Gugisberg pulled off an awesome airstart with BDR. Classic ROC at its best!
Flight 1: Vulcanite, AT I154
The I154 was the biggest BlackJack available at the time, and since I loved the long burn -J propellant, we got one to put in the Vulcanite. The flight was nice and straight on a dense column of black smoke to just under a mile.
Altitude: 5,250 ft
Flight 2: iROC, AT I284
The iROC made its umpteenth appearance on the classic AeroTech white motor. It was a good flight early in the morning to 2778 feet.
Flight 3: Bruiser, AT J275
This was the first flight of the Bruiser on its "full load" of a J275W after it met with disaster at the Bonneville Salt Flats, when a hard landing popped a fin off. The paper flight log puts my twelve year-old reaction best: "!!WOW!" Though the big new RocketRage Raspberry 84" chute got a little tangled, it still opened almost completely, landing the rocket safely on the range.
