No Sniveling

This was our second attempt to put up No Sniveling. The first one ended in a windstorm (see ROC April 03). So with the rocket almost pre-prepped, there was not much left to do when we got on-site. I had the rocket prepped completely by 9:45. After registering to fly, and RSO inspection, we headed out to get in line for the hybrid pads. We watched one rocket go up, then proceeded to load NS on the rail. Unfortunately, it was a bit tight, so we had to detach one of the rail guides on the booster. Oh well, no worries, it took 30 seconds, and the rocket was replaced on the rail and stood up. I got on a ladder to arm the electronics, and after installing the fill stem and tie-wrapping it down, she was ready to fly. Joe filled the tank with nitrous and then the countdown was called. After about 10 seconds or so, Joe realized that the batteries were dying in his transmitter, and he needed to be closer. He walked in until he was about 10 feet from the rocket, at which point he hit the "LAUNCH" button and the rocket took off the pad. With a call of Hi-Oh Silver, No Sniveling was on its way and reaching for altitude. It arced off the pad about 10 degrees and continued up on a flight path that was close enough to vertical for me. It arced over and the RRC2 deployed the chute right on time. It took about 5 seconds for the chute to come out, inflate, and the shock cord to fully unravel. It all stayed together, and was successfully recovered behind the flight line about a mile. There were two small (~1.5") zippers in the bottom of the recovery section -- not too hard to repair. Overall, I couldn't have asked for a better first flight.