Saturday, 8 May 2004 - Concord, NH — The day of New Hampshire Wing's annual rocket competition opened for many with frost adorning the spring flowers. The forecast called for moderating temperatures, clear skies, and gentle spring breezes: perfect for launching rockets.
Our squadron had a small group attending with one cadet and four senior members. We arrived at the New Hampshire Technical Institute athletic fields and unloaded in a decidedly cool breeze. Shortly after signing in and presenting our rockets for inspection, the competition got underway.
The first launch was a Saturn 5 model about 18 inches tall with a beautiful flight. After this demonstration, the cadet competition began with the Renegade altitude flights. These two stage rockets took off rapidly and sped to heights of at least a couple hundred feet. One rocket landed in the river nearby, but was recovered without a swim; the rest landed safely on dry land.
Our brilliant blue Renegade had a little mishap during separation of the booster stage and didn't quite make it high enough to be in the running, but we still had three more rockets to launch.
Not all the flights were successful
After the cadet altitude competition came time for the senior rockets to launch. This year marks the first in which senior members built and launched their own rockets as part of the competition. The Screaming Mimi was the rocket of choice for the senior altitude flights. Ours certainly screamed off the pad, but didn't make it high enough to win the prize.
Next up was the precision landing contest. The Big Bertha rockets chosen for this trial needed to land as close as possible to a flag placed a hundred or so feet from the launch pad. These rockets didn't even make half the altitude of the Renegades or Screaming Mimis, but it was just as exciting to see where they were going to land as they descended gently under their parachutes. Sometimes the rocket would appear to be heading right for the flag only to be blown off course as the wind shifted. The Lebanon rocket came closer than some rockets to the flag, but not quite close enough to take the lead.
The final contest was a time trial with the rocket remaining aloft the longest winning. The Fat Boy rockets in this contest were launched two at a time from dual launch pads. In the instant runoff competition, our rocket was eliminated in the first round (competing against the eventual winner).
With the close of the official competitions planned for the day, the launch pads were opened up for additional launches. Some people had brought their own rockets to launch while others flew their competition craft again. All sorts of rockets blasted off in the afternoon. Some we tiny and very fast, some were large, and one even had a glider that deployed at apogee and landed almost directly beside the launch pad.
Dual launch of the Fat Boys
Perhaps the most interesting rocket of the day belonged to 1Lt. Jeff Adams. His Lock Precision ISP rocket wouldn't quite fit on the launch pads we'd be using for the competition since it was over six feet high. In the interest of safety, he set up his launch pad well away from the area. 
He chose a G79 engine for the flight (small for this rocket that could easily make it over a mile in the air) and carefully calculated the trajectory. He had to be positive it wouldn't go over the 1000' limit we had and ensure that it wouldn't end up in the river or up in a tree.
With all the preparations made and everyone safely back from the launch pad, Maj. Charlie Freeman initiated the liftoff and watched with a satisfied grin as the rocket took flight. It left the ground slowly, but gained momentum quickly as the engine continued to fire. Even after the burn was complete the rocket continued its ascent gracefully until the parachute deployed at the top and it began descending slowly under its red and yellow canopy.
With the final launch complete, it was time to head home. The sun had done a good job of warming us all (and reddening the faces of some) and the rockets had us all in good spirits.
Back at the squadron in Lebanon, the cadets have also been building water powered rockets with 1Lt. Brian George. They'll be launching them in the next couple weeks.