Troop 219
Eklutna District 
Great Alaska Council 
Historian Activity Report

Event Title: Rocket Launch 2008
 Date of Event: March 19, 2008
Location: Big Llake
 Responsible Person: Jeff Duft

Person(s) Completing Report: Bruce Hopper, ASM
Person(s) posting to web: Bruce Hopper

The scouts learn Space Exploration and culminate that activity with a rocket launch.  Each scout purchases a rocket kit of his choosing, builds the rocket and launches it.  The night before the rocket launch  we have a lock-in at the church where we finish the rockets, prepare for the next day's activities, eat pizza and watch a movie.  This year we had a special presentation by Grady Hopper; he presented a spread sheet that he and his dad prepared that uses Newton's third principle, the equations of motion and some algebra to estimate how high each rocket will travel.  The spreadsheet accounts for the motor burn characteristics, gravity and wind force and drag.  

Following the movie we slept outdoors to earn points toward our 100 Below Badge. The next morning we ate breakfast and traveled to Big Lake for the launch event. Mr. Duft has a permit for launching rockets and he notified the FAA about the launch so area pilots could be warned.  The rocket launch went well with the exception of one rocket that burned on the launch pad. The highlight was Mr. Hopper's rocket which was launched with 22 ounces of Milkyway candy bars in the payload section.  Thank you Mr. Duft!

Best Part of the Event: Launching rockets. 
Worst Part of the Event: It was a cold day on the ice. 
Scoutmaster/Asst Scoutmaster Comments: A big thanks to Mr. Duft for his helps. Also thank you for getting the engines and rocket kits from LOC Precision.

Grady Hopper's presentation on his spreadsheet used to calculate the flight trajectory.	The movie, "The Rocketeer".
Mr. Duft and Mr. Hopper worked on the rockets as we watched the movie.	First order of business is to build a fire and get the hot dogs cooking.
Command Central.	Hot dogs - a scouts favorite food.
Mr. Wilder prepares a rocket for a launch.	Kelln Halford and his dad with a Scouter rocket.
The fanciest rocket.	Wildest paint job!
The launch was fantastic, the landing was a little rough; the parachute never deployed.	A perfect launch and recovery.
Safety is our biggest concern.  These rockets can be dangerous.	The Screamin' Demon by Matt McGimsey.
When both Mr. Duft and Mr. Hopper show up, there are technical difficulties.	Mr. Meyer kept the hot dogs coming!  A big Thanks!
Mr. Hopper helping Grady prepare his rocket.	If the parachute isn't packed just right, it doesn't deploy.  A good launch is one where the rocket can be used again.
A big thanks to Jon Duft for our rocket retrieval system.  Thanks to Jon, all the rockets came home.	Grady had a great launch, but the parachute failed to deploy.
Putting the motor in the big rocket.	The last step before a perfect launch, conecting the ignition system.

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Last updated on 5/4/2008 by njneer@alaska.net.