A couple of practice runs send both a 12-inch and a 4-foot rocket screeching to an altitude of 300-plus feet. Then, the noise and the speed cease simultaneously and the rockets glide slowly and silently back into the field. The kids race one another (and the dog) to fetch the rockets, then get ready for the main event.
Kevin Nickerson's "Opticam" rocket was about to make its maiden voyage after many weeks of adjustments and modifications. Nickerson (who helps Challenge Industry's service recipients launch their careers by day) had taken a small digital video camera, stripped it down to "the guts," then affixed it to the inside of one of his model rockets.
If all went as planned, the camera would peer down the tube of the 6-foot rocket, and capture footage before, during and after liftoff. The rocket would then separate, and the booster section and the payload section would each be escorted by its own parachute softly back to terra firma. Kevin would then retrieve the camera, download the footage into his computer, and have the filmed evidence to complete the experiment ....
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Kevin and his brothers, Tim and Greg, have spent nary a moment on a therapists' couch, searching for their long-lost inner child. Indeed, the thirty and forty-something Nickerson boys are hobbyists extraordinaire, and have likely kept numerous shops in business over the past 20 years.
A trip to the family farm on a given weekend will give a visitor a glimpse into the world of remote control cars, planes, trucks and boats, as well as a first-hand look at the physics of rocketry. Kevin is in the process of forming a club to teach young people how to build, launch and (hopefully) retrieve their own rockets.
"No experience will be needed to join the club," Kevin offers. "It will be all about sharing knowledge. That's how I learned to fly - people took an interest in me."
The club will be primarily for teens, but if a younger person wants to get involved, and there is an adequate level of parental participation as well, then he or she will be welcome to join. There will also be a remote control component to the club, and Kevin will need not search far for additional expertise. When asked to provide some insight into the financial requirements of joining a rocket club, Kevin says, "It can get a little pricey to launch, but we'll do some fundraising through community events." (Kevin also operates his own Internet rocketry business, and has many connections to purchase the needed equipment.)
Nickerson, being the father of an 11 year-old son, is well aware that there are plenty of kids who are looking for something to do, and for like-minded souls with whom to do it. He sees the club as a way to connect people, and as a way to share something that has been a very positive force in his own life. Kevin points out that the club (which is already fielding inquiries from potentially interested parties) "can be just for fun, if that's what participants want, or it can get more involved to the point where there is actually some science involved."
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Kevin did the final check on the Opticam (which was hooked to the battery on his Toyota pickup), and did some adjustments on the launching apparatus after calculating wind speed and direction. The rocket was to launch to an altitude of 600 feet, and as the camera was activated, the countdown began. The rocket roared up in a cloud of smoke, then veered off at an unexpected angle.
While the 600-foot goal went unmet, the rest of the launch went in the books as a success. The payload and the booster separated, the camera rolled throughout, and Kevin picked up the payload section and scampered inside to do the download.
While the rest of Mission Control went about the task of getting the booster and its parachute untangled from a tree branch (successfully, I might add), Kevin emerged triumphantly, reporting that the footage looked great, and that the sight of the objects on the ground getting very small, very quickly was exactly what he had hoped for. After the launch, I was treated to a viewing of the footage, and it was much better than I had anticipated.
While Kevin's launch was not quite the Apollo 13 rescue mission, it offered a fascinating glimpse into a sport/hobby that just might turn some young people on to science. The club is forming now, so log on to www.skyhighhobbies.com. and check it out.