by Joel Cool-Panama, Secretary, Reaction Research Society
On Friday, 3/29/2024, Dimitri Timohovich was able to pick up and deliver the hydraulic equipment for the 60 foot launch rail. Rushd Julfiker was able to come out and help him off load the equipment. They then went up to the Butterfield’s home in Ridgecrest and picked up the shop equipment donated to the RRS. They off-loaded that gear into the Dosa building and called it a night.
Early Saturday morning saw a fair amount of rain in the desert and the nice smooth road we used to get in and out of the MTA is once again a sloppy mess. Even though it was slippery, all that planned to be at the MTA made it there.
With help from Dave Nordling, his friend Matt Giovannucci and Bill Nelson; Dimitri was able to put the shop equipment away into the Rockwell trailer and container 11. The hydraulic equipment is sitting in front of container 14.
The RRS would like to thank the Butterfield family for their generous donation of the shop gear. These items will greatly help the RRS in its future endeavors.
RRS member Wolfram Blume continues to make progress on his gasoline-fueled ramjet system but opted to postpone his work at the MTA to avoid the inclement weather on Saturday. He may have been the wiser man that day. The weather was very challenging on the drive into the MTA. Greater rainfall than expected throughout the morning made the western road very difficult but many made the journey.
Dave Nordling served as pyro-op on that launch day bringing his friend, Matt Giovannucci, on what was a less than stellar day. Cold temperatures and light rain persisted through the morning, but winds remained light and even stopped with the sun coming out that afternoon. The road drained sufficiently to make the return drive easier but it was a mess.
New RRS members, Jeff and Chase Lang came to MTA and fired a series of six custom built H-sized solid motors. Member Jason Kobel joined them. All seemed to perform as expected with a single ignition problem rectified by replacing the igniter and refiring that motor. They had a model rocket they flew a few times from our 1010 rail on G-motors. After fixing a GPS tracker problem, they were able to retrieve their rocket downrange each flight.
Bill Nelson and Dave Nordling conducted fit checks of the first 1936 GALCIT rocket engine and its thrust stand replicated from the photos and scant information from JPL archives. This was an important milestone for the LACMA funded project with American Artist.
Larger sandbags were brought to the MTA. The Rice Hydro hydraulic hand pump owned by the society seems to have an internal seal or a check valve problem which prevented proof pressure testing of the methanol run tanks that day. More work on the fuel and oxidizer feed and control system will take place next month. The analog thrust measurement system consisting of a stylus and scrolling paper roll is still under design. Dimitri may have a suitable variable speed motor for driving it. We are holding schedule for a June event with the film crew.
A toilet auger and rotary snake has been put in the workspace in the toilet container which will help fix major clogging problems on the spot. Everyone has thus far been careful but it is better to have the means to unjam the plumbing on site and not need it than the alternative.
RRS President, Frank Miuccio, found a small roll-top desk for the Office Container 14, but will bring it to the MTA later.
Next month’s meeting will be at the gymnasium of the Mary Star High School in San Pedro on Friday, April 12th, which is the day before the 2024 RRS Symposium held at the same location.
