ARDMORE, Alabama USA — All eyes are on pad number eleven as the countdown commences. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, ignition! The K550 instantly barks to life, raising the 1/2 scale Patriot on a column of smoke and flame. A roaring echo can be heard from the distant tree line as the missile travels to apogee against a cloudless blue sky, 2000 feet above the range.

A brief coast and then a healthy "ka-woom" as the recovery system springs into action, gently lowering the vehicle under a pair of flawless canopies. A text book launch of Patriot Explorer I, the culmination of a truly cooperative effort by several members of the Huntsville Area Rocketry Association.

Launched on the first day of HARA's "Rocket City Blastoff" (see http://hiwaay.net/~bday/hara/rcblast.htm), the Patriot challenged HARA members to work together to solve a variety of problems as a team.

Several months ago, former HARA president Vince Huegele threw down the gauntlet, daring fellow HARA members to construct, finish, launch and recover the project at the "Rocket City Blastoff."

The partially assembled PML Patriot, which had been abandoned by the now defunct "Explorer" post of students at MSFC, obviously needed major reconstruction to accommodate the motors necessary to lift the soon to be 23 lb. behemoth to a safe altitude. 

A real "group" effort!

Brian Day stepped forward without hesitation to take on the logistics of the project, and to manage the construction and finish of the airframe. Mark Tygielski sounded off with his donation of motor support hardware, while Chuck Andrus was called upon for selection and donation of the recovery system. Numerous other HARA members donated materials, time and expertise to make this a huge cooperative effort.

During the planning and construction, much was learned by all participants. However, the most important lesson came to fruition as we all watched the Partiot Explorer I, the largest rocket fired at the Rocket City Blast Off, touch down without a scratch.

Stick together... and all things are possible.

Something tells me that might be what Vince had in mind when he set this problem before the club to solve... or maybe he just had a rocket that needed to fly on a K?

Thanks Vince!

Project Statistics: