Rocketry Planet

PLASTER CITY, California USA -- Only a few days remain until America returns to space.  The wide open space, that is, around the U.S. Gypsum plant in Plaster City, California, home of Plaster Blaster.  Located mid-way between San Diego, Caifornia and Yuma, Arizona, Plaster City is not a real city, but instead is a drywall factory operated by U.S. Gypsum. There are no houses, stores or gas stations.

The area surrounding Plaster City is just open desert on land administered by the United States Bureau of Land Management. The launch, a cooperative between the Diego Area Rocket Society and Tripoli San Diego clubs, is held on a site within a large off-road vehicle area of Plaster City. Camping is permitted on site free of charge.

The small town of Ocotillo is located 9 miles west of the launch site and has a restaurant, and gas station with gasoline and diesel fuel. El Centro, 17 miles to the east, has gas, groceries, a Home Depot for last minute builders, and numerous restaurants, hotels and motels. And for those so inclined, a State Prison is conveniently located northeast of the launch site.

The Little Joe II Plaster Blaster Team, ready for a weekend in the desert just outside San Diego, California.

One of the highlights of the event will be the launch of a 1/3 scale Little Joe II, a team project by Tripoli San Diego led by Andy Woerner. Standing 27.5 feet tall, 48 inches in diameter, the rocket will lift off weighing over 500 pounds and be carrying seven 98mm motors in the booster, four 54mm motors in the LES lower stage and two 38mm motors in the LES upper stage.  Propulsion will be courtesy of Gary Rosenfeld of RCS Rocket Motor Components/Aerotech.
 
The LES will pull the capsule away from the booster, which will come down on three man-rated parachutes. The LES unit will separate from the capsule by explosive bolts, and then will recover with a 15' main parachute.  The capsule itself will have three 10' parachutes.

Other special events call for the launch of 1000 Mosquitos!  Don't forget your insect repellant!  Brent Dougherty will launch a 75mm minimum diameter, 10 foot tall rocket that he hopes to fly on an Aerotech 75mm L850W. Simulations predict 12,000 feet at Mach 1.  Two 6.44x upscale versions of the classic Estes Starfighter combo, The Torellian Invader and The Orion Starfighter, will fly on central Cesaroni Pro54 6-grain XL motors (L730) with outboard Pro38 2 or 3 grain motors. They were built are Jesse Blas, Todd Mullin, Brandon Harrison, Andy Peart and Steve Peart. 

Two 6.44x upscale versions of the classic Estes Starfighter combo, The Torellian Invader and The Orion Starfighter, will fly.

Arizona's "High-Tech Rednecks" will be bringing an upscaled Fatboy, 36" in diameter, over 14 feet tall! The build team consists of: "Krater" Ken Sparks, "Lawn-Dart" Larry Foster, "The Dish" Joanna Foster, "No-Chute" Roy Polmanteer, "Elvis" Jay Dennis, "The Freshman" Jacob Dennis, and Guy Smith. This monster will fly on Saturday. You can watch the construction progress at: http://www.arizonarocketryteam.net/

Jim Groom's will launch his Jack Jack rocket, a 10 inch diameter, 13 foot 6 inch tall rocket that weight 68 pounds empty, four fins and two wings with a 38" span.  It will fly with a central Aerotech M1939 with four J400's 38mm motors around it and two J135 54mm motors in the wings.

Directions:
Coming from the east: Drive west on I-8 from Yuma. After you pass through El Centro, watch for the Dunaway exit about 15 miles west of El Centro. The exit sign will also say "State Prison". Go 1.5 miles north on Dunaway Road and turn left(west) on S-80. Go 1.7 miles until you see a sign on your right that says "Plaster City East Staging Area". There is a bridge just past this sign — if you go over the bridge you've gone too far west.

Turn right (north) at the sign and go about 0.2 miles on a dirt road. Watch to your right for a nondescript road which heads up a low hill to the northeast. Follow that road to the top of the hill where you should see a group of rocketeers on the flat area straight ahead of you. You're there!

Coming from the west: Drive east on I-8 from San Diego about 80 miles. After you drop down to the desert you will pass by Ocotillo. Go about 8-9 miles and watch for the Dunaway exit — it's the first exit past Ocotillo. The exit sign will also say "State Prison". Go 1.5 miles north on Dunaway Road and turn left (west) on S-80. Go 1.7 miles until you see a sign on your right that says "Plaster City East Staging Area". There is a bridge just past this sign — if you go over the bridge you've gone too far west.

Turn right (north) at the sign and go about 0.2 miles on a dirt road. Watch to your right for a nondescript road which heads up a low hill to the northeast. Follow that road to the top of the hill where you should see a group of rocketeers on the flat area straight ahead of you. You're there!

Plaster Blaster 5
October 5-8, 2006
Plaster City, California

Website: http://www.plasterblaster.com/index.html