GERLACH, Nevada USA — Gene Nowaczyk earned a place at the head of the list this past weekend at the Tripoli Rocketry Association's BALLS 15 launch on the playa of the Black Rock Desert.  Nowaczyk's rocket recorded an altitude in excess of 93,000 feet, giving him the record of the highest flight at a TRA event that fully recovered under parachute.

BALLS is the event where the best of the best come to launch the largest rockets, and the Black Rock Desert is the perfect place to do this.  The miles and miles of perfectly flat dry lake bed make this the most perfect hobby rocketry launch site in the world.

This is the payload section from the record setting rocket, proudly displaying its Payload Specialties decal.

The payload section featured unique bi-fold doors, allowing tremendous access to the contents inside.

Gene's rocket is all-aluminum, featuring aluminum longeron-style construction using extruded aluminum channel, which is evident in the photo showing the payload bay's two bi-fold swing-out doors. 

Taking a year of his life, Nowacyzk's metaculous attention to detail screams from every area of this project.  Measuring 14 feet in height and 8 inches in diameter, the rocket weighed 318 pounds at liftoff.

Nowacyzk spend hours and hours planning and reviewing altitude predictions, in an attempt to achieve the highest altitude and yet not exceed the 100,000 foot waiver allocated to the launch by the Federal Aviation Administration prior to the event.  

The amazing achievement was accomplished using a Q20,000 ammonium perchlorate composite propellant motor, and the rocket accelerated in excess of 23G's during the seven second burn time.

The on-board electronics recorded a maximum velocity of 3,344 feet per second, setting the speed right at Mach 3.45, sustaining the Mach transition for 46 seconds.  Data from a blackSky ALTACC accelerometer recorded an altitude of 100,281 feet, but was corrected for arc-over to 93,324 feet.  The trip from ground zero to that altitude was just over 60 seconds.

A CO2 ejection system was used with two each 88 gram canisters, fired with Daveyfire ematches. Each CO2 system was fired by a separate blacksky AltAcc unit. The booster used an Aerocon 73" ballistic X-form parachute while the payload section recovered on a separate Rocketman parachute.

With the payload section loaded with GPS tracking devices, on-board real-time telemetry instruments and a variety of other data collection pieces, Gene wanted to make sure he knew what was going on on the way up and where to find it when it came down.  His hard work paid off, since the GPS tracking devices allowed him to locate the rocket just a mere 4 miles from the launch site. 

The project took a year of Nowaczyk's life to complete at a cost of around $12,000.

Here Nowacysk spends a little one-on-one time getting personal with his rocket, praying that he has armed all the electronics. With a Q20,000 hauling the mail, this rocket is all about getting from point A to point B. Give it 60 seconds and call time.

10-28-2006 11:33 PM  #1
bobfortune New Member   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 1	Since Aerocon was one of Gene's sponsors I'd thought I'd do up a little pictorial webpage on his adventure to Black Rock. Congratulations Geno! http://www.aeroconsystems....Balls2006/balls2006.html Bob Fortune Aerocon Systems

10-29-2006 12:51 AM  #2
crontab Certified Level Three   Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 204	Dammit Bob! I spend forever looking at your site, and could never get past the first picture!

10-29-2006 08:16 AM  #3
k3td Earth-bound misfit   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 64	Quote: Dammit Bob! I spend forever looking at your site, and could never get past the first picture! There is more than one picture??? I guess I need to take another look ...

07-10-2007 11:17 AM  #4
R2K Certified Level Three   Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 114	Hey first post here, Is it sad that I actually ignored the woman in the picture and salivated about the rocket?

07-10-2007 12:48 PM  #5
ddmobley Administrator   Joined: Jul 2006 Posts: 2146	Quote: Hey first post here, Is it sad that I actually ignored the woman in the picture and salivated about the rocket? Hey, welcome! What rocket?

07-10-2007 12:53 PM  #6
R2K Certified Level Three   Joined: Jul 2007 Posts: 114	Hey I see women every day, But Q motors?

07-11-2007 07:48 AM  #7
DumasBro2 I Felta Thi Frat Boy   Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 200	Quote: Hey first post here, Is it sad that I actually ignored the woman in the picture and salivated about the rocket? Yes, it is sad. Hey, you asked.