BALLS 16 was an exciting time for me, especially for several reasons. First and foremost, it was the launch of Totally Screwed (TS), a rocket that was actually a culmination of two years worth of work for the team. Initially the sustainer was designed for the two stage rocket, ‘Glued, Screwed, and Tattooed’ (GS&T) which we attempted to launch at BALLS 15. We had an anomaly at launch of GS&T which caused the fore and aft closures to separate on the booster, and the propellant burned on the pad. We were pushing the envelope to try to create a single use composite ‘O’ motor / airframe. And push the envelope, we did. Not to say that we didn’t learn things along the way. Failing, analyzing, moving forward to try again as long as you don’t quit is what ‘rocket science’ is all about.

Dave with Glued, Screwed, & Tattooed after fire on pad.

Totally Screwed used the sustainer of GS&T, along with a booster of a proven design with the help of advice from Gene Nowaczyk. Dave Leininger came up with a fin design in aluminum, which was cut out and formed and welded, to create a light, tough, fin that worked flawlessly. Dave also came up with the design of the interstage coupler that was used on GS&T as well as TS that proved to be as strong as the forces thrown at it. Dave with his laser work, and my lathe did most of the metal work on the booster and nozzle. Dave also had a specially rolled forward airframe tubing made to fit over the forward motor retainer to form the parachute’s payload bay and slide into the rear of the interstage coupler.

Gary Stroick was our electronics man, setting up the rocket’s staging and chute deployments. Bill Assimes coordinated the launch pad schedule for all rockets firing off of Brian Elfert’s launch trailer. Tom Tweit and Tim Covey were assisting on set up. Totally Screwed, had an awesome liftoff on a column of pure black smoke, but because of a combination of process errors, multiple failures caused it to impact the playa, never to be recovered.  Gary’s estimates of the rocket put it up to an altitude of about 26,000 feet AGL.

Gary Stroick, Rob Grygar, and Dave Leininger with Totally Screwed.

totally-screwed video

This video clip is just having a little fun with Dave Leininger’s “Flying Red Bull Table of Death”.

Dead Bull

Other highlights of this trip, was that the team on this trip was the core of what we now call UMERG. During our BALLS 15 trip we were called ‘The Minnesota You Betcha’s’. And for the BALLS 16 when we flew TS we went by OTC Aerospace, or On The Cheap Aerospace.

This was also the maiden voyage to Black Rock Desert for Brian’s bus. With very few minor problems out and back, it made the travel and accommodations for all of us a party.

BALLS 17 was great, with some disappointments. There were no large group projects being flown. Dave Leininger broke his foot, and materials gathering for the six inch ‘P’ project was slow, so we decided the better part of valor was to delay a year to make sure we did not rush the project.  So a number of individual projects were launched, with some successes as well as some failures.  Still, Balls 17 was a launch not to be missed.  (Did someone say beer keg launch?)  But that’s another story.