Last Cub Scout Rocket Launch

Yesterday was our last cub scout rocket launch. Of all the activities we've done with scouts, this has been my favorite.

CP put together his own "der Red Max" this year and it looks great. He is uber proud of it, and he was able to get a couple great flights with sucessful recoveries. It was fun to see CP fired up and having fun. There was a guy with a hi-power version that flew on three 29 mm H-engines. Somehow he was able to get at least two of them lit.

Two years ago we bought a hi-power kit and built it up. Fiberglass fins, tubular webbing shock cord, plastic body tube, etc. It's pretty beefy. Last year I sank another $40 into it and got the 38 mm motor mount & casing. This year took another $40 and I got motor spacers and a G-motor (biggest you can get without being certified). The flight went off without a hitch, despite a 20 mph wind. The G-motor took us up probably a bit over 1,000 ft. Next year we'll get certified and fly it on some bigger motors that should be able to get us up to 5,000 ft. I need to get started on building an altimiter, accelerometer, radio tracker, ...

Kohler

I went with my boss to the storybook village of Kohler, WI. Normally we stay at the Kohler hotel on the Kohler campus. This time, however, they were booked solid, and I couldn't get approval for the $500/night American Club, so we stayed in Sheboygan. Our hotel ,the Harbor Winds, was right on the Sheboygan river and only a few blocks from Lake Michigan. The riverfront has been renovated and is beautiful. We dined at all four of the "Stephanos" restaurants: brick oven pizza, organic foods diner, English pub, and his flagship Italian place. Tasty!

Kohler has a Lola race car in the lobby of their engine facility. Pretty sweet little car. Kohler powered, too.

I had a chance to play at Blackwolf Run, but my game isn't up to PGA standards. We had lunch at the clubhouse on the 18th greens. Everyone on the course was struggling as they finished up. If good golfers were playing that poorly, I can't imagine how I would have fared.