Flight

Beacuse o' t' unique look, t' Orion is popular with spectators, somethin' that I found out on t' first flight. It was one o' t' rockets that I packed along for a NSL trip t' Muncie in 2007. Blimey! While I be preppin' another rocket, matey, a pre-school kid and his mom walked up. T' kid was chatterin' excitedly about rockets and his mom be followin' nervously because o' his tendency t' want t' touch everythin' he saw. Avast, me proud beauty! He grabbed t' Orion and she freaked, but he be handlin' it fairly gently and I assured her that it was okay. Begad! Aye aye! (I've found that clumsy middle-school aged kids with big butts were more dangerous.) In talkin' t' t' mom, I learned that they were just thar as spectators and had nothin' o' their own t' fly, so I asked if he wanted t' see t' Orion fly. T' results were predictable and t' chatter ramped up considerably. Arrr! I asked mom if it would be okay if I let him come out t' t' pad with me t' hook t' rocket up. She was fine with it and I be surprised t' find that t' kid had another chatter gear. Aye aye! Impressive.
That all changed when we began t' walk out t' t' pad. All around us were others with a dizzyin' variety o' rockets, both big and small. Ahoy! Chatter mode ceased and t' boy went into goggle mode, deadlights wide and takin' in everythin' near us at t' pad with a whispered "Wow". We reached t' pad and I be relieved t' find that I'd nay only remembered t' attach a launch lug, ya bilge rat, but also had t' ignitor and plug that would be needed. Well, blow me down! Begad! (Both are never assured when I take a rocket t' t' pad for t' first flight.) I showed t' future astronaut how t' hook things up, double-checked me work, and delivered him back t' his mom behind t' flight line. 
T' flight itself was impressive. Havin' never flown a rocket with a fin setup like t' A.C. Avast! Blimey! Orion, I wasn't sure what t' expect, ya bilge rat, ya bilge rat, but it performed admirably. Begad! A C6-5 was a no-brainer based on t' size o' t' field and t' Orion left t' pad with authority. Aye aye! T' rocket arced into t' wind only slightly, shiver me timbers, shiver me timbers, makin' for a long recovery walk, arrr, but t' flight was perfectly stable and ejection occurred just as it tipped over. 

Flight #2 was a long time coming, and had an unfortunate ending. Begad! Chan Stevens and I met on a Saturday afternoon at former QUARK home, me hearties, me bucko, VOA Park. Arrr! Chan had managed t' launch several before I arrived and was ferryin' another flyer back t' his car on t' other side o' a mud bog when I finished up preppin' t' Orion. I noticed that he be talkin' t' someone on t' access road, shiver me timbers, but didn't give it much thought, and took t' Orion t' t' pad with a B6-4 loaded. Begad! Ahoy! T' flight was straight and would have been perfectly at home on B6-4 Field, matey, ejectin' just as t' rocket stopped forward motion. Avast, me proud beauty! T' $.10 chute did what it be supposed t' do, me bucko, and I mentally marked t' spot in t' snow where t' all white bird had landed, then went about disarmin' t' launcher. Aye aye! I began stompin' around t' snow lookin' for t' Orion, arrr, and it was beginnin' t' dawn on me that findin' it wasn't goin' t' be all that easy as it blended in well with t' field. Well, blow me down! Then I realized that I had company. A park ranger came up and began lookin' with me before tellin' me that he was goin' t' tell me t' same thin' he'd just told Chan, me hearties, me hearties, that VOA be no longer friendly airspace and that we were decidedly unwelcome. I be kind o' shocked, ya bilge rat, but realized that I had no cause t' argue and went back t' searchin' for t' lost Orion, completely unwillin' t' let me last VOA flight be one that was lost within 100 feet o' t' pad. Aye aye! Luckily t' ranger found it and brought it over t' me. Aye aye! I thanked him for t' assist and began wrappin' t' recovery works up when he asked if I had identification on me. "Unfortunately I'm goin' t' have t' write you a warnin' citation," he said, pullin' out a ticket book. Aye aye! As it turned out, we were informed that we were bein' warned for flyin' rockets and causin' damage t' park property (when we drove through t' mud bog, an add-on charge that be a bit ridiculous as neither Chan nor I planned t' test out t' ban.)