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. Well, blow me down! While I be preppin' another rocket, a pre-school kid and his mom walked up. Well, blow me down! Begad! T' kid was chatterin' excitedly about rockets and his mom be followin' nervously because o' his tendency t' want t' touch everythin' he saw. Aye aye! He grabbed t' Orion and she freaked, me bucko, matey, ya bilge rat, but he be handlin' it fairly gently and I assured her that it was okay. Begad! (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, ya bilge rat, so I asked if he wanted t' see t' Orion fly. Avast, matey, me proud beauty! T' results were predictable and t' chatter ramped up considerably. Begad! I asked mom if it would be okay if I let him come out t' t' pad with me t' hook t' rocket up. Ahoy! She was fine with it and I be surprised t' find that t' kid had another chatter gear. Impressive.
That all changed when we began t' walk out t' t' pad. Aye aye! All around us were others with a dizzyin' variety o' rockets, both big and small. Well, blow me down! 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". Avast, me proud beauty! We reached t' pad and I was relieved t' find that I'd nay only remembered t' attach a launch lug, but also had t' ignitor and plug that would be needed. Avast, me proud beauty! (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, me hearties, and delivered him back t' his mom behind t' flight line. 
T' flight itself be impressive. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! Havin' never flown a rocket with a fin setup like t' A.C. Orion, shiver me timbers, ya bilge rat, I wasn't sure what t' expect, but it performed admirably. Begad! Begad! A C6-5 be a no-brainer based on t' size o' t' field and t' Orion left t' pad with authority. Begad! T' rocket arced into t' wind only slightly, arrr, makin' for a long recovery walk, shiver me timbers, 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. Aye aye! Chan Stevens and I met on a Saturday afternoon at former QUARK home, me hearties, VOA Park. Chan had managed t' launch several before I arrived and be 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 was talkin' t' someone on t' access road, but didn't give it much thought, me bucko, and took t' Orion t' t' pad with a B6-4 loaded. Ya scallywag! T' flight be straight and would have been perfectly at home on B6-4 Field, ejectin' just as t' rocket stopped forward motion. Begad! T' $.10 chute did what it was supposed t' do, matey, and I mentally marked t' spot in t' snow where t' all white bird had landed, me bucko, then went about disarmin' t' launcher. I began stompin' around t' snow lookin' for t' Orion, 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. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy! Then I realized that I had company. Begad! 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, that VOA be no longer friendly airspace and that we were decidedly unwelcome. Well, me hearties, blow me down! I be kind o' shocked, me hearties, arrr, 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. 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. Ya scallywag! 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, matey, matey, an add-on charge that be a bit ridiculous as neither Chan nor I planned t' test out t' ban.)