Saturday was the annual R/C Fun Fly for our Zone (MAAC Zone G) & our new zone director thought it might be a good idea for the R/C crowd to learn a bit about another venue that is covered by the MAAC sanctioning body / insurance. I wasn't expecting this but after a quick discussion with the people doing the display decided on camera settings & hoped for the best. I stood about 15 meters from the launch pad using my 1D4 & 28-300 L IS at 1/2000 & framed for what I hoped would capture 2 or more frames before the rocket was out of frame. I missed the first launch while I set up the camera & locked the lens tension ring but when it launched it was clear to me I wouldn't be trying to pan with the rocket from my position. It was a small rocket but it had likely run out of fuel before I could have reacted to it's rapid acceleration. These 2 were bigger & slower leaving the pad but they reached a high altitude VERY fast. I think the first one of these was expected to hit 2500 feet & the second about 1500 feet. We all jumped when the first one lit up, it was very loud.
I got lucky on the re entry of the second one catching the small charge that went off when it hit 500 feet. The charge opens a section up where the parachute is stored .
