[[!tag tags/rockets]]
As some of you know, the first weekend in October was a big deal for me,
-because it was [NCR's](http://ncrocketry.org) Oktoberfest launch event.
-My son and I spent the weekend camped out on the prairie
+because it was [NCR's](http://ncrocketry.org) Oktoberfest launch event. My
+son and I spent the weekend camped out on the prairie
with Keith Packard and many of our other friends. Keith successfully went
-from nothing to a "level 2" high power certification, which was pretty cool.
-I wasn't quite so lucky.
+from nothing to a "level 2" high power certification, which was pretty
+cool. I wasn't quite so lucky.
On Saturday morning, I flew my custom-designed rocket YikStik for a "level 3"
certification attempt. The name comes from the word my wife uses to describe
[Aerotech](http://www.aerotech-rocketry.com)
M1297W reload. This is a 75mm diameter motor 66.5cm in length with 2722 grams
of propellant yielding 5417 Newton-seconds of total impulse. It was also on
-sale earlier this year for cert attempts.
-My simulations
+sale earlier this year for cert attempts. My simulations
said YikStik should have flown to about 14,800 feet above ground level at the
NCR north site on this motor.
-The launch went perfectly, and the rocket was stunningly beautiful under boost.
-It disappeared into some high clouds, but we continued to have strong signals
+The launch went perfectly, and the rocket was stunningly beautiful under
+boost. It disappeared into some high clouds,
+but we continued to have strong signals
from the two tracking transmitters installed in the payload bay behind the
nose cone. About the anticipated time after launch, we saw a rocket descending
under chute in the distance, and headed in that direction. A few minutes
the main should have had a slightly higher descent rate than the nose cone,
I expected to find the rest of the rocket somewhere near a line between the
launch rail and where the nose cone was discovered. So last Wednesday I
-spent about 5.5 hours walking around the area searching... but no luck.
-Since then, several other people have been out looking for my rocket,
+spent about 5.5 hours walking around the area searching... but no luck. Since
+then, several other people have been out looking for my rocket,
including two friends who flew over the area today in a light plane looking
down into all the washes. Still nothing.