Mike McPherson's Page

AKA: Mike

Location: Ruckersville, VA

Certification Level: L2 TRA and NAR

Club Memberships: TRA,NAR,TCV,VAST,MDRA

Favorite Rockets: Whatever I'm building

Biography:

Like most of us, I started with Estes kits in middle school, then moved on to other things in high school and college.  A couple of years ago, one of my students was president of the UVA Rocketry Club.  He told me they were preparing for something called the Spaceport America Cup.  I had no idea that this thing called high-power rocketry even existed!  The club was looking for a new advisor.  I volunteered, started work on my L1, and now I'm hooked.

Personal Home Page: https://www.kq9p.us

Club Home Page: https://battlepark.org/

RocketReviews.com Pages:

• Flight Log
• Flight Statistics

2025-03-24

Kagara

Build

Learning about minimum diameter and FreeCAD Rocket Workbench. [More]

2024-11-08

Radio Flyer

Flight

Perfect flight, L2 successful. - J350-14 - Tripoli Central Virginia [More]

2024-08-10

Radio Flyer

Flight

Drogue shear pins eliminated. Main shear pin holes reinforced with copper shim stock. Hole in nosecone taped to reduce volume to pressurize. Beeper eliminated because unable to initialize after multiple attempts. Some weather-cocking, probably due to relatively low speed ... [More]

2024-07-14

Radio Flyer

Flight

Some weathercocking, probably due to relatively low speed off-the-rail. Straight flight. Both drogue charges fired on schedule and shear pins sheared; drogue deployed perfectly. Both main charges fired on schedule; shear pins did not shear, but got stuck between body tube and ... [More]

2024-02-10

Zephyr

Flight

First flight, L1 Certification flight successful, straight ascent, no damage, long walk - H242-14 - Tripoli Central Virginia [More]