Stephen MacMahon sends us the following:
" A final wish to a great aviator fulfilled .... Garry Welsh RIP"
One balmy Saturday afternoon in early 2011, Garry and I were sitting on the seat adjacent to the "gerry shed" watching the flying. Garry was in a somber prophetic mood, no doubt coming to terms with the ravages of the disease which was overtaking his body. He was a fighter and right up to his death, he was designing a transit wheel chair so he could continue flying after his doctor warned him he may loose the use of his legs. We were watching a "Mark TerLaak flight" when Garry announced that his last wish would be for his ashes to be blasted up into space.
Being flippant, I told him he wasn't worth the expense however I told him I could arrange it with my Telemaster and drop him all over WRCS ! No, he said, I want a Rocket flight. I told him that if he was gone before my trip to the Centre in 2012, I would be happy to oblige and send part of him up in the Centre. The following week, I received an email from Garry with the details of the type of rocket and where to get it. We spoke no more about it. The next time we met he gave me an item of his that meant a lot to him with instructions to burn it and use in the rocket.
When hearing of Garry's death, my thoughts were of this conversation. I purchased a Sky Lofter Rocket on the Internet to Garry's specs and burnt his prized possession to make the ashes..my thoughts were to do this is the vast open spaces of the Red Centre on my trip.
The Sky Lofter Rocket is interesting: it stands 1 meter tall and has electronic ignition and a launch pad. The fuel capsules come in various sizes. Test capsules will send the rocket to about 500 feet but the advanced ones will traject the rocket to 1500 feet! The rocket itself is made up of three parts. The main cylinder which contains the fuel cell, a transparent capsule for the ashes and a nose cone. Each component part is attached to each other by an elastic chord. A parachute is also attached to the component parts and housed in the main cylinder. The launching pad has a blast protect plate and a steel rod which will guide launch during the initial blast off. It can be angled into the wind to compensate for a vertical lift. The electronic ignition is a small controller that sends a current to the fuel cell for ignition.
The flight profile of the rocket has 6 stages of flight.
1. Lift off ... The vertical trajectory is controlled by the guide wire that guides the rocket by 2 ringlets.
2. Acceleration ... The rocket gains speed
3. Climb phase ... The vertical acceleration makes the rocket climb vertically and the roll rotation is controlled by the fins.
4. Apogee ... The rocket has reached its maximum lift with exhausted fuel, a secondary explosion occurs and separates the nose cone and capsule from the main cylinder. At this stage the ashes should be dispersed.
5. The parachute recovery system deploys and the rocket descends to earth.
6. Landing to terra firma.
I was planning some test flights whilst we were at bush camps on route but each time I tried, it was too windy so flight was aborted. Last Sunday after 2 magic days at Ularu, I decided to do a filming flight with the Easy Star. The afternoon was clear with no wind. After completing a successfull flight, a "little birdie" put the thought in my mind that nothing would be more fitting and respectful to Gary's memory than to do the flight with Ularu in the background. I. could just see him grinning like a Cheshire Cat saying ..."do it Rascal?" I felt I had nothing to loose and despite no trial flight, it was a beautiful setting.
I went back to the car and pulled out the rocket equipment. I quickly assembled it and carefully placed The ashes in the cylinder and final side preparations. I used the biggest fuel cell I had. There was a hint of a NW wind, so the trajectory rod was angled but only slightly. After taking some photos, I pressed the preignition button, counted down from 10 and pressed the ignition button.
With a hissing noise, the Sky Lofter went towards the blue sky. It reached a height I could barely see when I herd the secondary explosion as a muffled noise and believe it or not, the parachute opened and it began its slow descent to earth. It landed in open grass about 1/2k from where I stood and the parachute was visible. It landed between Ularu and myself!
My thoughts were "God bless you Gary, your spirit is now free to roam. Your wish has been fulfilled -go in peace." :-)
The flight was a great success. I recovered the rocket and the ashes were gone.
If any of you want to die whilst I am out here, I am happy to oblige you :-)
Stephen
