March 2026 – Tripoli Central Virginia

March 2026 was one of those months where Mother Nature showed how not matter what the weather forecast, might say, no one know what will happen until it is happening! Saturday March 14th was forecast to be a great morning with conditions deteriorating as the day went on. Well, the exact opposite happened. The morning saw a mix of clouds and wind, however, by 3:00 the sun was out, the wind was dead calm making for truly ideal conditions that supported numerous ARC test and qualification flights, NASA SLI test flights, and other flights from 1/2A to L power. Sunday dawned to clouds with intermittent rain and wind that changed direction every 5 minutes. These challenging conditions significantly limited flying and forced us to shut the range down early. Saturday the 21st was down right fantastic. Manageable wind, clear skies and enough sun that you knew if you forgot the sunscreen! We saw 100 flights on the 21st from 1/2A to M power with the majority being high-power to include a very large number of J motors. Full stats and pictures below. Huge thank you to Matt for taking pictures on Saturday the 21st.

Saturday March 14th: 71 low-power and mid-power with 37 high-power.

Sunday March 15th: 47 low-power and mid-power with 15 high-power. Also an O motor static test.

Saturday March 21st: 47 low-power and mid-power with 53 high power. Also an M motor static test.

An Apogee Rockets Peregrine taking to the sky on an Aerotech H112 Black Jack. Don’t see too many of these motors anymore.

A VERY nice Binder Design THOR lifting off on an Aerotech H130 White Lightning.

The Ugly Duck, always a crowd pleaser at BattlePark leaving the away cell powered by an Aerotech L1090 White Lightning.

A beautiful NASA SLI rocket leaving the rail on an Aerotech J540 Redline for a successful test flight.

This one MOVED OUT thanks to an Aerotech H550 Super Thunder.

HyperLoc’s Revenge leaving hard on a 54mm EX L1400 Blue.

We had a ton of Tripoli L1 certification attempts in March. Here is a classic BattlePark combo, the Loc Precision Hi-Tech on an Aerotech H73 Black Jack.

Mach Shock leaving hard on an EX J500 “Smoky.” This motor used the 38/1200 case and was ANGRY!

A LOC IV lifting off on an Aerotech I180. This was this flyer’s first dual deploy flight and everything worked as designed. Well done!

GREAT flame to rocket ration on this one. The flyer’s WildMan Drago 4 powered by an EX K1500 using a propellant he calls “White 357.” Hard to beat a 6′ tall rocket with a 6′ flame.

The last flight of Saturday March 14th was this beautiful LOC Precision Magnum on an Aerotech I600. Recovery was as perfect as the trip up.

The Crystal Hammer on her way to almost 4,000′ powered by an Aerotech I366 Redline.

The 44 pound Ugly Duck lifting off from the away cell on a four grain 75mm Aerotech L1170 Black Max.

The DER Purple Max (Estes Pro Series II Kit) leaving the rail on an Aerotech G74 SuperWhite.

Lehigh University came down to BattlePark to fly this beast of a rocket they named Talon. 8″ in diameter, 12′ tall and weighing in at 90 pounds she shook the ground with an Aerotech M6000 Super Thunder. Recovery to include payload deployment was perfect.

A very nice WildMan Shape Shifter 54 heading to the skies on a CTI H153 Smoky Sam.

Some low power action with an Estes Baby Bertha. Great flight from this one.

We saw a TON of ARC practice and qualification flights as the deadline to qualify for the ARC final was fast approaching. Below are some of these flights: