Ally
Well-known member
Every year at the end of June & the beginning of July there are many of these competitions all around the country, Sankamphaeng has a few and usually on a Saturday.
This morning I went to the site of one I attended a couple of years ago, at the rear of Huai Lan reservoir 18.690415° 99.207504° but the grass was overgrown & the place looked unprepared for anything today.
I stopped at a shop along the way adjacent to a workshop with loads of rocket looking bamboo poles & the lady said the Huai Lan event was scheduled for 12 – 14 July but I could see one today in the afternoon at a nearby temple !!!
At Wat Chiang Saen 18.719254° 99.229050° there was quite a gathering in the early afternoon. Everyone was gathered by 13:00 but it was 14:00 before things kicked off, as the trophies were late arriving.
Meanwhile, these couple were reloaded on a truck & were taken along with a couple of monks to Mae Taeng! The poles were sticking out three times the length of the truck.
It’s quite a spectacle, with lots of cheering, people holding ‘books’ on who will get what points & of course plenty of drink & staggering drunk men.
The actual launches are a real performance. Rocket ignition walked out & fitted by one guy, the pole taken by another. Then the assembled rocket is winched up the tower & 2 guys (who are surely deaf by now) rig the launch at the top.
Laid at a slight angle & held by the bracket at the top of the rocket, aligned perfectly to the owners calls from below & then the 2 guys up top light the fuse & get smoked out & blasted, especially when one or two explode / misfire on launch.
Up they go & the crowd jeers until the smoking stops & then there are tickets waved at each other and some collect their bets from the book keeper.
What goes up must come down & with a keen eye you can just about see the expired rocket pole fall to earth over what must be the reservoir area to the east.
Here are a couple of the 24 launches.
I didn’t envy the judges but somehow they made the right decisions on the 24 rockets launched. The guy who came 3rd, also came 1st !
This guys rockets were the ones given the ice treatment just prior to launch.
Not quite sure of the judging criteria but the figure of 170 – 180 wasn’t the result of any technical measurement. It’s either:
Maybe there is another !!
Great fun.
Don't forget the 12 - 14th July event - Clashes with Phi Ta Khon
Ally
This morning I went to the site of one I attended a couple of years ago, at the rear of Huai Lan reservoir 18.690415° 99.207504° but the grass was overgrown & the place looked unprepared for anything today.
I stopped at a shop along the way adjacent to a workshop with loads of rocket looking bamboo poles & the lady said the Huai Lan event was scheduled for 12 – 14 July but I could see one today in the afternoon at a nearby temple !!!
At Wat Chiang Saen 18.719254° 99.229050° there was quite a gathering in the early afternoon. Everyone was gathered by 13:00 but it was 14:00 before things kicked off, as the trophies were late arriving.
Meanwhile, these couple were reloaded on a truck & were taken along with a couple of monks to Mae Taeng! The poles were sticking out three times the length of the truck.
It’s quite a spectacle, with lots of cheering, people holding ‘books’ on who will get what points & of course plenty of drink & staggering drunk men.
The actual launches are a real performance. Rocket ignition walked out & fitted by one guy, the pole taken by another. Then the assembled rocket is winched up the tower & 2 guys (who are surely deaf by now) rig the launch at the top.
Laid at a slight angle & held by the bracket at the top of the rocket, aligned perfectly to the owners calls from below & then the 2 guys up top light the fuse & get smoked out & blasted, especially when one or two explode / misfire on launch.
Up they go & the crowd jeers until the smoking stops & then there are tickets waved at each other and some collect their bets from the book keeper.
What goes up must come down & with a keen eye you can just about see the expired rocket pole fall to earth over what must be the reservoir area to the east.
Here are a couple of the 24 launches.
I didn’t envy the judges but somehow they made the right decisions on the 24 rockets launched. The guy who came 3rd, also came 1st !
This guys rockets were the ones given the ice treatment just prior to launch.
Not quite sure of the judging criteria but the figure of 170 – 180 wasn’t the result of any technical measurement. It’s either:
- Speed – By eye ?
- Distance traveled with smoke – By eye ?
- Arbitrary points awarded on 3 judges feel-good factor
Maybe there is another !!
Great fun.
Don't forget the 12 - 14th July event - Clashes with Phi Ta Khon
Ally
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