Foul weather in the Cambridgeshire area put paid to our long-anticipated visit to BIGEARS 2004, Elsworth. But blazing sun in the South of England allowed us to hold an ad-hoc meeting of PARS.

With kites and rockets in hand, we sought a suitable launch location. Kites were flown until wind conditions calmed.

Sebastian and his father, Mark Field

An air rocket kept the boys amused until the wind calmed and we could attempt to fly a real rocket.

Seb, his brother Alex, with Oliver

The boys competed for highest air launch. After numerous attempts, the referees judged they had each reached a similar height. Perhaps 60 feet.

By late afternoon the wind has calmed and it was time to fly some real rockets

The rocket that started it all, Code Red. C class motor.

Code Red takes to the skies

FireFlash leaps off the pad (Video)

Disaster strikes Fireflash in mid air. After a perfect take off, the cord connecting the upper and lower body sections breaks during parachute ejection. With the loss of the lower body, the parachute and upper section drift hundreds of meters down wind, but is successfully recovered by Sebastian. The lower section is harder to find without the bright red parachute to draw attention to it. We fear for FireFlash, but after 25 minutes of serious search the lower section is found lying in the middle of a nearby field.

Blue Ninja is impressive on its D-class motors (Video)

Blue Ninja and its D-class motor roars off the pad in a near perfect flight. Slightly angled to the breeze it soared over a nearby wood. Reaching 600 feet or more the wind grabbed it and, incredibly, returned it to within 20 feet of the pad.

We used a D12-5 motor for a second flight. Disaster struck. The cord connecting the nose cone to the body snaped during ejection of the parachute. Attached to the nose cone only, the breeze carries the parachute 1/2 mile downwind. A heroic chase by Mark ensures recovery. But we fear for the body. Descending without its parachute, and taking into account the weight of the motor, will it break up on landing? Fortunately it lands in soft grass. All looks fine at first glance, but on closer inspection, one of the fins has warped and developed a crack. Repairs look feasible. Blue Ninja lives to fly another day.

We've learnt our lesson. Elastic cord does not work. Over to DeepSky Rockets for some advice!