![]() This has been quite an undertaking for Hughes, who lives in Apple Valley, California. "Mike branded us as 'Rocket Town,'" Okura said. The rocket landed about 1,500 feet from the launch ramp, Stakes said. Okura was in attendance and said the event lasted about three to four minutes. He got permission to launch on the land owned by Albert Okura, who bought Amboy in 2005 for $435,000. At least I can go home and have dinner and see my cats tonight." "This thing will kill you in a heartbeat. "This thing wants to kill you 10 different ways," said Hughes, who had an altimeter in his cockpit to measure his altitude. He landed with a thud and the rocket's nose broke in two places like it was designed to do. Hughes was dropping too fast, though, and he had to deploy a second one. Hughes reached a speed that Stakes estimated to be around 350 mph before pulling his parachute. PDT, and without a countdown, Hughes' rocket soared into the sky. "I told Mike we could try to keep charging it up and get it hotter," said Waldo Stakes, who's been helping Hughes with his endeavor. ![]() Ideally, they wanted it at 350 psi for maximum thrust, but it was dropping to 340. ![]() It looked like Saturday might be another in a string of cancellations, given that the wind was blowing and his rocket was losing steam. For months he's been working on overhauling his rocket in his garage. The 61-year-old limo driver converted a mobile home into a ramp and modified it to launch from a vertical angle so he wouldn't fall back to the ground on public land. It was scrubbed several times due to logistical issues with the Bureau of Land Management and mechanical problems that kept popping up. The launch in the desert town - about 200 miles east of Los Angeles - was originally scheduled in November.
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