Team including FSHS designs and builds advanced rocket

A team of high school students from across South Louisiana recently became the first Louisiana High School Team to design, build and fly an advanced Level II High Power rocket capable of flights up to four miles in altitude and speeds in excess of MACH 2, as fast as military missiles.
The rocket, Blew By U, was controlled by extremely sophisticated computers which communicated information about the rocket’s performance and location to the ground station via HAM Radio. The rocket was completely custom built by the team. Three months were spent designing, building and testing the rocket.
The executive project director of Operation Blew By U is John D. Sorrel Jr. who has been teaching high school physics in Louisiana for the past 26 years. Sorrel currently teaches physics at Franklin Senior High School and also the Louisiana School of Math Science and Arts Virtual School. He is the founder and director of Crazy Cajun Rockets. During his first year of teaching he attended a workshop that taught teachers how to use small Estes rockets in science education. From that time on rockets have been a part of his educational program though he never dreamed of building huge high power rockets with his students one day.
About 17 ago physics students of Sorrel took rocketry to an entirely new level in Louisiana. These students began building High Power Rockets. Over the years the projects became more complex and powerful. In 2005 Sorrel and a group of students formed a rocket club called Crazy Cajun Rockets.
The club eventually turned into an association consisting of mentors from all walks of life, including several experts in the world of amateur rocketry. Crazy Cajun Rockets (CCR) allows young men and women from middle school to college level to pursue authentic project based learning in aerospace science and engineering. CCR exposes students to projects that often exceed standards of senior college engineering projects. The main focus is rocketry, but projects dealing with robotic hovercrafts, drone helicopters and high altitude balloons have also been pursued.
Last spring, Sorrel and CCR assisted Tony McClelland, a senior from Franklin Senior High School, to become the high school student in the state of Louisiana to obtain a Level I High Power Rocket License. Tony’s efforts continued to inspire other students across the state though media and social network coverage of his project. This year six students carried his legacy on through Operation Blew By U.
The rocket began as only a concept. An advanced rocket simulation program was used to create a simulated rocket. This simulation was used to model the performance of the rocket in the exact environment it would fly in.
Blew By U was recovered with two parachutes. BBU is a dual deployment rocket. Dual deployment rockets are used for flying at extremely high altitudes in order to limit the amount of drift the rocket experiences when descending to the ground.
Completing this grand project required individuals within the team to have the proper licenses to use Level II high power rocket motors and HAM radio technology. Some members had to pass licensing requirements to use HAM radio equipment. Sorrel already had the necessary HPR license.
Recently, the team was invited to the annual Tripoli Rocketry Association annual launch, LDRS (Large Dangerous Rocket Ships) that will be hosted in New York State. They have been invited to be a featured project. Many LDRS events have been filmed and shown on the Discovery Channel. The project manager, Julie McClain, will be pursuing her Level I and II High Power Rocket Licenses this summer when BBU is launched again.
Operation Blew By U’s project manager is Julie McClain, who is a senior from Hamilton Christian Academy located in Lake Charles. Julie holds a Technician’s Class HAM Radio license and is the Avionic and HAM Radio Specialist for the team. She has received a full scholarship to attend Louisiana Tech. She will major in Electrical Engineering. The rest of the team is composed of seniors from Franklin Senior High School.
The Design and Construction Specialist is Landon Landry. Landon will be attending Louisiana Tech University next year on scholarship to major in Mechanical Engineering.
Glendon Jones is the Recovery Specialist. Glendon will be attending the University of Louisiana at Lafayette next fall on scholarship to major in Computer Engineering. The Propulsion Specialist for the team is Ahmad Fears. Ahmad will attend ULL to major in Pre-Medicine. Miasia Johnson is the Legal and Accounting Specialist for the team. She has received a scholarship from Loyola University to major in Biology.
Wynesha Jenkins was the team Historian and Media Specialist. She will be attending Louisiana State University on scholarship to major in Criminal Justice.