Just who are the K.L.O.U.D.Busters anyway; and how did they get started?
During July of 1990 in a field just outside of Goessel, KS. two long time friends and rocketry enthusiasts,
John Baumfalk of Newton and Lyle Christ of Goessel were witnessing the maiden flight of John's 8 foot tall
rocket "Big John". The talk progressed, as it often does with rocketeers, to larger and faster rockets with
more powerful rocket motors, as well as finding a way to involve more rocket fliers at their launches. A club
would be the answer to organize the efforts in this direction, but a club needed a name. John Baumfalk offered
the name Cloudbusters. The group changed the name slightly to denote a Kansas Organization, and Kloudbusters
was born. The first official launch under the name of Kloudbusters was November 10, 1990, for Club Scout
Pack #101 of Goessel, Ks.
This newly born group printed business cards and distributed them to local establishments that sold rockets,
rocket motors and rocket parts. The group who responded reviewed its choice of name and Kloudbusters became
K.L.O.U.D.Busters, which stands for Kansas Lower Orbital Unmanned Delegation.
K.L.O.U.D.Busters became an official prefecture of the Tripoli Rocketry Association on May 5, 1991. Shortly
thereafter, the FAA denied the waver for the Goessel, KS area. A frantic search of the alternate sites--
Hutchinson, Ks (because of the Space Discovery Center), Goddard, KS (in honor of Robert Goddard), or any
decommissioned Strategic Air Command missile site (there used to be 18 around Wichita); all were ruled out by
the traffic patterns of the Wichita Air Sectional Map. However upon closer inspection of the waiver rejection
form the Tracy One Military Operations Area located over the Argonia Kansas Airport was suggested by the FAA as
a possible site. Scott LaForge and Allen Swayze worked with the City of Argonia to obtain use of the airfield
for a rocket launch and the first Kloudburst meet was held there later that year.
Later with the generous assistance of Rick Nafziger, a local farmer, the current pasture, now dubbed The Rocket Pasture,
became the permanent home of K.L.O.U.D.Busters launches.
What started as a dream to gain national attention and recognition of model and high power rocketry in the
mid-Kansas area is now being fulfilled by K.L.O.U.D.Busters.
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