Southern Arizona Rocketry Association
Tucson, AZ
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APRIL 2001 SOUTHERN ARIZONA ROCKETRY ASSOCIATION (SARA) 2001 CALENDAR YEAR LAUNCH SCHEDULE *LAUNCHSITE CLEANUP* SATURDAY APRIL 21, 2001 NOTIFICATION LAUNCH SATURDAY APRIL 28, 2001 WAIVERED LAUNCH SUNDAY MAY 20, 2001 NOTIFICATION LAUNCH SATURDAY JUNE 30, 2001 NOTIFICATION LAUNCH SUNDAY JULY 29, 2001 WAIVERED LAUNCH SATURDAY AUGUST 25, 2001 NOTIFICATION LAUNCH SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 23, 2001 NOTIFICATION LAUNCH SATURDAY OCTOBER 27, 2001 WAIVERED LAUNCH SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18, 2001 NOTIFICATION LAUNCH SATURDAY DECEMBER 15, 2001 Until further notice, all launches will now be occurring on our warm weather schedule of 8:00AM to 12:00 noon. We will switch back to the 9:00AM start time later in the calendar year when the weather cools. Notification launches are where SARA notifies the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) that we will be flying models up to 3.3 pounds of launch weight or containing up to 4.4 ounces of propellant. Waivered launches are where the FAA grants approval to SARA to launch rockets that exceed the launch weight and a propellant load imposed by a standard notification launch. Our launch site dimensions support models that are limited to a maximum altitude of 4500 feet above ground level (AGL) and use a motor of K impulse or less. All Launches are conducted at The Tucson International Modelplex (TIMPA). Direction to TIMPA and other launch information is listed below. ------------------------------------------------------------ **HELLO AND WELCOME We had a great launch on March 25 . . . beautiful weather and plenty of flyers on hand. A complete report is contained within. We also had a very productive yet sparsely attended general membership meeting on April 11. Also included here is an overview of what transpired. One of the activities that we have scheduled is a general cleanup of our launch site this next Saturday, April 21st. Read below for detail on how you can help. It was also determined that we should keep our already scheduled launch date of Saturday, April 28. We had talked about moving it to the following day to accommodate members that also want to attend a high power launch in the Phoenix area. In the end, it was decided that enough publicity for launching here on the 28th was distributed that it would not be wise to change the date now. We hope to see you there. **GENERAL MEETING The SARA Board of Directors held it's general membership Wednesday, April 11, from 7:00PM to 9:00PM at the Woods Memorial Library on 3455 North 1st Avenue. This was your chance to meet your fellow SARA members and Board and to discuss issues pertaining to our club and it's future growth. Sad to say, only 4 of you came out! We hope that our subsequent general meetings and other non-launch related activities will bring more of you out in the future. Among the items discussed was the fact that we now have 24 paying members, have adopted a new charter, and have a new charter of insurance. More details of these items can be found by visiting our website . . . www.sararocketry.org Please check the website regularly for the "latest breaking" news regarding other SARA actives as well. Steve Lubliner, one of the 4 members attending, was voted in as the new Vice President. This chair was formally held by David Williams who had to vacate the position due to an increase in the amount of time he has to devote to his career. Steve will be pursuing educational outreach programs as part of this position. Also reporting on educational activities was Jerry King who recently a conducted building and launching program for Donaldson Elementry. Approximately 150 rockets were launched in a single afternoon! We also discussed the idea of holding a public build and launch session late this Summer. Geared to the young launcher (age 7 to high school age), we want to conduct the building portion in a public setting such as a shopping mall where we might get a lot of interest from those who are simply passing by. The news media is generally attracted to these sort of public gatherings and we hope for a human interest or feature story for our efforts. Please talk to a board member (we will all be wearing name tags) at the next launch on the 28th if you want to become involved. **LAUNCHSITE CLEANUP Before it is simply too hot to implement, we decided to set aside this next Saturday, April 21st, as a good time to conduct a cleanup of our launch site at TIMPA. We will want to remove small brush and trees, and clean up any waste that is on the property. 6:00AM is the approximate start time and we will want to quit before the morning sun gets too high in the sky. Do we want your help? Yes! especially if you have landscaping equipment! If you can make it, contact Tony Gonzales (see TIMPA FIELD USE, below) for further details. **MARCH, 2001 FLIGHT REPORT Jerry King, who was attending The National Association of Rocketry's NARCON conference, wasn't present at the Sunday, March 25 launch. He was able, however, to compile the data from the flight cards and his report follows . . . There was a total of 92 flights made by 31 people. Thomas Gonzalez made 10 flights for the most by an individual. Here is a breakdown of of the rest of the flight activity . . . 7 flights . . . 1 6 flights . . . 2 5 flights . . . 3 4 flights . . . 2 3 flights . . . 9 2 flights . . . 5 1 flight . . . 9 72 of the flights were clean and nominal which is only 78% . . . well below our usual success rate for a notification launch. There were 10 separations, 2 tangled recovery devices, 2 kicked motors, 2 late ejections, 1 shred, 1 early ejection, 1 CATO and 1 failure of a full cluster ignition with only one of four motors igniting. 3 cluster flights were attempted and 2 were successful. The following is a breakdown of the motor impulses and the number of motors flown . . . 1/2A . . . 5 A . . . . 11 B . . . . 16 C . . . . 12 D . . . . 21 E . . . . 10 F . . . . 10 G . . . . 11 H . . . . 3 Ben Nead ------------------------------------------------------------- **MEMBERSHIP DUES POLICY As of January 2001, SARA has revised it's membership dues policy. The fee structure is outlined below. Many of you became paying members at the February launch. All on the SARA board of Directors extends it's thanks to you for your financial contribution. These membership fees will help us initiate new launch site improvements and pay for other club related activities. An official membership package is in the works and will be delivered to you shortly. JUNIOR MEMBER (17 years of age or younger) . . . $10.00 SENIOR MEMBER (18 years of age or older) . . . $20.00 FAMILY MEMBER (Adults and children together) . . $25.00 DAILY RANGE FEE ALL CLUB MEMBERS (Unlimited # of launches) . . . $3.00 ALL NON-MEMBERS (Unlimited # of launches) . . . $5.00 **STANDARD LAUNCH PROCEDURES Each individual model rocket flight must be documented on a SARA flight card. All models require inspection by the range safety officer (RSO) before they can be placed on a launch pad. The RSO has the authority to determine if the rocket in question is able to launch. We will have an extra table set up at all future SARA launches to facilitate RSO inspection and fee collection. This will help alleviate the crowds that appear around the launch control table during our busy launches. **SAFETY ISSUES It may be very dry at the launch site. Therefore, there is NO SMOKING permitted on the range area. Smoking is only permitted on the dirt road adjacent to the launch site. Cigarette butts and ashes are to be placed in a metal container or ash tray. Unless you are using a Nomex parachute heat protection cloth in your rocket, you will need to use a FLAMEPROOF wadding of some sort. Toilet paper and paper towels are not acceptable. If you need clarification on what to use, please check with the RSO. Many fliers will have extra wadding at the launch and they will be happy to lend you some. The fluffy household insulation that is blown into roof and attic dormers is used by many and is flameproof, inexpensive, and readily available. Fire is something that we all need to take very seriously. If you see smoke or fire, yell it out loud and clear. If we have fire on the range, EVERYBODY needs to drop what they are doing and assist in containing the fire. There are water bottles, fire extinguishers, and a shovel on hand at every launch. The 55 gallon drum near the launch control area is also filled with water. **TIMPA FIELD USE Flying rockets at the TIMPA site is only permitted at club events or by prior arrangement. Fliers who intend to use the field outside club events must be either current National Association of Rocketry (NAR) or Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) members. Tony Gonzales, our Range Operations Director, is the person to contact. He will need to know the number of models you intend to launch. Information on launch weight and propellant weight will need to be available as well. The TIMPA caretakers have been instructed to call the Pima County Sheriff and to pursue trespassing charges if no previous arrangements exist. Here is how to contact Tony Gonzales . . . tgonzo@uswest.net or by phone at (520) 790-1006 **SPACE MODELING SOLUTIONS (SMS) Peter Riddell and his wife from Space Modeling Solutions make the drive from Phoenix to attend almost all of our launches. He always brings an assortment of model kits, motors, and building supplies . . . many of which can't be found in Tucson area hobby stores. You can contact Peter in the days leading up to our scheduled launches. If he is planning to attend, he will be happy to bring down special items for you . . . riddell@prodigy.net or by phone at (480) 497-1960 and Fax at (703) 832-3237 PLEASE NOTE! PETE IS NOT PLANNING TO ATTEND THE THE APRIL 28TH NOTIFICATION LAUNCH! **DIRECTIONS TO THE LAUNCH SITE From I-10 and Speedway, exit 257 . . . A) Travel west on Speedway past all building developments. Proceed with caution as Speedway crests over Gates Pass and turns into Gates Pass Road. The road is very narrow, winding, and often used by bicyclists. Enjoy the view! B) Continue on Gates Pass Road until it ends at the T" intersection, Kinney Road. Turn right here as if you were headed towards the Desert Museum. At about 1 mile past the Museum entrance (about 10 miles past I-10 and Speedway), Kinney Road changes it's name to Mile Wide Road. C) The next intersection, about 6 miles past the Gates Pass/Kinney "T", is Sandario Road. Come to a complete stop as the north/south traffic does not. Proceed through, heading due west. You will eventually cross 2 bridges. After the 2nd bridge, Mile Wide turns into a dirt road. D) At about 3.5 miles past the Mile Wide/Sandario intersection, Mile Wide makes a forced turn to the right and changes it's name to Reservation Road. You are now heading due north. E) The Main TIMPA driveway (marked by a sign) is on the right at about 1 mile past the forced right turn. Go another 1/2 mile past this and turn onto the next right turn. At this point, you should be able to see rocket launching activity. Please park to the north or to the east of the launch range.
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