Southern Arizona Rocketry Association
Tucson, AZ
|
|
|
------------------------------------------------------------------------ SOUTHERN ARIZONA ROCKETRY ASSOCIATION NEWS DECEMBER 2001 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **HELLO AND WELCOME Our November launch was the first one with the new field configuration. We now have launchers facing to the west instead of south and this prevents us for having to look directly into The Sun as much as we've had to in the past. The cooler weather is here and we anticipate some great launching opportunities coming up in the next few months. Everywhere else, rocketeers are dealing with "real" Winter weather while we are just getting into our prime flying season. Take advantage of it. Time to dust off those rockets and come on out! As the new calendar year approaches it's time, once again, to consider joining SARA by contributing your financial support. We initiated a paying membership last year and 32 of you joined up. The money accrued (over $630.00) went a long way in helping us make launch site improvements, maintaining a website, conduct a Summer youth build session, and generally keep the organization on a solid financial footing. Beyond standardized memberships, we also received some generous cash donations and this is always welcome. We have the following suggested annual membership levels . . . Junior/Youth (under 18) . . . . $10.00 Single . . . . . . . . . . . . $20.00 Family . . . . . . . . . . . . $25.00 You can join at the December launch and be paid up for all of 2002. Beyond the satisfaction of knowing that you will be keeping SARA functioning and growing, members are entitled to a $2.00 reduction on the $5.00 monthly launch fee. This $3.00 member launch fee, by the way, is paid directly to TIMPA for use of the field and is not used for other SARA activities. Annual memberships and other donations are what keep us going. Please remember that this is YOUR rocketry club. We want to hear your ideas and thoughts on how we can make SARA more responsive to your needs. Thanks for your support! **GENERAL MEETING/BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTIONS SARA held a semi-annual meeting of it's general membership on Saturday, December 8, 200, 1:00PM, at The Woods Memorial Library, 3455 North 1st Avenue. Eight (8) were in attendance. The slate of Board nominees that was drafted at the November launch remained intact and were elected unanimously. Here are the results . . . President . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mark Koenig Secretary/Treasurer . . . . . . . . Doug Forester Vice President . . . . . . . . . . Ben Nead Member At Large . . . . . . . . . . Curtis Farrell Appointees selected for 2002 NAR Senior Section Advisor . . . . Jerry King Range Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . Tony Gonzales This Board will assume office on January 1, 2002. **WEBSITE Much of this information is already posted on our website. Those of you reading this on email can go there directly by clicking the URL below . . . http://www.sararocketry.org When you get there, add it to your web browser as a bookmark or favorite. Check back often to keep yourself up to date with what SARA is up to. Even if you don't own a computer, you can visit your local public library and log on for free. Your librarian can help you connect to the SARA website if you are unsure how to do it. If you want additional information on our upcoming meetings, feel free to talk to a board member at the next launch. Benjamin Nead, SARA Membership Director/Vice President Elect ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **NOVEMBER LAUNCH REPORT SARA held a launch at the TIMPA site on November 18, 2001 with a FAA waiver to 4500 feet. The weather was excellent although at the time of range set-up it was breezy and there were fears of a repeat of last month's launch conditions, then the wind settled down and the sky cleared. Twenty three (23) people took advantage of the launch to make 79 flights. Even though there is a real shortage of high power engines, there were 16 flights of G or higher power. Seventy three (73) of the flights were nominal for a clean rate of 93% which is a little higher than the usual success rate. There was 1 separation, 1 tangle, 3 early ejections and 1 lawn dart. Thomas Gonzalez, David Hirashima and Jerry King each made 7 flights, the remainder were (#of flights-# of fliers): 6-1, 5-2, 4-2, 3-8, and 1-4. Motor use was: 1/4A-6, 1/2A-2, A-10, B-3, C-21, D-13, E-5, F-6, G-9, H-5, and I-2. There were several flights inviting special mention. David Hirashima had two successful 2 stage flights. Abe Randoph flew a 2 D cluster rocket successfully. Dennis Langan had the misfortune to have a lawn dart with a rocket carrying electronic ejection as well as motor ejection back-up; both ejection charges were found to have fired, but there was no sign of a recovery device and they may have fired after impact. Curtis Farrel had 2 spectacular high energy flights with long coasts (the recovery walks were also long) after rapid boosts. Tony Gonzales had a chance to be off range duty long enough to have 4 nice flights. The new launch racks Doug made worked well. These will be especially useful in busy launches and once longer cables are available so one rack can be loaded while the other is being launched. The new range setup facing west seemed to work well and visibility was good from the rocket tracking standpoint. A brief meeting for nominating candidates for next years officers was held during the launch and details will be reported elsewhere. Many thanks to all who helped with range duty as well as setup and tear down. Jerry King, NAR Senior Section Advisor ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- **SARA 2001/2002 LAUNCH CALENDAR / TIMPA FIELD LAUNCH SITE Please note the correction of a typographical error from previous listings . . . May 19 instead of May 18. We may also have to reschedule one of our Fall 2002 launches so as not to conflict with a large R/C model airplane event already scheduled. Please check the SARA website for last minute updates on all launches. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2001 NOTIFICATION 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 and/or containing up to 4.4 ounces of propellant. Waivered launches are where The FAA grants approval to SARA to launch models that exceed the launch weight and/or propellant load noted above imposed by standard notification launch requirements. Our site dimensions support models that are limited to a maximum altitude of 4500 feet above ground level (AGL) and use a K impulse motor or less. The Winter launch window of 9:00am to 1:00PM is now in effect. This will be the standard launch window for our TIMPA events until the hot weather returns this next Summer. We then switch back to an 8:00AM to 12:00 Noon launch widow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **DIRECTIONS TO TIMPA FIELD LAUNCH SITE . . . from I-10 and Speedway, Exit 257 . . . 1) 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. 2) 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. 3) 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 Road turns into a dirt road. 4) At about 3.5 miles past the Mile Wide/Sandario intersection, Mile Wide Road makes a forced turn to the right and changes it's name to Reservation Road. You are now heading due north. 5) 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 east of the launch range. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- **STANDARD LAUNCH PROCEDURES / SARA MEMBERSHIP Anyone may launch model rockets with NAR or Tripoli approved motor at a SARA launch. All models first require inspection by The Range Safety Officer (RSO) and a SARA flight card must be completely filled out for each individual launch. After this is done, the model and flight card can be taken to The Launch Control Officer (LCO). It is here that a launch pad will be assigned to you. A range fee of $5.00 is to be paid at the beginning of the launch day. This fee for SARA members is $3.00 for the day. For more information on SARA membership, please visit our website. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **TIMPA FIELD USAGE Use of the TIMPA site is only permitted at club events or by prior arrangement. To access the TIMPA field outside of scheduled club events you must be either a current National Association of Rocketry (NAR) or Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) member. The TIMPA caretakers have been instructed to call The PIMA COUNTY SHERIFF and to pursue trespassing charges if no previous arrangements exist. Tony Gonzales is The Range Operations Director for SARA. He can be reached at . . . tgonzo64@msn.com . . . or by phone at (520) 790-1006 Tony will need to know how many models you intend to launch as well as their respective launch weights and propellant loads. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **FIRE SAFETY 1) Please note that 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. 2) Fire is something that needs to be taken seriously. If you see smoke or flames, 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, ABC rated fire extinguishers, and shovels on hand at every launch. The 55 gallon drum near the launch control area is also filled with water. 3) 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, check with the Range Safety Officer. Many flyers will have extra wadding on hand and they will be happy to lend you some. -------------------------------------------------------------------- **SPACE MODELING SOLUTIONS Pete Riddell and his wife of Space Modeling Solutions in Phoenix attend almost all of our launches and offer rocket kits, motors, and other hard to find building supplies. Contact Pete in the days leading up to the launch and he deliver that special order to you at the launch site . . . launch@smsrocketry.com . . . or by phone at (480) 497-1960 or by fax at (703) 832-3237 |
Sara's Latest News
|
