Southern Arizona Rocketry Association
Tucson, AZ
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------------------------------------------------------------------------ **HELLO AND WELCOME Last month we scheduled a special meeting during our launch in order to accept nominations for SARA's 2003 board of directors. This Saturday (December 14th) we will conduct our election. Nominations are still open and will be accepted up to the election itself. As with last month's nominations, this election will occur during the middle of the morning at around 10:30AM. Flying activities will be temporarily suspended so that we can conduct this election and, within a few minutes, we will resume our launch. Here is the current nominating slate . . . President . . . . . . . . . Don Richard; Steve Lubliner If you would like to become more involved with all the "behind the scenes" activities that goes on, then this is your chance to participate. On any given month, this may only constitute an hour or two of extra effort but this is what keeps us growing and lets us continue to prosper. Thanks for your continued interest. In addition to Jerry King's November launch report annotated below, I had an encounter with some young people and rockets that I would like to share. My son, along with 9 other youngsters between the ages on 6 and 8 years, participated in a YMCA sponsored Coach's Pitch baseball team these last few months. By chance, they had named themselves The Desert Rockets. As a treat for a season well played, I decided to build model rockets for each of these young players and conduct a launch at their final practice session this past Wednesday (December 11). The rockets that I put together for them were assembled from a large collection of plastic fin canisters and nose cones that Steve Lubliner gave me at the last launch. With the addition on some tubing and a few other assorted small parts, I was able to assemble 10 very nice small rockets that were powered by 13mm diameter 1/2A3-2T motors. While the parents and coach knew of the surprise dedicated launch in advance, the young players were not informed that their regularly scheduled practice session at Ft. Lowell Park was going to pre-empted until the very last minute. The surprise was a pleasant one for them and they were all very excited by the proceedings. All 10 models models launched successfully with only 2 of the models having tangled streamers. The youngsters got to keep their rockets following the launch while parents were given printed copies of the NAR safety rules as well as edited versions of the SARA newsletter with directions to the TIMPA launch site, the 2003 launch calendar, and web site contact information. The final season game for The Desert Rockets is this Saturday which precludes them from attending our December launch but we will certainly see several of these young rocketeers joining us in the new year. Benjamin Nead, SARA Membership Director/ Vice President **WEB SITE The Southern Arizona Rocketry Association maintains a web site that details all of our club activities. It's always a good idea to check it to see if there is a last minute launch cancellation or other late breaking news . . . http://www.sararocketry.org Even if you don't own a computer, you can check our web
site for free by visiting your local public library. Library staff can also
provide assistance if you are unsure exactly how to dial up our web site from
one of their computer terminals. **NOVEMBER 2002 LAUNCH REPORT SARA held its monthly Sport Launch at the TIMPA site on 17 November 2002 with a FAA waiver to 4500 feet AGL in effect. The weather was nice and a business meeting of the group was held at mid-launch to accept nominations for the officers for next year. Twenty one (21) fliers took advantage of the launch to make 78 flights of which 66 (85%) were nominal. There were 5 separations, 3 tangled recovery devices, 3 unstable lights and 1 lawn dart. David Hirishima was the most frequent flier with 9 flights, the remainder were (# fliers-# flights): 2-8, 2-6, 2-5, 4-4, 5-2 and 5-1. Three 2-stage flights were attemped: 2 were successful and one was wildly unstable. A cluster flight with an E and 3 C motors was successful. Motor use was: A-14, B-17, C-28, D-6, E-9, F-4, G-4, H-1 and I-1. The motor use distribution at a waivered launch reflects the continued lack of availability of high power motors. The author was able to be at the launch only briefly and his comments come from the data on the flight cards rather than first hand observation. Sid Clarke flew models of rockets of historic significance, a Razumov-Shtern LRD-D-1 and a Winkler HW-2. Jay Dennis flew a rocket with a 4 engine cluster and apparently had a good flight except for separation at deployment. Jay Dickhous flew his Spaceman II successfully. Once again thanks are due to all those who helped with range set-up, duty and tear down. Gerald King, NAR Senior Section Advisor **2002 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Here are the folks that keep everything running. If you are new to SARA, please feel free to introduce yourself to any and all of the board officers and appointees at the next launch. President . . . . . . . . Mark Koenig Appointees selected for 2002 NAR Senior Section Advisor . . Jerry King **SARA 2002 LAUNCH CALENDAR / TIMPA FIELD LAUNCH SITE We now have the schedule for the TIMPA launches for the calendar year 2003. Notice that this next launch (Saturday, December 14, 2002) will include a meeting where we conduct elections for the annual board of directors elections. We will suspend launch activities mid morning on December 14 (at roughly 10:30AM) long enough to conduct this business and then resume flying for the remainder of the launch window. SARA is now able to accommodate high power rocket models
at each scheduled launch. Each launch is now an Federal Aviation Administration Please check the SARA web site for last minute updates on all launches. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2002 9AM to 1PM SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2003 9AM to 1PM We are now in our annual 9:00AM to 1:00PM cool weather
launch widow. Late Spring next year is when we revert back to our 8:00AM to
12:00 NOON launch window. **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. ou 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. continue north for approximately another 1/4 mile. 6) The launch site entrance is on the right side of the
road and marked with a sign. Proceed with caution and park to the west of the
main launching activity. **STANDARD LAUNCH PROCEDURES 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. **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 Tony Gonzales is The Range Operations Director for SARA. He can be reached at . . . rangeops@mail.sararocketry.org . . . 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 NOTE: Pete has informed us that he will not be at the
December 14th launch due to prior commitments but that he will be joining us
again in January. |
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