Southern Arizona Rocketry Association
Tucson, AZ
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------------------------------------------------------------------------ **HELLO AND WELCOME Happy New Year! Time to fly some rockets as the weather forecast looks great for this Sunday. We have a newly establish Board of Directors and the election results are tabulated below. Jerry King has also assembled a December 2002 launch report as well as an annual 2002 event recap of SARA launches and events. Both included in this edition of SARAnews. This is also the time of year where we ask you for your annual membership contribution. While anyone can participate in a SARA launch by paying the $5.00 daily TIMPA range fee, we encourage you to consider joining the club at any of the following annual levels . . . Junior (18 years or younger) . . . $10.00 Members pay only $3.00 for the daily TIMPA range fee so annual SARA membership basically pays for itself if you join and attend our monthly launches on a fairly regular basis. It should be noted that the range fee money that we collect DOES NOT get deposited in the SARA bank account but is handed directly over to TIMPA as payment for our use of the launch facility. The membership fees that we typically collect at the beginning of the calendar year, on the other hand, are what pays for SARA's anticipated annual operating expenses (NAR chapter membership, etc.) as well as any unexpected ones. SARA also reaches out to the public several times a year with youth oriented building sessions and static rocket displays at other special events several times a year. There is also the ongoing expense of maintaining and/or improving our launch equipment. We think that these activities and endeavors are important enough to ask for your annual financial support. Please consider renewing you existing SARA memberships or joining up for the first time if you haven't already done so. There will be plenty of application forms on hand at the next few launches. 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. **DECEMBER 2002 LAUNCH REPORT SARA held the last monthly sport launch of 2002 on 12/14 at the TIMPA site with a FAA waiver in effect. The day started out cool. The early wind stopped by 10am and weather conditions became very good for flying rockets. The launch was interrupted briefly to allow for a business meeting to elect the officers for 2003. Twenty one (21) fliers made 71 flights of which 60 (84%) were nominal (clean). There were 5 tangled recovery devices, 4 separations, 1 early ejection and a spectacular failure of a cluster rocket which left the pad with a large 'clip whip' attached. Andrew Barnett was the most active flier with 9 flights; other activity was (# fliers-# flights): 1-8, 2-7, 3-5, 1-4, 3-3, 2-2, and 9-1. There were 4 2-stage and 2 clustered motor flights. Motor use was: 1/2A-1, A-19, B-14, C-30, D-7, E-4, F-6, G-2, and H-1. There was a 4-H group attending and they were very active fliers. Some flights of note: Dan Shinkel flew his 2-stage SAM-X for a nice flight, this rocket was wildly unstable at the previous launch supporting the possibility of vectored thrust last time. Jay Dennis flew a very nice 'NOEL candle' rocket which gave Santa a ride up and a parachute ride down. Curtis Farrell deserves the prize for persistence, it took 5 attempts to get an old E15 successfully ignited, but the result was a very nice flight. Jacob Dennis attempted to fly a rocket with a 7 motor cluster; however, only 2 motors lit and the rocket left the pad with a large elaborate clip whip attached yielding a interesting flight path. Jay Dickhous flew a Custom Gallileo on an Estes A 8-3, the ejection charge was most energetic and sounded like a shotgun blast, easily more energetic than the thrusting charge. Once again many thanks are due all those who helped out with range set up,
duty and tear down. **ANNUAL 2002 LAUNCH REPORT During 2002 The Southern Arizona Rocketry Association (SARA) held 11 sport launches at the TIMPA site. Most had FAA waivers in place and the remainder notification. The July launch was cancelled because of the extreme fire risk and a public rocket build session was held at the Pima Air and Space Museum. One hundred forty nine (149) fliers made 858 flights with 720 (84%) clean. As is our usual experience 47 separations led the list of failure modes followed closely by 43 tangled recovery devices. There were 17 unstable flights, 9 miscellaneous failures, 6 CATOs, 6 lawn darts, 4 no ejection, 4 early ejection and 2 kicked motors. Constructions standards must have been high this year as there were no shreds. Dan Shinkel was our most active flier with 46 flights. Congratulations Dan. The remainder of the flight activity was (#flights-# of fliers): 31-1, 30-1, 28-1, 26-2, 24-1, 23-2, 20-1, 18-1, 17-3, 16-1, 14-1, 12-1, 11-1, 10-5, 9-5, 8-5, 7-4, 6-7, 5-14, 4-10, 3-13, 2-37, and 1-31. The mean was 5.8, the median 3 and the mode 2 flights per flier. Motor use was: 1/4A-1, 1/2A-24, A-126, B-161, C-324, D-80, E-56, F-50, G-44, H-12, I-12 and no J or K motors flown. Riccardo Fimbres had the only Certification flight (level 1) this year, the very limited availability of high power motors was apparent at all the launches. There were 17 staged flights flown and 6 clustered motor rockets. Two 4-H groups, a Boy Scout troop and a Civil Air Patrol group participated in the launches and were active fliers at the launches they attended. We welcome visitors to come launch with us. Occasionally the posted schedule has to be changed for reasons beyond our control and people are urged to verify the launch details by visiting our web site: www.sararocketry.org prior to making the trip to TIMPA. Gerald King, NAR Senior Section Advisor **2003 BOARD OF DIRECTORS ELECTION RESULTS With some small pieces of paper made available for secret ballots, we suspended the launch at around 11:00AM during the December 14, 2002 launch to conduct the annual SARA Board of Directors election. Approximately 10 members participated. The two contested offices were President (Steve Lubliner and Don Richard) and Vice President (Steve Lubliner and Ben Nead). Doug Forester ran uncontested for Secretary/Treasurer and Jay Dickhous ran uncontested for Member at Large. So . . . here are the results . . . President . . . . . . . Steve Lubliner SARA wishes to thank outgoing President, Mark Koenig and outgoing Member at Large, Curtis Farrell for their contributions this past year. Mark, in particular, did a great job maintaining the SARA web site that he created for us 2 years ago. He will continue to act in the capacity of the sararocketry.org webmaster. While Don Richard was not elected President, we also want to extend our thanks to him for participating in the election process. Our club can only continue to grow and prosper when our membership base steps forward and becomes involved. Appointees selected for 2003 are as follows . . . NAR Senior Section Advisor . . Jerry King If you are new to SARA, please feel free to introduce yourself to any and all
of the new and returning board officers and appointees at the launch. **SARA 2003 LAUNCH CALENDAR / TIMPA FIELD LAUNCH SITE We now have the schedule for the TIMPA launches for the calendar year 2003.
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. Note
that our January launch was originally scheduled for Sunday the 19th but was
moved to the 26th so as not to conflict with another TIMPA event. Other special
non-launch activities are anticipated for this year and exact dates will be
posted when available. SUNDAY, JANUARY 26, 2003 9AM to 1PM We are now in our annual 9:00AM to 1:00PM cool weather launch widow. In the
late Spring we revert back to our 8:00AM to 12:00 NOON launch window for the
duration of the Summer. **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 |
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