Southern Arizona Rocketry Association
Tucson, AZ
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------------------------------------------------------------------------ **HELLO AND WELCOME Rain has finally arrived to southern Arizona as we are now
in our annual monsoon season. I happened to be at Arizona Sonora Desert Museum,
just a few miles from our TIMPA launch site, this past Saturday evening when the
first strong rain of the season passed through the area. This and subsequent
rains that have occurred since then means that the ground is now sufficiently
moist so that we don't have to impose limits on multi-stage and cluster motor
rockets. This is something that we had to do last Summer and, in fact, the July
2002 launch was cancelled outright because of brush fire dangers. Late afternoon
and early evening monsoon rains often means that the morning skies are clear and
free of excessive winds. We hope that this is the case for this Sunday's launch
as windy conditions cut short last month's scheduled event. Jerry King details
this in his flight report below. **RIO RICO BUILD AND FLY SESSION The public school district in Rio Rico, Arizona, (just a few miles north of Nogales) sponsored a model rocketry building and flying session for 100 of their elementary age students on Wednesday, July 11. SARA's Steve Lubliner was the chief coordinator and facilitator. On-site assistance was provided by Jerry King, Doug Forester, and myself. We received additional help from the local teachers, parents, and several high school age Air Force ROTC members. In two separate groups of 50, students were guided through the building of the Balsa Machine Service (BMS) "School Rocket" and then the models were flown in the adjacent schoolyard. All in all, a highly successful event. The BMS kit, with it's pre-slotted airframe tube and laser cut balsa fins, has proven to be an ideal model rocket for these sort of sessions. An earlier version of this model was used in the Donaldson Elementary session this past Spring. Subtle improvements were made in the design of the recovery system (Kevlar instead of an elastic shock cord) and this resulted in an even more robust and reliable model this time around. The kit builds very quickly and easily with standard water based wood glue. Because no plastics are involved, toxic substances (epoxies, cyano, or ketone based adhesives) are not required. The unique tube and fin arrangement also allows for a level of building involvement not found with pre-fabricated plastic fin canister type models yet the slots ensure that fins get attached to the tube with speed, strength, and precision not possible with conventional butt joint gluing techniques. The last minute nature of the Rio Rico session prevented us from getting the word out to the general membership before it happened. Now that an ideal model kit has been developed, we hope to be doing more of these youth oriented build and fly sessions in the future and also soliciting every interested SARA member well enough in advance for inclusion. Please contact us in person at future launches for additional details if you are interested in helping out. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- **MEMBERSHIP IN SARA While our main push for annual memberships to SARA typically occurs at the beginning of the calendar year, we welcome your financial support at any time. Anyone can participate in a SARA launch by paying the $5.00 daily TIMPA range fee but you can save money each month by joining as a member. We encourage you to consider joining SARA 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, on the other hand, are what pays for
SARA's anticipated annual operating expenses (NAR chapter membership, 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 website from one of their computer terminals. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **JUNE 2003 LAUNCH REPORT SARA held its monthly sport launch at TIMPA on 6/21/03
with Only 23 flights were made by 13 fliers. Of the 23 flights 19 (83%) were clean: there were 2 separations, 1 no chute deploy despite ejection charge ignition and 1 streamer that burned through into 2 pieces (the rocket still had a safe uneventful descent and recovery). The most frequent flyer made 4 flights and the remainder were (#flights-# fliers): 3-2, 2-3 and 1-7. Motor use was: A-4, B-2, C-10, D-4, F-4 and 3 other flights made. There were 2 successful 3-motor cluster flights. Both flights were very nice with all motors igniting simultaneously. Once again many thanks are due to all who helped with range set-up and tear down. I would like to encourage more people to assist with the operation of the range to help insure that the 'regulars' do not incur excessive 'burn-out' (they also like to fly rockets). Jerry King, NAR Senior Section Advisor ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **2003 BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND APPOINTEES This is the group of people that were elected or appointed
this past December that keep things running smoothly. President . . . . . . . . . . . Steve Lubliner If you are new to SARA, please feel free to introduce yourself to any and all of the new and returning board officers or appointees at the launch. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **SARA 2003 LAUNCH CALENDAR / TIMPA FIELD LAUNCH SITE Below is the schedule for the TIMPA launches for the
calendar year 2003. SARA is able to accommodate high power rocket models at each
scheduled launch. Each launch is a Federal Aviation Administration We do several non-launching activities each year, such as building sessions and static displays, and we will add these to the calendar as planning begins to develop and exact dates are confirmed. Please check the SARA web site for last minute updates on
all launches and events. We try to keep our calendar as up-to-date as possible
but there are always new events being added and the occasional last minute
substitution. We recommend confirming any last minute changes by visiting our
web site before making the long drive. SUNDAY, JULY 20, 2003 8AM to 12NOON We are now in our warm weather 8:00AM to 12:00 NOON ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **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. 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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