Southern Arizona Rocketry Association
Tucson, AZ
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SOUTHERN ARIZONA ROCKETRY ASSOCIATION NEWS JUNE 2000
**HELLO AND WELCOME SARAnews is going through a transition. Many of you who visit our website regularly will notice that information pertaining to our activities is being quickly uploaded there and is available for viewing by all. Rather than simply recounting those events in these monthly emails, I will encourage all of you visit the SARA website regularly to get the latest news. Jerry King's flight report for the May 20 launch is already archived there so I won't reproduce it in this message. Just about every week there are new items being uploaded. I encourage all of to visit the site if you already haven't done so. Click on the link 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.
**LATE BREAKING NEWS: AUGUST 11 YOUTH BUILD SESSION AT THE PIMA AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM Here is an item that we on the Board of Directors have been working on since April. All of the details are just now falling into place and I will break the news to you here. SARA will be conducting a model rocketry build session on Saturday, August 11, at The Pima Air and Space Museum. The Museum, located at 6000 East Valencia Road and will be open from 9:00AM to 5:00PM that day. This event will be geared to youth between the ages of 7 and 12. Estes, through a cooperative effort with Classic Hobbies here in Tucson, has made available a number of their popular Gnome kits that we will be building giving away that day. This will entail SARA volunteers assisting interested youngsters in building a Gnome kit (a very simple model that can be assembled in a matter of minutes) which the youngster can take home with them. Additionally, we will be inviting our young builders to our scheduled August 25 launch at TIMPA. I will have more details soon. Check the SARA website for the latest updates. We will need several volunteers for this August 11 session. This is a great chance for any of us to share our love and knowledge of model rocketry to a youngster who may not be otherwise exposed to the hobby. Please consider being a build session volunteer that day. If you can help, you can contact me at home . . . mcnead@earthlink.net . . . or by phone at 624-7870. Benjamin Nead, SARA Membership Director
**SARA 2001 LAUNCH CALENDAR / TIMPA FIELD LAUNCH SITE SATURDAY, JUNE 30 NOTIFICATION SUNDAY, JULY 29 NOTIFICATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 25 WAIVERED SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 NOTIFICATION SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27 NOTIFICATION SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18 WAIVERED SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15 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 We are now very much in our hot weather season. Launches are currently from 8:00AM to 12:00 Noon until further notice. As the weather cools this Fall, we will change the times back to a 9:00AM to 1:00PM 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. 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 . . . tgonzo@uswest.net . . . 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.
**THANKS OF SUPPORT FROM HOBBY MANUFACTURERS AND RETAILERS, MUSEUMS, AND SCHOOLS The SARA Board would like to extend it's thanks to Roger Parker of Classic Hobbies, SARA member Chris Wellborn of The Pima Air and Space Museum, and Ann Grimm of Estes Corporation for helping make possible the upcoming youth build session on August 11th. We also want to extend our Thanks to the teaching staff of Donaldson Elementary School for their generous support. Thanks, as always, to Pete Riddell and his wife of Space Modeling Solutions in Phoenix. They 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 . . . riddell@prodigy.net . . . or by phone at (480) 497-1960 or by fax at (703) 832-3237 |
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