Southern Arizona Rocketry Association
Tucson, AZ
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------------------------------------------------------------------------ **HELLO AND WELCOME Bring out the wide brimmed hats, sunscreen, and drinking water. It's Summer! Temperatures shouldn't be too bad for this Saturday, though. Highs in the mid to upper 90's under clear skies are expected. While brush fire dangers are starting to loom large, we don't currently have Summertime restrictions in place yet for multi-stage and cluster motor models like we did last year at this time. This might be a good month to bring those models out as we predict that a temporary ban on these will be taking place in July and lasting until we get our late Summer monsoon rains. **DRAG RACES In recent months we have seen an increased interest in drag races at our monthly launches. This involves two similar rockets being launched simultaneously with the idea of seeing which rocket stays aloft the longest. Some debate occurred among the SARA Board this past month regarding this sort of event. Concerns were expressed by some of the membership base that the policy of allowing drag races to occur was being inconsistently applied. Likewise, issues in regards to safety of two rockets in the air at once has been a recent topic of discussion. Since SARA has never actually adopted any sort of drag race policy, we decided it was an appropriate time to make one . . . 1) Drag races are permitted with single motor models that are of "B" impulse or below. No cluster or multi-stage model drag racing can occur at a SARA launch. 2) Range Safety Officer (RSO) and Launch Control Officer (LCO) staff reserve the right to not allow drag racing across the board at a monthly SARA launch. This can occur if fire or visibility conditions would compromise safety. RSO and LCO staff can also rule against a drag race to occur on an individual basis if either of the two involved models is deemed unsuitable for stable flight. We hope that this decision is a satisfactory compromise for all concerned parties. *MEMBERSHIP CARDS Our supply of the old membership cards has expired and the computer files are no longer available to make new copies. Therefore, a new design has been implemented. The old card was designed by former board member Paul Trittenbach and featured my own gray sci-fi moon rocket as part of the design. The new design that I created is centered around a photo taken by Owen Kelly at a recent launch showing one of John Gentry's models lifting off with the desert landscape in the background. If you have joined or renewed your membership recently and haven't received a card yet, please let me know at this Saturday's launch. I will have blank cards printed up and available there. If you are unable to attend, I can mail a card to you the following week. You can email me with your "snail mail" address . . . mcnead@earthlink.net Please remember to supply me with your name as you would like to see it appear on the card as well as your NAR membership number if you have one. **CONGRESSIONAL ACTION MODEL ROCKETRY WEB SITE The status of Senate Bill S724 - the Enzi amendments to
The Homeland Security Act - is in flux at the moment. While the vast majority of
The Senate Judiciary Committee is in favor of providing access of APCP to rocket
hobbyists, there is continued debate on weight limitations and this has stalled
any further progress of the amendment for the moment. Please visit the
Congressional Action Model Rocketry Web Site for further clarification and the
latest details. Bookmark it, and check back often as it is regularly updated . .
. http://www.space-rockets.com/congress.html The general message being expressed by NAR and Tripoli officials at this juncture is to not write your elected official at this time and to let the political process run it's course. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- **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 checkit 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. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **MAY 2003 LAUNCH REPORT The monthly sport launch of SARA was held at the TIMPA site on 5/18/03 with an FAA waiver in effect. Conditions were excellent with nice skies, generally mild winds, and no more than the usual number of holds for aircraft. Thirty (30) people took advantage of the launch to make 87
flights of Notable flights include Jay Dennis successfully achieving a Level 2 certification with a nice flight of his scratch built Kozmo Extreme on a J350. There was a beautiful V-2 flown on an I357 for a level 1 certification attempt, but unfortunately no ejection occurred despite the delay charge burning. There were 3 successful cluster flights and 2 staged flights; one very nice the other a second stage failed to ignite resulting in the expected lawn dart that occurs in this circumstance. Doug Forester has made some range improvements and new cables for the range. These cables should help greatly with reliability and ease of handling, as well as decreasing the tripping hazard. Let's all express our appreciation to him for his efforts. The fire hazard is again increasing at TIMPA and this may place some limitations on our next few launches. Once again thanks are due to all who helped with range duties, setup and tear down. Gerald 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. SATURDAY, JUNE 21, 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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