Launch reports are available for the following months

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2001 Launch Summary

January 2001 Launch Report

The January launch was cancelled due to rain.

February 2001 Launch Report

SARA held a waivered launch at the TIMPA field on February 24, 2001. The weather was good with a few clouds, temperatures warming up to the mid 50s, and wind mostly below 8 mph. There were a few holds for aircraft.

25 people took advantage of the nice conditions and made a total of 58 flights. The success rate for "clean" flights was up from previous launches: 46 of 48 (96%) of low and mid power flights, and 9 of 10 (90%) of high power flights. This is an average of 93% for successful flight by SARA launchers . . . very good! The failed flights consisted of 2 body/nosecone separations and 2 tangled recovery devices.

Thomas Gonzalez made the most flights of the day with 7. Two launchers had 5 each, two other had 4 each, three had 3 each, seven had 2 each, and ten of our launchers got a single flight in. Special mention goes to Jerry King, the person who compiles all the launch statistics that you are reading here. He made NAR Level 2 certification with an EZI-65 on a J350 motor. Congratulations, Jerry! There was also a successful clustered 4 motor flight and one flight with electronic dual deployment.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

March 2001 Launch Report

There was a total of 92 flights made by 31 people in March. Thomas Gonzalez made 10 flights for the most by an individual. 72 of the flights were clean and nominal which is only 78%, well below our usual success rate for a notification launch. There were 10 separations, 2 tangled recovery devices, 2 kicked motors, 2 late ejections, 1 shred, 1 early ejection, 1 CATO and 1 failure of a full cluster ignition with only one of four motors igniting. 3 cluster flights were attempted and 2 were successful. The following is a breakdown of the motor impulses and the number of motors flown

April 2001 Launch Report

We had clear weather with moderate temperatures, low winds, some thermals and few holds for aircraft. Many interesting and unusual flights were made. Fourteen fliers took advantage of the FAA notification launch to make 56 flights with 45 ( 80 %) of them being clean or nominal. There were 7 separations, 2 CATOs, and one each tangled chute and lawn dart. Pat Horton, a new SARA member from San Diego, made the most flights with 9, three of these were RC controlled flights including a 'steerable' parachute and one had a 'pen cam' which recorded a nice digital image sequence. One flier each made 8,7,6,5,4 and 2 flights with four people making 3 flights each and 3 making a single flight. Craig Gorowski made two flights with his RC Zagi which has been modified for rocket boost. Steve Lubliner flew his LOC Graduator with a live video and audio transmitter. This was a successful and very unusual flight (the first that I am aware of for SARA and our fleld and certainly one of the smallest rockets ever for live video). Dan Shinkel flew his astrocam 7 times and Chris Welborn his 4 times, even given the expected low percentage of good photos from an astrocam these numbers should yield a few good shots. Two cluster flights were made by Don Richards using his Estes Patriot with 2 D motors and both were successful. Stanley Young flew a LOC Lil Nuke on an H238 for a nice energetic flight.

May 2001 Launch Report

SARA held a launch at the TIMPA site with a FAA waiver to 4500 feet AGL on 5/20/01. The weather was good starting with cloud cover, then clearing and winds building to 15+ mph with thermals. There were a larger than usual number of spectators and a group of Explorers (part of some outreach by Steve Lubliner) attended and launched a mini contest (Quest Astra, A duration). There were the usual holds for aircraft and at one point it seemed as though we were a way point for every pilot's flight plan.

Twenty six fliers made 61 flights. Dan Shinkel made the most flights with 8, the others were (#of flights each-# of fliers): 5-3, 4-1, 3-2, 2-10, 1-8. Fifty two flights (85%) were clean or nominal; there were 4 separations, and 1 each tangle, kicked motor, hung on pad, partial deploy and a very under powered 'flight' of a skywinder. 

The 5 explorers flew 10 flights with 8 of the flights being in the contest and the greatest duration was by Steven Rider who flew his Quest Astra for a time of 38.05 sec.

There were several flights of unusual interest; Richard Hine flew his Scratch built "Incognito" on the largest motor of the day, a J570, for a beautiful flight; Mark Koenig flew his dual deployment PML Patriot on a I284 for a nice flight and perfect recovery system function even if the wind did cause some drift (it would have been quite some hike on a main deploy at apogee). One of the more memorable flights was Don Richard's Estes Mercury Redstone on a C6-3, a nice boost, slow flight, coast, then a graceful turn over with ejection and deployment right at apogee with perfect recovery - in my opinion rocket flights do not come any prettier.

Two flights merit special mention even though neither was really a 'flight'; Jay Dennis had his PML ex-Patriot get caught on the pad and the I161 burned fully then fired its ejection charge on the pad; the problem turned out to be the engine retention device-a washer- getting caught in the adjustable standoff of the pad (yet something different to have to watch for). The other was a Estes Skywinder that had been stopped from being flown on an A 8-3 (a motor which is way too small for this heavy bird), then was flown on a C6-3 (an appropriate motor); a second flight was attempted with a flight card marked for a C6-3, but after barely clearing the rod and ejection on the ground the rocket was found to actually contain an A8-3.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

June 2001 Launch Report

SARA held a notification launch at the TIMPA field on Jun 30, 2001. Conditions were excellent, even if hot and we had fewer than the usual number of holds for aircraft. There was even an ultralight that landed north of the field and the pilot spent some time observing and talking with everyone-he even expressed interest in launching (already has a rocket) with us.

Twenty two (22) fliers made a total of 87 flights with 77 (88 %) being nominal (clean); there were 7 separations, and one each: tangle, no ejection and kicked motor. Dan Shinkel was the most active flier with 11 flights and the other activity broke down as (number of fliers-number of flights): 4-6, 2-5, 3-4, 7-3, 4-2 and 1-1.

There were several flights meriting comment. David Williams flew one of the new Aerotech Redline motors with a brilliant ruby red flame and nice sound. Steve Lubliner did a successful test flight of the electronics for his upcoming Level 3 flight. John Wolfe had 3 nice flights of his LOC Legacy which was designed to separated into 2 parts, each descending on its own chute-the red and green chutes made an interesting sight.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

July 2001 Launch Report

Overcast skies with occasional light rain, but almost no wind and NO HOLDS FOR AIRCRAFT were the conditions at the SARA FAA notification launch held at the TIMPA site on Jul 29, 2001. By the time of range closure it was beginning to be uncomfortably warm with the humidity, but the launch was very nice.

Seventy flights using motors ranging from 1/2A to H220 were made by 20 fliers. Fifty four (54) of the flights were nominal for a clean rate of 77% which is a little below our usual level. There were 7 separations (almost always the most common failure mode), 4 tangled recovery devices, 2 unstable flights and 1 each: no ejection, lawn dart, and kicked motor. Of interest is 3 flights hdd more than one failure mode. Chris Welborn was the most active with 9 flights and the remainder broke down as (# of flights-# of fliers): 7-2, 6-1, 5-2, 4-1, 3-4, 2-6, and 1-3. 

Abe Randolph had a successful Level 1 certification using a scratch built model - the 'Super Chunk' - on a Aerotech H128w motor for a flight that was picture perfect and stayed well below the slowly clearing cloud cover. Congratulations Abe. Joel Lefaive had a nice 2-stage C6-0, C6-7 flight of his Custom Aztec . Don Richard flew two sizes of Mercury Redstones, the Estes one on a C6-5 and The Boyce Aerospace one on an Aerotech H180w for two very nice flights. Tony Gonzales sent his Rogue Rockets 'Space Needle' up on one of the new Estes E 9 motors for a very nice flight with dual chute recovery. Tony also sent a Rocket Vision 'Check Six' skyward on a G55 for an impressive high speed flight, but no recovery (probably still drifting).

Special appreciation goes to those who helped with range duty, set-up and tear down.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

August 2001 Launch Report

The Southern Arizona Rocketry Association (SARA) held a launch with an FAA waiver at the TIMPA site on Saturday the 25th of August, 2001. Flying conditions were excellent with clear skies and very low winds; it was pretty hot by the finish and there were several brief holds for aircraft. There were a couple of brisk dust devils just as the range was being taken down.

Thirty seven (37) people, many of them youngsters and new visitors, made 70 flights. There were 63 (90 %) clean or nominal flights, with 4 separations, and one each: lawn dart, no ejection and early ejection. Chris Welborn and Shawn Simpson each made 5 flights. One person made 4 flights, seven did 3 each, 12 made 2 flights and 15 people made 1 flight each (several people participated in single flights as team members). 

There were many remarkable flights. Don Richard lead a Civil Air Patrol group that launched a LOC EZI-65 on an AT H242, the bright red bird had a nice boost and ejection, but a most unusual separation where the chute flew off on its own. The pieces of the rocket came down together, unfortunately with considerable damage to the aft body and fins, but the shock cord showed no damage. Don had much better luck with his nice Vostok which had a very impressive inaugural flight. David Williams and Mark Koenig each had good flights with electronic dual chute deployment. Curtis Farrel had 2 nice flights: one a scratch built version of an early Estes kit the 'SkyRaider HD' which went on a long coast following boost with an AT F72, the other a nice scratch Nike-Smoke. John Gentry had a 'hardened' Fat Boy look alike which was impressive on a G35. Paul Coltrin's 'Flat Cat' just glided on and on for the only boost glider flight of the day. John Wolfe had 3 successive good flights of his LOC Legacy which recovers in two parts on separate chutes. There were many new faces and many children present who made flights. Many thanks to all the people who provided assistance to the future rocketeers.

A thank you to all the people who shared range duty and assisted with setup and tear down. Helpful effort is always welcome and appreciated.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

September 2001 Launch Report

The September launch was cancelled due to the events of 9/11/2001 and the FAA's response to restrict airspace.

October 2001 Launch Report

A launch with FAA notification was held by SARA at the TIMPA site on 10/27/01. Conditions started out with a very brisk wind which only gradually diminished until range closure. Attendance was good, but the wind discouraged many people from flying.

Twelve people flew a total of 26 flights of which 23 (88%) were nominal, there were 2 separations and one unstable flight. There were two flights observed to have clean boost, coast and streamer deployment but were not seen after they became lost in the glare of the sun. Sammy Groom flew the most flights with 5 and other actvity was (number of fliers-number of flights): 1-4, 1-3, 5-2, and 4-1.

There were several interesting flights. Remi Gentry flew an Apogee Centrix with an Apogee 1/4A 2-4 motor for a very fast flight. David Hirashima had the misfortune to have two rockets perform nice flights with deployment only to have them lost in the glare of the sun on descent. Jim Groom flew a 'Tiny Pterodactyl' twice, with a nice flight after an initial unusual flight with separation during boost when it became unstable, the chute deployed, followed by a nice landing not far from the LCO table then the ejection charge firing some time after landing.

Doug forester spent a lot of time and effort working on the new range set-up (we will be arranging the range to face West to enable better tracking with the sun behind us) and brought out two nearly finished 6 position launch racks for the smaller rockets. Peter Riddell of SMS came down from Phoenix to support us with a "range store"

Thanks to everyone who helped set up and tear down the range.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

November 2001 Launch Report

SARA held a launch at the TIMPA site on November 18, 2001 with a FAA waiver to 4500 feet. The weather was excellent although at the time of range set-up it was breezy and there were fears of a repeat of last month's launch conditions, then the wind settled down and the sky cleared.

Twenty three (23) people took advantage of the launch to make 79 flights. Even though there is a real shortage of high power engines, there were 16 flights of G or higher power. Seventy three (73) of the flights were nominal for a clean rate of 93% which is a little higher than the usual success rate. There was 1 separation, 1 tangle, 3 early ejections and 1 lawn dart. Thomas Gonzalez, David Hirashima and Jerry King each made 7 flights, the remainder were (#of flights-# of fliers): 6-1, 5-2, 4-2, 3-8, and 1-4.

There were several flights inviting special mention. David Hirashima had two successful 2 stage flights. Abe Randoph flew a 2 D cluster rocket successfully. Dennis Langan had the misfortune to have a lawn dart with a rocket carrying electronic ejection as well as motor ejection back-up; both ejection charges were found to have fired, but there was no sign of a recovery device and they may have fired after impact. Curtis Farrel had 2 spectacular high energy flights with long coasts (the recovery walks were also long) after rapid boosts. Tony Gonzales had a chance to be off range duty long enough to have 4 nice flights.

The new launch racks Doug made worked well, these will be especially useful in busy launches and once longer cables are available so one rack can be loaded while the other is being launched. The new range setup facing west seemed to work well and visibility was good from the rocket tracking standpoint. A brief meeting for nominating candidates for next years officers was held during the launch and details will be reported elsewhere. Many thanks to all who helped with range duty as well as setup and tear down.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

December 2001 Launch Report

The December launch was cancelled due to weather.

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