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2002 Launch Summary

Archived Launch reports from previous years

[2001]

December 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.

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.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

November Launch Report

SARA held its monthly Sport Launch at the TIMPA site on 17 November 2002 with a FAA waiver to 4500 feet AGL in effect. The weather was nice and a business meeting of the group was held at mid-launch to accept nominations for the officers for next year.

Twenty one (21) fliers took advantage of the launch to make 78 flights of which 66 (85%) were nominal. There were 5 separations, 3 tangled recovery devices, 3 unstable lights and 1 lawn dart. David Hirishima was the most frequent flier with 9 flights, the remainder were (# fliers-#
flights): 2-8, 2-6, 2-5, 4-4, 5-2 and 5-1. Three 2-stage flights were
attemped: 2 were successful and one was wildly unstable. A cluster flight with an E and 3 C motors was successful.  The motor use distribution at a waivered launch reflects the continued lack of availability of high power motors.

The author was able to be at the launch only briefly and his comments come from the data on the flight cards rather than first hand observation. Sid Clarke flew models of rockets of historic significance, a Razumov-Shtern LRD-D-1 and a Winkler HW-2. Jay Dennis flew a rocket with a 4 engine cluster and apparently had a good flight except for separation at deployment. Jay Dickhous flew his Spaceman II successfully.

Once again thanks are due to all those who helped with range set-up, duty and tear down.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

October 2002 Launch Report

SARA held its October launch at the TIMPA site on Saturday the 19th with a FAA waiver in effect. The weather was perfect for a rocket launch with very low winds, the temperatures pleasant and the sky clear. There were few holds for aircraft.

This was a very busy launch with 33 fliers making 108 flights of which 88
(81%) were nominal. There were 7 separations, 3 each tangled chutes, lawn dart and unstable flights and 1 each CATO, Kicked motor, inverted glide, and early ejection. Vince Hagerlin was the most active flier with 11 flights, other activity was (# flights-# fliers): 10-1, 6-1, 5-4, 4-5, 3-4, 2-12, and 1-5. There were 4 successful 2-stage flights and a successful composite motor cluster flight.

Of special note were several exceptional rockets and flights. Doug Forester had a magnificant first flight of his beautiful scratch built scale Phoenix. David Williams had a very nice flight with a cluster of two I motors. Vince Hagerlin made the long trip from Pierce and brought a fleet of very impressive rockets, mostly scratch built of infrequently seen designs, with beautiful finishes. Jacob Dennis flew his upscale Gemini DC for another perfect flight. Sid Clarke, Ben Hord and John Wolfe all had models make successful 2 stage flights. All in all a very active and rewarding launch.

Once again many thanks are due to all those who helped with the range duties, setup and tear down.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

September 2002 Launch Report

SARA held its monthly waivered launch at TIMPA on 9/22/02. The weather conditions were very good with clear skies, little wind and reasonable temperatures. There were a few holds for small aircraft and the field was nearly covered with moth larvae.

Thirty two (32) fliers took advantage of the launch to make 70 flights of which 58 (83%) were nominal. There were 5 unstable flights, 3 separations, 2 instances of no ejection and 1 each Cato and tangled recovery device. John and Remi Gentry each made 5 flights for a tie for most active honors, other activity was (#flights-# fliers): 4-3, 3-4, 2-13, and 1-10. There were 2 2 stage flights, both successful and 2 cluster flights, both with problems, one a single motor ignition with an unstable flight and the other suffering a separation.

We had 10 scouts from Cub Scout Pack 299, Den 1-Catalina council out flying under the guidance of Kevin Houser. The scouts made 21 flights. Don Richard had a nice flight of his really beautiful Cosmodrome Vostok. Michael Houser and Jay Dennis both had successful 2-stage flights. The writer had to leave the launch early so did not see the two cluster flights: Kevin Houser and Michael Houser both unfortunately having problems of some sort: much better luck next time. There was a CATO of an Ellis mountain I 65motor. This is one of the few non Aerotech composite motors to be flown at TIMPA, hopefully futher attempts will be successful as a variety of motors is always nice.

Many thanks to all who helped with range duty, setup and tear down.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

Sara held a launch at the TIMPA site on August 24 with an FAA waiver in effect. The weather was good for flying rockets with very low winds and clear skies. It was pretty hot and there were a few holds for aircraft. There were many new faces at the launch and a large number of families flying together.

Thirty one (31) fliers took advantage of the launch and made 71 flights of which 56 (80%) were clean; there were 6 each tangled recovery devices and separations, and one each lawn dart and no ejection. The most active flier was Davin Porfirio who made 6 flights, other activity was (# flights-# of fliers): 5-1, 4-4, 3-2, 2-14 and 1-9.

There was a two stage flight attempt using a Estes Commanche (C11-0, B6-6) which was unsuccessful as the second stage did not ignite. Mike Kruger of Cosmodrome flew his Delta E for the first time and had a really nice flight. Kevin Houser flew a video camera in a scratch built rocket based on an old Centuri design and obtained some marvelous video. Jacob Dennis had another picture perfect flight of his upscale Gemini DC.

It is hoped that all the newcomers had a good time and may will become regular fliers.

Once again many thanks to all those who helped with range work.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

July 2002 Launch Cancelled

June 2002 Launch Report

The Southern Arizona Rocketry Association (SARA) held a launch on Jun 22,2002 at the TIMPA site with a FAA waiver in effect. Flying conditions were good with regard to weather and airplanes, but the conditions were very hazardous with the possibility of fire.

Seventeen (17) fliers took advantage of the opportunity to make 49 flights of which 39 (80%) were clean. This showing is again below our usual success rate. There were 3 tangled recovery devices, 2 separations, and one each: CATO, unstable flight, lawn dart, partial deploy and no deploy. Anthony Sostarich made the most flights with 7 and the remainder of the activity was (# flights each-# fliers): 4-4, 3-4, 2-6, and 1-2. The heat and shortage of mid and high power motors kept the launch activity level low for a waivered launch.

We had many new faces participating in the launch, both young and old, and several observers who might well become active fliers in the future. Among the names I did not recognize from previously are: Dominic Amend, Roy Glander, Homer Hansen, Brett Leverenz, Gene and Judy Nishikida, Joe Woodard and Trica Ybarra. Once again many thanks are due to all who participated in range operations as well as Peter Riddell who brought his SMS range store down from Phoenix to support the launch.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

May 2002 Launch Report

SARA held a waivered launch at the TIMPA site on 5/19/02. The launch was preceded by a work party to remove ground cover from around the high power pads to help reduce the risk of fire. The weather was pleasant although the launch was interrupted by a large thermal, with a brisk wind which arrived at about 11:15 and did not diminish, causing the launch to be officially cancelled at about 11:35 am (of course, by the time the range was torn down the wind abated). There were a few holds for aircraft in the area including one relatively long one for someone practicing ground point turns just North of the field.

Thirty one fliers took advantage of the opportunity to launch making 71 flights of which only 49 (69%) were nominal. This is the poorest success rate in a long time and was caused by: 9 separations, 7 tangled chutes, 3 rockets with no chute deploy, 2 unstable flights and 1 CATO. Both Dan Shinkel and Joel Lefaive made 6 flights for the most active flyer honors, the other activity was (# flights-# fliers): 5-1, 4-4, 3-4, 2-6 and 1-14.

The shortage of composite motors resulted in few high power flights.

We were visited by a active group of Boy Scouts and the local Civil Air Patrol group. In my opinion the most notable flight was the inaugural launch of Jacob Dennis' upscale model of the Estes Gemini DC. The model features dual chute rear ejection true to the original. It had a picture perfect flight on an I165 with a steady straight boost, clean deploy at apogee with uneventful recovery.

Once again many thanks are due to all who participated in the work party, the set-up and tear down of the range as well as the RSO and LCO activities.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

April 2002 Launch Report

The Southern Arizona Rocketry Association held its monthly launch at the TIMPA site on Saturday April 27, 2002 with FAA notification in effect. The weather conditions were good with the feared winds holding off, clear skies and cool temperatures for the end of April.

We had a large group of 4-H young people under the guidance of Vince and Moira Hagerlin who came west from Pierce to launch and there were quite a number of observers who heard about the launch as a result of the 'Passions" article in last month's newspaper.

Forty five (45) fliers made 123 flights of which 106 (86%) were nominal. There were 6 separations, 7 tangled chutes, and one each CATO, unstable flight, kicked motor and no recovery system deployment. There was a tie for most active flier with both Dan Shinkel and Vince Hagerlin each making 7 flights. The other activity was (# flights-# fliers): 6-1, 5-6, 4-2, 3-11, 2-9, and 1-14. There were no cluster or staged flights as these had been prohibited because of the very high fire risk from the extremely dry condition of the range. We look forward to such flights once there is some reasonable amount of rain at the launch site.

There were several rockets and flights worthy of special comment. The 4-H group was very active and had many nice models and good flights. Vince Hagerlin had several of the most beautifully finished rockets I have seen: perfect fillets and fit, no trace of underlying unevenness and very hard glossy finishes--- additionally, these rockets all flew well. There was a wildly unstable flight of a rocket powered by a Estes D 12-3, however at burnout the rocket became stable and had a solid flight untill ejection.

Examination of the engine after the flight revealed that the nozzle was off center and asymmetric giving vectored thrust. A subsequent flight of the same rocket had some mild spiraling but was well within the usual range of stability adding credence to the concept of angled thrust causing the problem with the initial flight. This type of motor problem has been reported occasionally, but thankfully is pretty rare. Don Richards had a nice flight of a scratch built V2. David Williams flew a rocket with successful aft recovery system ejection. We had the youngest flier of recent memory when 4 year old Raymond Herrick had a nice 1st flight with a Estes 'orange yellow jacket'.

It is our hope that all the visitors enjoyed the launch and some will return to join us in flying.

Once again many thanks are due to those who helped with the range setup, duties and tear down.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch.

March 2002 Launch Report

On Sunday March 24, 2002 SARA held a launch at the TIMPA site with a FAA notification for large model rockets. The day was nice and clear with pleasant temperatures. There was a moderate wind when the range was being set up, but this soon became much less only to return with vengeance at about noon when there was a shift in direction, a gust of at least 45 miles per hour, a sudden drop in temperature from a downburst and the wind persisted a high strength for more than an hour. The gust knocked over launch equipment (some loaded with rockets) and scattered some of SMS's merchandise. The launch was cancelled at about 12:15.

While the range was open 21 fliers made 53 flights with 50 (94%) of these being clean or nominal. There were 2 tangled chutes and one very impressive CATO (for the first time I can recall there were no separations). Steve Lubliner made the most flights with 7, the remainder broke down as (# flights-#fliers): 6-2, 4-2, 3-2, 2-6, and 1-8. The motor breakdown was: 1/2A-6, A-8, B-7, C-19, D-5, E-2, F-5, and G-3.

Among the interesting flights were a Demo launch by Peter Ridell of the new Estes C11 motor in an Estes Eliminator, a 2 engine (1/2As) cluster flight by Steve Lubliner and Jay Dennis had a nice 2 stage flight (B to B) of a SAM-X. Five people were unfortunate enough to have rockets on the pad at the time of the major wind gust: Jay Dickhous, Celycia, Christopher, John Grove and Kevin Houser. Hopefully their rockets were not badly damaged when the wind tipped over the pads.

Once again thanks are due to all who helped with range duties.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch.

February 2002 Launch Report

February 23, 2002 was the occasion of a SARA launch at the TIMPA site with a FAA waiver obtained through heroic effort by Tony Gonzales (many thanks). When it was time for range set-up there was a considerable breeze and there were fears of a repeat of January's launch conditions; however, it soon became a day with bright skies with some thin high clouds and very low winds. This was our busiest launch since I have activity records (Oct l998).

There were 32 fliers making 113 flights. The group did well with 101 (89%) of these being clean or nominal; there were 4 tangled chutes, 3 separations, 2 each unstable flights and staging failures, 1 late ejection and 1 no chute deploy despite ejection charge firing. David Hirashima was the most active flier with 9 flights, others were (# flights ea.-# fliers): 7-1, 6-2, 5-4, 4-8, 3-5, 2-7, and 1-4. There were more motors used than flights as there was a cluster and two multistage attempts. The high power activity was less than usual at our waivered launches reflecting the reduced availability of motors after the Aerotech fire.

Several notable flights were made. Mark Koenig flew his Patriot on an I motor with perfect electronic dual recovery deployment and reached a reported altitude of 2857 feet. Riccardo Fimbres had a successful level 1 certification flight using a PML 1/4 Patriot and a AT H128w. Congratulations to Riccardo, who also had a really nice helicopter flight. Tony Gonzales had a truly spectacular unstable flight of his scratch built Seawolf (apparently the nose weight became loose from the acceleration and the CG moved aft). Abe Randolph had a nice flight of a 2 D motor cluster in a scratch built rocket. There were 2 multi-stage flight attempts and both failed when the first stage did not ignite the second; Jacob Dennis had a 2 stage Apache and Dale Anderson had a beautifully finished 3 stage Comanchee 3. Paul Coltrin had a really nice flight of his Flat Cat which went on to glide for a very long time, fortunately there were no thermals at the time or it would be gone.

We had many new fliers this launch and several enthusiastic children. Among the names I have not seen before (but in some cases the faces were familiar) are: Dale and Eric Anderson, Rod Blanco, Jantzen Claybaugh, Freedom and Noah Flores, Mathew Rossi and Lupe Ybarra. Often flight cards are hard to read and if I have misspelled anyone's name (or missed anyone), my apologies. I hope everyone had a good time and will continue to fly with us regularly.

Once again thanks are due to everyone who helped with the range.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

January 2002 Launch Report

SARA held a launch at the TIMPA site on 1/27/02 with FAA notification in effect. The weather was pleasant with somewhat cloudy skies and a nice temperature; however, the wind was not cooperative and there were many gusts of over 25 mph although by noon the velocity had slacked considerably. There was a good attendance, but the number of fliers and flights was limited by the conditions.

Sixteen fliers made 52 flights of which 48 (92%) were nominal; there were 2 each tangled recovery devices, and separations. Dan Shinkel was the most active flier with 10 flights, the remainder of the flying was (# of fliers-# flights each): 1-8, 2-5, 2-4, 1-3, 4-2, and 5-1.

There were several flights of note. John Gentry flew his 'Lamp Shade' on a E18 for a very nice flight. The Quest Area 51 Saucer was very popular in the wind accounting for 11 flights. Jerry King flew his version of George Gassaway's Tri-F-O; this together with the saucers and the Lampshade made for 13 tumble recovery 'flying saucer' flights. Riccardo Fimbres came up from Nogales and had a very nice flight of a Estes Mercury Redstone on a B6-4, it was slow and not very high with a perfect two part recovery at a low altitude. Steve Lubliner flew his Mean Machine on a E16 and had a long tail slide before ejection even though there was only a nominal 4 second delay. Jennifer Koenig, with Mark, flew a Estes Eliminator on a E9-8 and had one of the longest recovery walks from our field---nearly to Manville Road.

Once again many thanks are due to all who helped with range set-up and tear down as well as range duty.

Below is a breakdown of the motor used during the launch

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