Southern Arizona Rocketry Association
Tucson, AZ
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------------------------------------------------------------------------ SOUTHERN ARIZONA ROCKETRY ASSOCIATION NEWS MAY 2002 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **HELLO AND WELCOME April's launch was one of the better ones that we have experienced in recent memory. The weather was fabulous and the windy conditions that had haunted us in recent months were conspicuously absent. A record number of models left the pads flown by familiar faces as well as a host of newcomers. Jerry details this in his flight report below. **LAUNCH SITE CLEAN UP THIS NEXT SUNDAY PRIOR TO LAUNCH Set your alarm clock early for this next Sunday, May 19. That day, of course, is the next SARA waivered launch. It is also a date that we have set aside for one of our semi-annual launch site clean ups. There will be a crew of us at the TIMPA field as early as 6:00AM (perhaps even earlier) to clear brush and other debris around the high power pads. We usually do this on a weekend other than a launch day but we're trying something different this time in an attempt to solicit more help from our roster of flyers. Since it has been excessively dry this Winter and Spring, there is a minimal amount of desert growth to remove. It will be relatively easy compared to previous Springs. These same dry conditions, as noted elsewhere here, pose an increased fire risk. I'll emphasize the the main point of this clean up in capital letters . . . WE CAN NOT PERMIT HIGH POWERED FLIGHTS TO BEGIN UNTIL WE GET AT LEAST A 50 FOOT PERIMETER CLEAR OF BRUSH AROUND OUR OUTBOARD PAD AREA. There will be plenty of hot coffee and cold water on site. With just a few extra volunteers beyond our Board Member crew, the work should go quickly and be completed before the beginning of our 8:00AM to 12:00 Noon launch window. If needed, we can start the launch with small rockets on our low power inboard while work continues further afield. You can bring your own tools but we will also have a selection of rakes, shovels, work gloves, and wheelbarrows on hand. We are always appreciative of any help at both the beginning and end of our launches . . . especially so when we ask for help in a special clean up such as this one. There is often special "door prizes", such as kits and motors, that we give to folks that pitch in. If you are interested, you can let us know in advance by signing up on our web site. **NO CLUSTERING OR STAGING OF MOTORS UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE Due to the ongoing historic dry weather situation, The SARA Board has decided that we can not allow the launching of either clustered motor or multi-staged rockets until further notice. These models have a higher than average chance of starting a fire when compared to single motor models. We will let you know when this temporary ban will be lifted on both our web site and in this monthly newsletter. Assuming that we will get our seasonal monsoon rains later this Summer, this ban may be only for a few months. If you have never constructed a model of this type or if it has been some time since you last built one, this might be a good time to put one together. When the ban is lifted later this year, we can celebrate with a special launch that features clustered and multi-staged models . . . perhaps even a contest. Share your ideas with us and stay in touch with us concerning this issue. **NAR/BATF LEGAL FUND DONATION Last month, SARA's Board of Directors unanimously voted to donate $200.00 from our treasury to The National Association or Rocketry (NAR) for their ongoing legal battle against The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (BATF). Many of you are aware of this issue and it's implications on the model rocketry hobby. If you are not aware of this ongoing legal situation or are interested in finding out more information about it, I suggest reading the legal brief posted at Rocketry Online, You can find a link to this from the SARA site. **SARA MEMBERSHIP Please consider becoming a contributing member to SARA. We initiated a paying membership in 2001 and 32 of you joined up. The money accrued in 2001 (over $630.00) went a long way in helping us make launch site improvements, maintaining a website, conducting a Summer youth build session, and generally keep the organization on a solid financial footing. Beyond standardized memberships, we also received some generous cash donations and this is always welcome. We have the following suggested annual membership levels . . . Junior/Youth (under 18) . . . . $10.00 Single . . . . . . . . . . . . $20.00 Family . . . . . . . . . . . . $25.00 You can join at the next launch and be paid up for all of 2002. Beyond the satisfaction of knowing that you will be keeping SARA functioning and growing, members are entitled to a $2.00 reduction on the $5.00 monthly launch fee. This $3.00 member launch fee, by the way, is paid directly to TIMPA for use of the field and is not used for other SARA activities. Annual memberships and other donations are what keep us going. Please remember that this is YOUR rocketry club. We want to hear your ideas and thoughts on how we can make SARA more responsive to your needs. Thanks for your support! **2002 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Here are the folks that keep everything running. If you are new to SARA, please feel free to introduce yourself to any and all of the board officers and appointees at the next launch. President . . . . . . . . Mark Koenig Secretary/Treasurer . . . Doug Forester Vice President . . . . . Ben Nead Member At Large . . . . . Curtis Farrell Appointees selected for 2002 NAR Senior Section Advisor . . Jerry King Range Operations . . . . . . . . Tony Gonzales
**WEBSITE Much of this information is already posted on our website. Those of you reading this on email can go there directly by clicking the URL below 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. Even if you don't own a computer, you can visit your local public library and log on for free. Your librarian can help you connect to the SARA website if you are unsure how to do it. Benjamin Nead, SARA Membership Director/Vice President ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 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. Motor use was: 1/2A-5, A-20, B-17, C-53, D-12, E-5, F-4, and G-7. 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 until 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.
Jerry King, NAR Senior Section Advisor ----------------------------------------------------------------------- **SARA 2002 LAUNCH CALENDAR / TIMPA FIELD LAUNCH SITE Here is the launch schedule for the remainder of the calendar year. We may have to reschedule one of our Fall 2002 launches so as not to conflict with a large R/C model airplane event already scheduled. Please check the SARA website for last minute updates on all launches. SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2002 ** LAUNCHSITE CLEAN UP 6AM-? ** SUNDAY, MAY 19, 2002 WAIVERED SATURDAY, JUNE 22, 2002 NOTIFICATION SUNDAY, JULY 21, 2002 NOTIFICATION SATURDAY, AUGUST 24, 2002 WAIVERED SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2002 NOTIFICATION SATURDAY, OCTOBER 19, 2002 NOTIFICATION SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2002 WAIVERED SATURDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2002 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. The Summer launch window of 8:00AM to 12:00PM is now in effect. This will be the standard launch window for our TIMPA events until the cooler weather returns this next Fall. We then switch back to an 9:00AM to 1:00PM launch widow. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ **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. We now have a collapsible sign posted on launch days at the intersection. Please park to the east of the launch range. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- **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 (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 . . . tgonzo64@msn.com . . . 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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