Southern Arizona Rocketry Association
Tucson, AZ
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----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOUTHERN ARIZONA ROCKETRY ASSOCIATION NEWS NOVEMBER 2001 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- **HELLO AND WELCOME The great Fall and Winter flying season weather has finally arrived. We had an unusual amount of wind this past month (see the October launch report below) but at least the temperatures have dropped. This upcoming launch will be another of our waivered high power events and we are reverting to 9:00AM to 1:00PM time slot. The big news about the November launch is that we will have a short break in the middle (at around 10:30AM) when we will stop the launching activities and give you a chance place nominations for our board of directors election. The election will take place at our general membership meeting on Saturday, December 8, 1:00PM, at The Woods Memorial Library, 3455 North 1st Avenue. Nominations will also be accepted at this meeting. Would you like to become more involved in SARA? This is your opportunity. See you there! 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 . . . 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. 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. If you want additional information on our upcoming meetings, feel free to talk to a board member at the next launch. Another item that is mentioned below in Jerry's launch report was the reconfiguring of our range so that we are facing west instead of south. We hope that this will have us spending less time looking into The Sun while launching. In addition to our activities during the October launch, we had a range cleanup day this past Saturday, November10th. We hope you'll like the improvements that we made. Yours truly was there along with Steve Lubliner, Mark Koenig, Tony Gonzales, and John Gentry. Thanks to all who participated. Benjamin Nead, SARA Membership Director --------------------------------------------------------------------------- **OCTOBER LAUNCH REPORT A launch with FAA notification was held by SARA at the TIMPA site on10/27/01. 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 activity was (number of fliers-number of flights): 1-4, 1-3, 5-2, and 4-1. Motor use was: 1/4 A-1, A-1, B-2, C-8, D-2, E-4, F-3, G-3, and H-2. 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. Jerry King --------------------------------------------------------------------------- **SARA 2001/2002 LAUNCH CALENDAR / TIMPA FIELD LAUNCH SITE SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18, 2001 WAIVERED (w/board nominations meeting) SATURDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2001 GENERAL MEMBERSHIP (1:00PM at Woods Library) SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 2001 NOTIFICATION SUNDAY, JANUARY 27, 2002 NOTIFICATION SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2002 WAIVERED SUNDAY, MARCH 24, 2002 NOTIFICATION SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 2002 NOTIFICATION SUNDAY, MAY 18, 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 November launch, as mentioned above, will run from 9:00am to 1:00PM. This will be the standard launch window for our TIMPA events until the hot weather returns this next Summer when we switch back to an 8:00AM to 12:00 Noon 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. 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 . . . 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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