Southern Arizona Rocketry Association
Tucson, AZ
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SOUTHERN ARIZONA ROCKETRY ASSOCIATION NEWS OCTOBER 2001
**HELLO AND WELCOME September 2001 was a month like no other. We witnessed a world tragedy on the 11th and these events impacted our launch later that month. While the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was allowing model rockets up to and including G impulse to be launched, our local FAA chapter requested that we not conduct our scheduled launch on Sunday, September 23rd. Our efforts to inform everyone of this were hampered by unrelated events that included one of our communications officers being called out of town on a family emergency and a computer virus that temporarily shut down our website. SARA news actually went out by email after the 23rd. Ironically, the few of you that get this news by regular mail were served first. Either way, the launch cancellation came too late for us to inform everyone in time. Our apologies for this. We have a busy Fall and Winter ahead of us and we hope to involve you as much as possible. Below you will find a launch schedule for the remainder of this year and for the calendar year of 2002. Our November 18th launch, in fact, will include a few moments where we will postpone launching rockets and conduct a short mid morning meeting at around 10:30AM. This meeting will be devoted to accepting nomination for our board of directors for next year. There is also a dedicated membership meeting noted below for December 8th, 1:00PM, at the Woods Library on 3455 North 1st Avenue. We hope to see you there as well. 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. Benjamin Nead, SARA Membership Director
**SEPTEMBER LAUNCH REPORT Due to our cancelled launch on Sunday, September 23rd, we have no launch report for this month.
**SARA 2001/2002 LAUNCH CALENDAR / TIMPA FIELD LAUNCH SITE SATURDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2001 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 October launch will be from 8:00AMto 12:00 Noon. We anticipate that we will change the times to our "Winter" 9:00AM to 1:00PM launch window for the November launch.
**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 . . . tgonzo@uswest.net .. . . 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 . . . riddell@prodigy.net .. . . or by phone at (480) 497-1960 or by fax at (703) 832-3237 |
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