Starting with the inaugural Desert Heat in 2005, SARA has traditionally hosted this 2 day model rocketry festival at the main TIMPA facility near the town of Picture Rocks. After a 5 year break, we're excited to bring it back in 2022! The event is open to the public, features flights on motors up to M power, a night launch and support for more low power and high power model rocket launches than our usual monthly launches. Ceiling for class 2 high power rocket flights will be 5,000 feet above ground level during the day, and 3,000 feet after dark. Food and model rocketry vendors are on site, and overnight tent and RV camping are available.

Schedule of Events

     Friday, April 1: Volunteer Appreciation Launch

1:00 p.m.	Set up the range
3:00 p.m.	Open range to volunteers who helped  keep SARA flying this year!
5:00 p.m.	Pot luck dinner for volunteers
6:00 p.m.	Night launch for volunteers who helped  keep SARA flying this year!
9 p.m.	Launch concludes for the day

     Saturday, April 2

8:00 a.m.	Registration opens at the launch site
8:00 a.m.	Range opens to all registered flyers
Noon	Remote control plane demo!
6:00 p.m.	Night launch begins!
9:00 p.m.	Launch concludes for the day

     Sunday, April 3

8:00 a.m.	Registration opens at the launch site
8:00 a.m.	Range opens to all flyers
Noon	Launch concludes. Please help with cleanup!

Registration 

Pre-registration runs through Sunday, March 27, 2022, which will save you $5 per day off regular registration fees. You can pre-register or register online to save time at the registration desk on the day of the launch.

Registration Type	Member Cost	Non-Member Cost
2 Day Pre-registration (through March 27)	$20	$30
Saturday Pre-registration (through March 27)	$15	$20
Sunday Pre-registration (through March 27)	$5	$10
2 Day Registration (after March 27)	$30	$40
Saturday Registration (after March 27)	$20	$25
Sunday Day Registration (after March 27)	$10	$15
Spectator Registration	Free	Free
Camping (for the whole weekend)	$25	$25
Desert Heat T-shirt (varies, depending on size)	$25 to $29.50	$25 to $29.50

Anticipated Pandemic Precautions

With recent changes in CDC guidance on pandemic precautions, and Pima County's recent change to medium COVID-19 risk, we anticipate no mask mandate at the launch, but we ask that all attendees wear a mask when in congested areas, such as the registration, safety inspection, flight prep, pad assignment, or launch pad areas. Precautions may change if conditions change.

Volunteers Make this Happen

Desert Heat only happens because of our volunteer support, so all fliers must work a 2 hour shift to keep the range running.  We have jobs for all experience levels, so let us know how you'd like to help during pre-registration, or check out our volunteer page for details.