Southern Arizona Rocketry Association

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Desert Heat

Desert Heat 2023!

We are happy to return Desert Heat to Southern Arizona on April 1 - 3, 2022. Registration is now open and we encourage you to register early. Through March 15, we are taking pre-orders for the 2023 Desert Heat T-shirt, so register early to ensure you can get one of the cool Desert Heat 2023 T-shirts! We need at least 40 T-shirt orders; if we don't reach the minimum order quantity, we will refund T-shirt pre-orders. The final artwork design is to the right.

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. 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. We'll have food available on site, and 2 model rocket vendors will deliver orders to the launch. 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.	Check in & Registration opens at the launch site
8:00 a.m.	Range opens to all registered flyers
Hourly	Birds of a Feather flights...bring your classic models to fly with others...V2, Red Max, etc!
Noon	Remote control plane demo and buddy boxing
4 p.m.	Night launch rocket workshop...prep your rocket to fly at night!
6:00 p.m.	Night launch begins!
9:00 p.m.	Launch concludes for the day

Sunday, April 3

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

Registration

Registration Type	Member Cost	Non-Member Cost
2 Day Registration	$30	$40
Spectator Registration	Free	Free
Camping (for the whole weekend)	$30	$30
Desert Heat T-shirt (varies, depending on size)	$30to $34.50	$30 to $34.50

Anticipated Pandemic Precautions

We ask that you stay home if you have symptoms of a respiratory infection or other illness.

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.

What to Expect

Deset Heat can support large projects up to M power!

Tent and RV camping is available for $30 per family.
NO FIRES are permitted this year, though gas cooking is OK.

Saturday night we'll fly after dark--rockets must be properly lighted.

SARA Video from Desert heat 2016

The Details

There are plenty more details about the launch under the Desert Heat menu in the upper right of the SARA website. Check out the event overview, directions for getting there, rocket and food vendor information, camping opportunities, and range procedures.