November Launch -- how many hours of daylight??
The November Launch will be on the 5th... That's the day we also set our clocks back an hour, so we will have LESS daylight, meaning that although we claim to be launching until 5pm, by 4:30 it might already be getting to twilight.... I need to remember that unless we are all super co-ordinated, we won't get in 10 rounds of launches, maybe 6 or 8 at best, which affects how many rockets I bring. So I have to chop down my list.
Anybody know exactly when sunset is scheduled for the 5th? How many hours of daylight do we get?
Well, that depends on how you look at it. On that day:
- Daylight is from 0629 to 1649. Good to go!
- Evening Civil twilight is from 1649 to 1717. I think we could certainly launch in that light.
- Evening Nautical twilight is from 1717 to 1749. It's getting dark, but you could stretch it for lower flights if you want.
- Evening Astronomical Twilight is from 1749 to 1821. That's fairly dark, so you don't want to still be searching the woods for errant rockets.
- "Night" starts at 1821. I'll be home taking a nap on my couch by then!
So I would still say that 1700 (5:00PM for you civilians) is a good cutoff time. I'm sure we'll be able to get your flights in. Remember also that as winter approaches, the crowds tend to reduce. It's all good!
I will not be using evening nautical twilight. None of my rockets are waterproof.
Actually, your bright green plastic snitch saucer is waterproof, flies low, and is easily seen, even in the dark. So you could fly that at Nautical twilight, just remember to don your personal flotation device. 😁
Sunset is 16:49 EST. The fact that the 5th if the first day of rolling the clocks back, we'll still have light at 17:00 (5pm). Eric's post is spot on.
It's also time to hold our club's yearly meeting. During the WuFlu, I held the meeting at the launch because of indoor comestible consumption phobia. In the past, the meeting had been held in a pizzeria about a mile east of the field. I'm not a pizza fan but I can hold it there if there's a consensus to do so. When Charlie was president, I'd tender my vote and head back to the field because it's not a great idea to advertise our launch time at 12:30 and not have somebody present at the field. If we want to meet and dine indoors, we should really meetup earlier (11:00ish).
Because we'd likely launch on Sunday until it's dark, it's probably not going to fly to hold the meeting AFTER the launch; especially, as some of the members travel a good distance to our launch. I feel that holding the meeting at the field also allow more members (those traveling from afar) to be included. I can get some sort of sandwich or pizzas if that suffices for meeting at the field. I can rack up my catering thermos to keep foods warm at the field.
Comments???
I agree that having the meeting on the field will yield more attendance and participation. I hate to interrupt the launch activities, but the crowd high points tend to be around 2-3PM I think. We could pause the launch for a few minutes while we do what we gotta do. Shouldn't take more than a few minutes I think (hope).
Pizza is fine, but sandwiches probably work better/easier on the field. Your ring thing sandwich was delicious, but so were the individuals that Charlie got that time (which also allows for more variety). When you get it sorted out, let me know what I can do to assist.
While it feels good to have some dedicated time to hold our meeting, having more people there is the better choice. I can probably get there a little earlier for setup. I don't think 11 am is going to bring that many people out any earlier. Let's stay with 12:30 but try to get setup done sooner.
Food? See food diet!
If you're fine with holding the mtg at field, I'm game. I'll look into some food options. Do you have attendance figures for the, say, past two launches? I'd use that to figure out how much food and drink.
I'd love to have a post launch meeting at Kane or similar. Indoors, less time constraints, more social and adult bevvies.
I don't take a hard count, but I'd say we see 30-40 individuals (kids and adults) each of the last launches. Some come and go at different times, so it's maybe 20 or 30 at any one point. Plus the TARC kids if they show.