Special Notice for November Launch
Attention!!!
Due to the statewide Fire Ban in effect, there will be some changes to how tomorrow's launch will be conducted.
- NO multi-stage rockets. We do not want to risk and aberrant upper-stage being sent into the surrounding brush and bramble.
- NO SPARKIES! Usually, only I (Poobah) have been the one launching such motors but should anyone consider using a sparkie motor... DON'T!
- ARC teams will go through a more stringent RSO before being allowed to launch their rocket(s).
- Please have a RockSim or OpenRocket simulation report for your rocket for the motor to be flown.
- Construction will be assessed by RSO. Fins, rail-buttons, motor retention, recovery harness, etc.
- There's ABSOLUTELY no reason why rockets should separate for recovery save for intentional piecemeal recovery. This will also be assessed by RSO.
- NO "ODDBALL" ROCKETS!!! (eg. the Pumpkin rockets of the October launch) will be allowed to be launched.
- First-flight rockets will also need to be RSO assessed before flight!
- Any rocket which lands in the trees, brush or bramble surrounding the field will curtail further launching until the safety of that rocket has been ascertained.
Please understand that this is to help protect the club and the grounds during this Fire Ban. While the complex is a fairly well irrigated and mown grass field, there are trees, brush and bramble surrounding the field that are only naturally irrigated (ie. rain).
While I do not anticipate any real fire danger from our activities, it's best to err on the side of caution and be proactive in the prevention of any fire. We have fire extinguishers but, is you can, a jug of water — not for drinking — would also be good to have on hand.
Tomorrow's launch will commence earlier. Members and officers will be at the complex and begin setting up around 10:00 🕙. We will be ready to fly as soon as the equipment is setup on the field. As always, help is appreciated. Neil will be bringing the launch equipment to the field but, due to a recent medical proceudure, he is prohibited from lifting. Any setup help will be greatly appreciated.
Tomorrow's winds will be from the north and shifting to the east. Therefore, we will be setting up on the soccer field east of the building. That will give us the most grassy recovery possible with the wind conditions.
I will get there early to help set up, hopefully no later than 10:30 am, with my son and grandson following from their home in Fire Country a/k/a Livingston thereafter. A few important things:
- I will bring bagels and cream cheese. Not those crappy bagels from Stop and Shop. I will stop at Rockland Bakery on the way. For those of you who have never been there, that is the bakery that makes all the bagels for the best stores that do not make their own. I will go into the production facility and pick fresh bagels as they come out of the oven. If there are any particular kinds that you would like, please post here and I will do what I can, depending on the timing of their production run. How many bagels should I bring?
- I have a five gallon glass bottle - the kind that used to go onto a water cooler before they all converted to plastic. If I can find it (the basement?) I will bring it filled with water in case of fire.
- I will also bring a 75 year old (a wedding gift to my mother) Hudson Bay wool blanket that serves as our emergency fire squelcher. We have used it to put out fires at Metlife Stadium when other stupid people who did not know what they were doing have tried to fry turkeys in the parking lot. Needless to say, we knew what we were doing but brought it in case of emergencies.
- What is an RSO assessment? We will have a couple of rockets that were recently built from kits - simple ones with one stage, one B or C engine. They have not been launched before. What do we need to do?
RSO: "Range Safety Officer"
Many larger clubs have this as a permanent feature at their launches, although CENJARS is usually a little more casual about it. In this case, the RSO would mainly be looking to make sure the rocket is constructed properly. Fins well attached with appropriate glue. Engine retainer used where appropriate. Recovery method is reasonable (i.e. a 5 lb rocket on a streamer would typically not be reasonable). Motor size is big enough to lift the rocket, but not so big that it will be impossible to recover. And of course, a reasonable expectation that the rocket will fly stable. We wouldn't want a high likelihood of the rocket taking a left turn at liftoff and straying into the dry brush and causing a fire.
And not to bust on the ARC kids, but we have seen quite a few cases where they present a rocket that is poorly built due mainly to their inexperience. Sometimes all they need is a little help, which we're happy to give them so they can get flying. But occasionally we have to send them back to the drawing board. For this launch, we might be less willing to launch anything questionable.
This might seem like a lot, but usually a quick glance and maybe a question or two is all it takes. If you've built a rocket before and it has flown properly, OR you followed the directions that come with it, you should have very few issues.
While sometimes we have a little fun and launch unusual and questionable designs or objects that typically wouldn't fly well, this is not the month to do that.