On April 21, 2019, the USC Rocket Propulsion Lab, launched Traveler IV out of Spaceport America. Traveler IV reached an apogee of 339,800 ft with a confidence of 90% of having crossed the internationally-recognized border between Earth’s atmosphere and space known as the Kármán line.
2019-02 February Club Launch [Atlas Site]
February 2nd (Happy Groundhog’s Day!) at the ATLAS SITE. The current weather forecast, subject to change, predicts comfortable winter temps and favorable, light wind conditions for flying. Range and waiver are expected to be ready for operation starting at 9 AM and lasting until 3 PM or until we run out of motors, lose interest or the weather chases us away, whichever happens first. All flights for this launch must remain under the 12,000
2019 Equipment Cleanup
Thanks to everyone who turned out to help with the club’s equipment cleanup day!
Moonshot
Each flight that is recorded with an altitude will be counted towards the flyers “total distance flown” for each year.
MOONSHOT = SUM(ALTITUDE) FOR ALL FLIGHTS
Let’s Fly!
Let’s fly some rockets. Tripoli Colorado is GO for launch on Sunday, April 28th. You can stay informed by checking their website at http://www.tripolicolorado.org or Facebook Tripoli-Colorado (public group), or checking your e-mail.
And the District Ranger says NCR may proceed as planned for our Space Race Celebration, subject to the normal precautions. Spring may have finally arrived on the prairie. Please pay attention to the weather forecasts. We have a GO for launch Friday, May 3rd, Saturday, May 4th and Sunday May 5th from the North Site. Expect the range and waiver (20,000’ AGL) to be operational from 8 AM until 6 PM on Friday and Saturday and 8 AM until 3 PM on Sunday. ALL High Power fliers will be expected to provide proof of Certification and current membership in the NAR and/or TRA.
NCR is an Authorized Permitee of the Pawnee National Grassland. A morning orientation briefing for participants will be held and will include a discussion of safety and emergency procedures, fire conditions and instruction, applicable rules and regulations, and what is expected of participants with regards to the use of NFS lands under our special use permit.
Please note that all launch events will be conducted using nationally approved/accepted range safety practices. The launching of rockets on NFS land is normally prohibited under a Forest Service Region 2 fire regulation. The issuance of NCR’s permit allows launches to take place by exempting the Holder from that regulation for approved launch events only. All launches, other than those conducted by the Holder during approved launch events, are outside the scope of this permit and are prohibited by Forest Service regulations.
Hope to see you out on the range.
Flight Logs
At long last, the Flight Logs are back online.
The new system introduces several new features including visual reports for each year, and for each launch event.
The Bonfire calculation leverages thrustcurve.org to obtain motor weight information to augment the flight records
Additional reporting includes the Mile High Club, and all-time altitude records.
2019 Contest – Classic Alphabet
Entry Information
$10 Entry Fee
$10 Re-Entrance Flyers may re-enter the contest for an additional $10 if they are disqualified.
Make sure to declare your flight as an “Alphabet Contest” flight prior to launch.
There will be a contest registration sign-up sheet at the flight table.
Deposit your entry fees with the club’s Contest Director.
Contest Rules
Fly and successfully recover a model rocket, using each motor class in succession: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, …
You may use a different rocket for each flight, or the same rocket for multiple flights as you desire. Each flight must be declared prior to launch as a contest launch, and designated on your flight card.
Re-Entrance
Flyers who are disqualified, and buy-back-in, will start at the motor that they were disqualified at. For example, if your E flight failed, you would continue the contest at an E impulse motor.
Disqualification
If you have a failure resulting in damage that prevents a second flight without repair, or you are unable to recover the rocket, then your last successful flight will be recorded as your final flight for the contest.
Prizes
First Place: 60% of the collected entry fees.
Second Place: 30% of the collected entry fees.
Third Place: 10% of the collected entry fees.
Additional Considerations
Multiple Stages
Multiple stages may be used to accomplish multiple letters of the alphabet in a single flight. You must recover all stages successfully. Limit up to and including 3-stages.
Contestants must progress through the alphabet contest sequentially.
You cannot skip any letters of the alphabet, flights with multiple motors that are not sequential are allowed, but you can only achieve a single letter in the alphabet contest if your staged-motor configuration is not sequential.
Ignition sequence does not have to be alphabetical. You may fly a staged rocket that has a C as the booster, and a B as the sustainer (assuming you have successfully completed your A impulse flight).
Clusters
The total impulse of the cluster can be substituted for the impulse letter in the alphabet. For example, a cluster of 6 (six) E motors @ 40ns each would have a total impulse of 240ns, which is equivalent to an H motor.
| Impulse | Thrust Range (ns) | |
| 1/4 A | 0 to | 0.625 ns |
| 1/2 A | 0.625 to | 1.25 ns |
| A | 1.25 to | 2.5 ns |
| B | 2.5 to | 5 ns |
| C | 5 to | 10 ns |
| D | 10 to | 20 ns |
| E | 20 to | 40 ns |
| F | 40 to | 80 ns |
| G | 80 to | 160 ns |
| H | 160 to | 320 ns |
| I | 320 to | 640 ns |
| J | 640 to | 1,280 ns |
| K | 1,280 to | 2,560 ns |
| L | 2,560 to | 5,120 ns |
| M | 5,120 to | 10,240 ns |
| N | 10,240 to | 20,480 ns |
| O | 20,480 to | 40,960 ns |
| P | 40,960 to | 81,920 ns |
| Q | 81,920 to | 163,840 ns |
2019 Contest – $5 Dollar Mile
Entry Information
Entry Fee: $5 per flight (no limit on number of flights)
Make sure to declare your flight as “$5 Mile Contest” flight prior to launch.
There will be a contest registration sign-up sheet at the flight table.
Deposit your entry fees with the club’s Contest Director.
Objective
Build and fly a model rocket that will reach as close to 5,280 feet AGL without going over.
Rules
Build Constraints
The rocket must be stable and constructed with materials approved by NAR or Tripoli, you may also use a kit.
Tie Breakers
- Lowest motor impulse
- Least number of attempted flights
Prizes
3 kits will be available for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place along with a share of the entry fees collected.
Cash prizes for First, Second and Third place will be a % of the entry fees collected.
First Place: 60% of entry fees.
Second Place: 30% of entry fees.
Third Place: 10% of entry fees.
Recorded Flights
| Date | Flyer | Altitude (ft) | Motor |
Notes |
| May 1 | Scott Dukes | — | ||
| May 31 – MHM | Scott Dukes | 4,756 | H136 | |
| Jesse Frey | 5,428 | I229 | DQ | |
| Brian Houghton | 5,094 | I300 | ||
| Brian Houghton | 5,207 | I287 | ||
| George Barnes | 5,575 | I405 | DQ | |
| Bill Mott | 4,332 | |||
| Tim Thomas | 3,039 | |||
| June 1 – MHM | Jesse Frey | |||
| David Pinter | 5,561 | DQ | ||
| Tim Thomas | — | |||
| Jack Matthews | 5,935 | DQ | ||
| Brad Morse | — | DQ | ||
| David Pinter | — | |||
| Steve Jensen | 5,155 | |||
2019 Contest – Buy it, Build it, Fly it
Buy it, Build it, Fly it
$0 Entry – The prize is bragging rights.
Contest will be held during the club’s annual Mayhem (June) launch and Oktoberfest (October).
Rules
Buy, or bring a new rocket kit to build during Mile High Mayhem or Oktoberfest launches.
Contestants must construct a rocket and fly it successfully within the 3-days of the launch.
You must declare your flight as a contest flight prior to launch.
- Contest is open to any NCR club member.
- No build restrictions, you may bring additional parts to the launch.
- Flights must be witnessed by another club member.
- Record your flight success/failure on your flight card.