October – December 2004

Editor’s Message…

Author: Ian MacDonald

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Welcome to the latest C.R.A.S.H. newsletter. In this issue we have a report on the fourteenth annual Colorado Model Rocketry Championships. We also have notes from our latest meeting. An issue of importance at the latest meeting was Tripoli Colorado suggesting a merge with C.R.A.S.H. It was decided that instead of merging, several C.R.A.S.H. members would join TC and help promote their club. Tripoli Colorado has an awesome launch site in Hartsel, CO and has been a past host of L.D.R.S. The next business meeting for Tripoli Colorado is Saturday January 29, 10:00 am at the Englewood Library.
Also, check out the Photos link for our November 20th launch. They look like something you might see on one of the Alberta rocket club sites! Speaking of photos, here’s one of club President Steve Clapp holding his upscale Scorpion two stage rocket. He then flew it with two D12’s on the first stage and an electric started D12 on the second stage.
Russ Anthony showed what a determined competitor he was along with his son Ryan by flying in the muddy rain soaked White Sands Regional Fall Contest in Alamogordo NM. Bruce Markielewski also endured the event which Russ writes about in this issue.
Bear Creek Lake Park has annual car passes for $40.00. If you are a regular at C.R.A.S.H. you can not only save money but drive right by the booth without stopping. Passes can be bought at the regular entrance station. Additional car passes for the same family are available at a reduced price. These passes are good only at Bear Creek which is a City of Lakewood park.
As always, C.R.A.S.H. members and other interested parties are welcome to submit articles for our newsletter. Perhaps you have an exciting project you would like to share with others. Maybe you went to a rocketry related event or attraction we might find interesting.
You may contact me at

[removed email]

President’s Report…

Author: Steve Clapp

A new year of rocketry is upon us. We survived another year of faulty copperheads, splash landings and lawn darts. Thanks for everyone’s participation and support and for keeping our club going. Let’s look forward to another great year of flying rockets. For all of those that haven’t been out in a while, we would love to see you again.
In all the excitement of flying, some of us have forgotten to pay our membership dues. Our dues go to fund rocketry fees and equipment maintenance. Please check your current status on the website at

http://www.crashonline.org/crash-cgi-bin/mbrshp [fix link]

If you don’t know your user ID or password, enter your e-mail addresss and press submit. If you feel we have your information posted incorrectly, please let us know. We try to keep the annual dues low by keeping our memberships current.
We are in the process of compiling a list of hobby stores that we will ask to carry flyers about C.R.A.S.H. If there are any stores that you think would be willing to carry our flyers, please send an e-mail to CRASH-Talk. Once we have the list of interested stores, we will need volunteers to make sure the stores have enough flyers to distribute.
As some of you may have noticed, our equipment is in desperate need of attention. We have tentatively planned a maintenance party for Sunday, January 16th at James Russell’s house. We will plan on doing a bar-b-que for lunch and we might even talk about rockets. More details to follow on CRASH-Talk.

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Middle Photo: Jeff Morgan and sons Kyle and Kevin holding their scratch built three stage rocket with B6/B6/A8 power.

CMRC XIV Results…

Author: Bruce Markielewski

The fourteenth annual Colorado Model Rocketry Championships was held on October 16th – 17th, 2004. We had eleven competitors participating, including five first time entrants in a C.R.A.S.H. contest – Ron and Grant Dreasher, Max Dalberth, Nathan Gardner, and Chris LaPanse. The weather on Saturday was predicted to be windy, but instead it was very calm all day – a great day for a contest! Sunday, however, was a different story as the wind finally arrived and remained gusty all day.
Six events were flown this time, and all had their own unique challenges. Just to shake things up a bit, we chose Streamer Spot Landing instead of the usual Open version of the event, and all but two entrants participated. In the combined “A” and “B” Division, Grant Dreasher edged Chris LaPanse for first place by six meters.

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In “C” Division, Bruce Markielewski had a fine 4 meter score to easily take first place. Russ Anthony was second with 11 meters, followed by Steve Clapp at 15 and Ron Dreasher at 22 meters. Since we hadn’t flown this version of the event before in a C.R.A.S.H. contest, Grant, Chris, and Bruce all set club records in their respective divisions.
“1/2A” Boost Glider had six competitors, and with Grant as the only “A” Division entrant, he performed well against the five “C” Division entrants. Steve Clapp held off the rest of the group with a 100 second total time to take first. Jim Hinton was a close second at 85, and Ron Dreasher’s 77 second total just barely beat Russ for third place. Grant placed fifth, but beat an old “A” Division club record. Surprisingly, no flights were disqualified in this event.

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“C” Eggloft Duration saw a similar field, this time with “A” Divisioner Nathan Gardner competing against five “C” Division competitors. Steve had a fantastic time of 222 seconds to take first easily and set a club record. Ron was a distant second place, with a best time of 52 seconds, followed by Russ at 34 seconds and Nathan at 26. Bruce had a tough time in the event, having left his parachutes at home Saturday when it was calm. His first flight was lost over the dam after a two minute flight, and a second qualifying attempt had a rough landing on the side of the dam resulting in a broken egg.
“E” Streamer Duration was a tough event, as the first four competitors all had disqualified flights on their first attempt. Only Ron had a successful first flight, but his two flight total was good enough for only third place. Steve and Bruce battled for first, with Bruce’s 248 second time besting Steve by 27 seconds and setting a club record. Russ has a qualified flight for fourth. No “A” or “B” Division competitors attempted this event.
“A” Flexi-wing Duration had only four entrants, all in “C” Division. Steve had two nice flights for a 659 second total, first place, and a club record. Bruce’s 401 second total was enough for second place, and Russ took third with 236 seconds. Ian MacDonald lost his model on the first flight, and didn’t fly a second one, so he earned flight points only for the event.
“1/4A” Super-roc Duration was more difficult, as half of the flights were disqualified. In “C” Division, Bruce made the most of his single flight, scoring 12850 points on a time of 257 seconds in some of the rare thermals occurring during the contest. His flight was a club record and also beat an old NAR national record. Steve was a distant second with 700 points, and Ian was third at 250 points. In “A” Division, Max beat Grant 513 points to 224 for first place and a club record.

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Overall, Grant Dreasher was the winner in the “A/B” Division, and was the only one in the division flying more than one event. Max Dalberth only flew “1/4A” Super-roc, but was only 15 points behind the winner. Nathan Gardner was third with his successful “C” Eggloft flight, and Chris LaPanse was fourth overall.
In “C” Division, Steve Clapp dominated the division, winning the three highest scoring events with a total of 2028 points. Bruce was a distant second place at 1245 points. Ron captured third over Russ by only 6 points, with a 660 point score.

http://www.crashonline.org/crash-cgi-bin/contst?cmrc-14 [fix link]
Complete results

can be found on the C.R.A.S.H. web site in the

http://www.crashonline.org/competition.html [fix link]
Competition pages

While the turnout was small this time, the contest was very challenging, and a learning experience for everyone. Even so, a total of nine club records and one national record were set during the two day contest. Already, plans are being made for the next great C.R.A.S.H. contest next March!

C.R.A.S.H. Business Meeting…

December 4, 2004

Author: Dave Hanson

Meeting attendees were: Steve Clapp, Scott Hommas, Bob Ellis, James Russell, Dave Tjarks, Russ Anthony, Bruce Markielewski, Martin Visnak, Joe Lattrel, J. D. LaVasseur, Brian Bell, Jeff Mosal, Ian MacDonald, Cliff Hoenstein, Chuck Luciano, and Dave Hanson.
The meeting began with a presentation from Joe Latrell of Beyond Earth. Joe explained the nature of his business and the company’s future plans. Joe can be contacted at

[email removed]

The company’s website is

http://www.beyond-earth.com

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JD LaVasseur and Brian Bell from Tripoli-Colorado explained that Tripoli-Colorado doesn’t have the membership numbers to maintain the club, and proposed that it merge with C.R.A.S.H. Martin Visnak expressed concerns about Tripoli-Colorado becoming a financial burden on C.R.A.S.H. Steve Clapp proposed to keep the clubs separate, and work on increasing membership numbers for Tripoli-Colorado. The consensus was that there are enough C.R.A.S.H. members willing to join Tripoli-Colorado immediately at the current dues level to help maintain Tripoli-Colorado. Todd Williams moved to merge clubs. Chuck Luciano moved to keep them separate for a year. Bob Ellis made a motion to provide members for a one year trial. Motion seconded by everybody. Motion passed.
Steve Clapp made a motion to make newsletter editor an officer. Motion seconded and passed.
Officer elections for the year 2005 were conducted. None of the current position holders were opposed. The officers were elected as before, with the addition of newsletter editor. The current officers are:

Steve Clapp: President
James Russell: Vice-President
Bruce Markielewski: Treasurer
Dave Hanson: Secretary
Ian MacDonald: Newsletter Editor

Jeff Mosal volunteered to distribute flyers for both C.R.A.S.H. and Tripoli-Colorado. The club needs to get a list of hobby shops to Jeff; this will be discussed on crash-talk.
James Russell suggested that the club should contact old members to encourage re-joining.

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The club website needs to updated with membership information. It was suggested that a membership form be added, and facilitate membership payment through PayPal.
James Russell volunteered to host the maintenance party at his house. The date was tentatively set for January 16th, but this will be discussed on the crash-talk mailing list.
Bruce Markielewski presented the awards from the CMRC XIV contest, which was held in October.
Several combinations of events were discussed for the C.R.A.S.H. spring contest CARCIS XIII, scheduled for March 19 & 20, 2005. The events agreed upon were:

“1/8A” Altitude
“1/8A” Super-roc Altitude
“C” Streamer Multi-round
“B” Helicopter Duration
“B” Boost Glider
Parachute Spot Landing

Todd Williams provided an update on recent outreach events conducted by the club. The meeting concluded with the annual Christmas gift exchange.

White Sands Fall Regional Contest…

November 13th-14th, 2004

Author: Russ Anthony – NAR 81741, L1

Once again, I decided to make the 600-mile drive down to Alamogordo, NM for a regional contest. This is the first time I have competed there in November, and the conditions were decidedly different than last June’s regional event. C.R.A.S.H. treasurer Bruce Markielewski made the drive as well, departing from Denver around noon on Friday. He was able to take a vacation day, while I just skipped out from work and left around 2:00PM in the afternoon. Like the last trip, Ryan, my seven year old, wanted to compete. We left right from his school in what ended up being an exhausting eleven-hour trip in some really bad driving conditions. The three of us made up the total number of entrants from Colorado.
The weather forecast for the weekend was for intermittent rain, snow, wind and high temperatures in the forty’s. Not exactly inspiring rocketry weather. True to form, we drove into freezing rain and dense fog from Las Vegas, NM to Alamogordo. At times, I was over-driving my headlights at 45 miles per hour. I was really tired but happy when we finally pulled into the Holiday Inn Express at about 1:15 AM. Wondering if the drive was pointless, we fell asleep at once.
The 7:00AM wake up call seemed really early, and a glance outside confirmed my worst fear. Deep puddles in the parking lot were being inundated with yet more raindrops, and the low cloud base echoed my spirits. The warm, continental breakfast helped, though, and we left the hotel around 7:45. A quick stop at Wal-Mart for some warm boots for Ryan, some gloves for me, and we were off to the launch site, wondering if my Toyota Camry was going to make it without getting stuck on the mile long dirt road turned mud.

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Jim Basler, the contest director, flagged me down as we passed the RC airplane field. He explained that the road leading to the rocket launch site was impassible, but he had got permission to use the airfield instead. Several other fliers, including Bruce, arrived by 9:00AM or so. The rain had let up to a drizzle, and the clouds were lifting somewhat. Despite the 40-degree drizzle coming down, we reluctantly started filling out contest sheets in hopes the weather would improve. By the time this was done, it did seem to be getting better. The drizzle had quit, and the temperature was up above 40 degrees. We quickly determined that there were close to enough competitors to start flying. Interestingly, only low power NAR competitors were willing to brave the cold. This event was billed as a high power sport launch and a NAR regional contest, but there were only two high power flights all weekend, so there really was never any competition for pads or equipment.
Bruce and I flew our spot landing entries as soon as the pads were set up, measuring 31 and 15 feet, respectively. Mine was the closest distance of the day, with Bruce coming in 3rd, behind Denzil Burnam. Six C division fliers competed in total for the event. In the A-B division, Ryan took 4th, although 12 fliers competed. Most were not signed up for NAR, so Ryan moved up to 2nd, by the final tally.
The ceiling continued to lift through the noon hour, and we decided it was safe enough to try the big event of the day: E Duel Eggloft Duration. This is a deceptively difficult event and exponentially harder than single egg duration. Ryan tried flying his modified Eliminator, nicknamed the “eggliminator”. It lived up to its nickname, separating the capsule from the body tube. His second flight fared no better, with the transition pulling from the screw eye, despite epoxy. A novice 13 year old named Evan Jaramillo flew a very nice 2-minute flight for the only qualified flight in A or B division. Bruce flew twice, but suffered from semi-deployed parachutes on both flights. My ripstop-nylon 36-inch chute did its job for a nice 3-minute, 21-second flight. Nobody eclipsed the time, so I didn’t need another flight. Bruce again took 3rd place, behind Tony Jaramillo. Jim Basler, normally a noteworthy competitor, had a beautiful 5-minute 1st flight, only to open the capsule and find a cracked egg. Those E-18 reloads have some G forces on liftoff! His second flight separated, relegating his entries to the DQ category.
For ½ A Parachute Duration, I flew a 24″ Mylar chute and obtained a solid 2 minute 21 second 1st flight, good enough for 1st place. Jim took second with two flights totaling just over one minute. Bruce, like Jim, suffered some half-deploying, sticky, chutes and placed third. Ryan was forced into the C division, and placed 4th using a ½ A6-2 in a 18mm rocket originally designed for B and C streamer duration.
C Boost Glider Duration was a real fun event to watch. In a reversal of circumstances, Bruce only had to fly one flight and posted 2 minutes 43 seconds. His flight made a beautiful full loop, part of which was under power. Despite an altitude of only a couple hundred feet, it was incredibly well trimmed. While my own glider had a much better boost, it wasn’t trimmed nearly as well, with numerous stalls and managed to post 2 minutes 8 seconds. For my 2nd flight, I chose to use my better trimmed and lighter backup model to try and improve on the time. I knew there was a chance of a failure, since its wings and tail were made of thinner balsa, but I already had a good, qualified time so I threw caution to the wind. Sure enough, we watched as the wing came undone right at the top of the boost, and the two pieces gently tumbled to the ground. One line of wood glue and she was good as new. Ryan’s glider, a foam contraption called a “Swinger” suffered a far worse fate. The glider took off and almost immediately flew horizontal, impacting across the parking lot just before the ejection charge was due to swing the wings out. After recovering most of the small bits that were left, I examined the wings. The C motor had completely burned through the upper wing, and most of the way through the lower wing. It wouldn’t have glided with such damage anyway, dooming Ryan to disqualification for the event. That was the end of the only attempt by A or B division fliers. Jim Basler managed an 18 second flight for third place in C division.
Most of the flying for the duration events was complete by about 4:00PM or so and we determined that the altitude events would have to wait until Sunday morning, despite the bleak forecast for more rain or snow. We all packed up, heading back to the hotels for hot showers, as much to warm up as taking off layers of mud. All of us met at a Chinese buffet dinner restaurant that night. There were close to 20 of us, and we truly did have “all you could eat.”
Sunday morning was almost a repeat of Saturday, only a little colder yet. Rain came down until around 9:30AM when the clouds began to lift. Only five competitors decided to fly, due to the dismal conditions. The temperatures eventually climbed into the low 50’s with a hint of blue peeking through by early afternoon. Two altitude events were on the slate. Set Altitude, with a 300-meter target and A Superroc Altitude. Bruce won both events, nearly setting a national record for A Superroc, and only missing the target altitude by about six feet for Set Altitude. I came in second in both events. Jim came in 3rd in Set Altitude with Ryan in 4th, while Ryan had a non-closed track and Jim suffered a DQ in Superroc. The flight closure calculations had to wait for a day, since none of us had thought to bring a laptop or scientific calculator!
For the overall standings, In A Division, Evan Jaramillo came in 1st, due to his 1st place in the E Eggloft event. Ryan came in 2nd, but less than 300 points, due to the DQ’s in the two biggest events, and being forced to compete against me and our resident C division National Champion, Bruce! Hopefully, there will be more A divisioners next time. In C division, I took 1st place with 1896 points, and Bruce second with 1716 points. Tony Jaramillo was 3rd with 498, and Jim took 4th with 462. Three others rounded out the competitors.
Bruce, Ryan and I started the long drive back by about 3:30PM after some lunch. The drive back was much better than the trip down, with no snow or fog. We arrived in our driveway by 12:30AM, making for a really short weekend!
Looking back, I really enjoyed the trip and competition. The weather really impacted everyone, but perseverance paid off. We could have easily canned the whole contest, and probably would have except for the 600-mile drive. I really flew well, and feel fortunate to say that I beat a national champion in a regional event! Bruce didn’t have his best flights that weekend, but still racked up a good number of points. Jim and Ryan both suffered multiple DQ’s and didn’t get many points, but it all made for a good learning experience. Several other competitors look to be getting serious about building contest rockets, so next time should provide better competition. If anyone is interested in driving down there, Jim will be hosting two more regional contests next year in February and on Fathers Day weekend in June. The events are already set for both of these regionals, so contact Bruce or me for more information.

C.R.A.S.H. Landings is published by:

Colorado Rocketry Association of Space Hobbyists (NAR section #482)

No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited material. All submissions become the property of C.R.A.S.H. Landings. Submissions should be delivered in electronic format by e-mail or diskette. For other formats, please contact the editor:

Ian MacDonald – [removed email]

July – September 2004

Editor’s Message …

Author: Ian MacDonald

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This is a short newsletter to follow up the special edition on NARAM 46. We held our annual C.R.A.S.H. picnic on Saturday September the 11th and it was a wonderful success. The highlight of the picnic was Bruce Markielewski guiding a workshop on building flexi-wing gliders. This was a timely workshop in light of the 14th Annual Colorado Model Rocketry Championships Regional Contest which C.R.A.S.H. is hosting October 16 and 17th. See the Announcements link of our website for more information. Russ has contributed a great article as a guide to new competitors. Also note you can download a plan for building a flexi-wing like the one we built at the picnic.
As always, C.R.A.S.H. members and other interested parties are welcome to submit articles for our newsletter. Perhaps you have an exciting project you would like to share with others. Maybe you went to a rocketry related event or attraction we might find interesting.
You may contact me at

[removed email]

Please note this email address will change soon, I will update it when it does.

Colorado Model Rocketry Championships XIV…

October 16th and 17th, 2004 (10:00 AM – 5:30 PM both days)

A Guide for New Competitors

Author: Russ Anthony

Welcome to competition flying! If any of you read my last guide, written for the CARCIS XII contest last spring, you will recognize many sections. Feel free to skip to the individual events, since most other sections are repeated. This guide will help you in understanding how contests are run and specific tips for this competition. Some of the terms in this guide may not be familiar to you, so feel free to ask someone after reading it if you still have questions. The CMRC XIV Regional is a National Association of Rocketry (NAR) sanctioned competition. You may still enter if you are not a NAR member, but you will not receive NAR points. If you have just joined the NAR and have not yet received your membership number, you may enter the competition as a “pending” member.
You do not have to enter all of the events! If you have a small rocket lying around, it will likely be fine for the spot landing event. I encourage you to enter as many events as you can, but even flying in a single event will award NAR contest points to you, and help our C.R.A.S.H. section 482 with the overall section points total. It will also help you build better rockets. Prepare for the meet the same way Olympic athletes prepare for the decathalon: don’t go in with the intention of trying to win every event. Focus on those events that you are best at and/or in which you have a reasonable chance of being a contender; for the other events just try to get a qualified flight so that you can get flight points and learn more. You can be any age, we especially need youngsters to compete because they are the future of this hobby!
Upon entering the competition, be sure to fill out a contest entry blank. Be sure to fill the form out completely, including parent/guardian’s signature on the back for contestants under 18 years old. Likewise, fill out flight slips completely, including the event you are flying and what motor you are using. All of these forms will be submitted to the NAR along with the contest results.

Age Divisions:
A: 7 to 13 yrs. old
B: 14 to 18 yrs. old
C: 19 yrs. old and up
T: Registered NAR teams

Launch Policies and Procedures –
The official rule book for NAR Competition is the United States Model Rocket Sporting Code, or “Pink Book”. At first glance this booklet full of rules may look intimidating to a beginner, but that’s just because there are a lot of different competition events described within the booklet. For the most part, the rules are intended to make the contest fair for everyone, and are fairly easy to follow.
* When you are ready to launch a rocket for competition, go to the Pre-/Post-Flight Check Station and fill out a competition flight sheet. These will be different from the flight sheets used for sport flights. Once you have filled out the form, the Pre-Flight Check officer must examine your rocket to make sure you are using the appropriate motor for the event and that your rocket is reasonably safe to launch. Once your rocket has been approved for launch, the flight sheet will remain with the contest officials
* All rockets flown in competition should have the contestants’ NAR number printed somewhere on the outside of the rocket. If you have yet to join, you still should have your name and phone number on the rocket so someone can return it to you in case of loss. Many a rocket has been returned months later after weathering the elements in a meadow.
* Only motors certified by the NAR for contest use may be flown. – In the interest of fairness, only motors that are manufactured in large enough quantities to be reasonably available to all contestants are approved for use in NAR competitions. Be sure to check the current Certified Motor List (available at the pre-flight check table or ask a contest official) before preparing your rocket for flight to see whether the motor you wish to use is permitted. In general, most Estes and Quest motors are certified at this time, but if you have an older supply more than a few years old, double check. Many Apogee motors are NOT currently certified. The NAR website should also have a listing of contest certified motors.
* “Return” Rule: – Most duration events require the contestant to present their rocket to the Pre-/Post-Flight Check officer after the flight to show that the rocket has been successfully recovered. If you do not present your rocket to the officials after the flight, your score will not be counted for the event, but the flight will still be considered an official flight. Yes, this is an inconvenient rule, but hey, we didn’t make the rules, we just follow them.
* Pitch in and help. – It takes many people to make a competition run smoothly, from Pre-/Post-Flight Check to Trackers and Timers. Since these people are usually also contestants, give them a chance to get their flights in by volunteering to fill one of these jobs for a few minutes. Timing rockets is really quite easy and fun to do. Trackers will not be used for official contest events for CMRC XIV, but may be needed for record attempts.

Scoring –
Contest beginners do not need to know the details of how points are awarded to enter events, so don’t worry if you don’t understand them fully. Just fly and have fun! The contest director and regular competitors will handle the points and official scoring. If you want to understand the details, read on. In some events, the winner is determined by a contestant’s single best flight. In many duration events, the winner is determined by adding the times of each contestant’s two permitted flights. In super-roc competition, the score is determined by multiplying the length of the rocket by the altitude or duration achieved. See the individual event descriptions, below, for more information.
For each event, placement points are awarded in the following manner:

1st Place: 10 pts.
2nd Place: 6 pts.
3rd Place: 4 pts.
4th Place: 2 pts.
Qualified flight: 1 pt.

Weighting Factors and Contest Factors-
Again, don’t worry about the weighting and contest factors if this is your first time competing. Each event has a weighting factor that indicates the relative difficulty of the event. For example, Spot Landing doesn’t require building any special type of rocket, so it has a contest factor of 4; Boost Gliders, Rocket Gliders, and Helicopters are fairly complicated and take more work to get them to fly properly, so they have weighting factors ranging from 18 to 28.
Each competition has a contest factor that illustrates the relative size of the event. Section and Local Meets have contest factors of 1, Open Meets have a contest factor of 2, and Regional Meets have a contest factor of 3. The annual National Meet, NARAM, normally has a contest factor of 8. CMRC XIV is classified as a regional meet, so it has a contest factor of 3.
Points for an event are determined by multiplying the placement points by the weighting factor and contest factor. For example, if you place second in Spot Landing in an Open Meet, your score is 6 x 4 x 2 = 48 points. The overall winner of a meet is determined by adding each contestant’s points for each event. Winners are designated for each division so youngsters don’t have to compete against our experienced old timers!

Cumulative Points and Contest Year –
A contest year runs from July 1 to June 30 of the following year, and includes the NARAM immediately following. The most number of meets an NAR member enter during the year is determined by adding the contest factors of those events; no NAR member may exceed a sum of 12 (NARAM does not count against this total).
All points earned by each NAR member during the contest year are added together to determine the national champion for the contest year. The NAR web site has a listing of the current points standings for the year which is updated every few weeks.

United States Model Rocket Performance Records –
The NAR keeps a record of the highest scores ever achieved in each event in each age division during sanctioned competition. These scores are the official U.S. national records for these events. Our club, C.R.A.S.H., (section 482), now has over 70 national records and is adding more all of the time. The NAR web site has a listing of the current records if you need a list. It is important to remember that you may try for national records that are NOT sanctioned events of the contest. That means you may try for a parachute duration national record even though the CMRC XIV contest does not list that as a contest event. Also, remember that records are recorded by age division, so if you are 8 years old, you are trying to set a national record for kids 7 – 13 years old, not adults!

Helpful Tips –
Experience plays a significant role in how well one does in competition; however, there are a few simple things that even beginners can do that will greatly improve their performance.

Build simple, build solid –
The key to doing well in competition is to keep your rockets simple and lightweight (the “Three fins and a nose cone” rule, or 3FNC). Experienced competitors sometimes get really experimental in their design and construction techniques in a gamble to get a little more performance out of their rockets (a gamble that can pay off handsomely IF everything works right), but as a general rule of thumb, the more complex the design, the more things that can go wrong. Since points are awarded simply for achieving a successful (“qualified”) flight, and no points are awarded for a flight that is disqualified because the rocket didn’t work right, you can earn a decent number of points, and sometimes even win an event, by being conservative in your designs.
The biggest sources of heartache in competition rocketry, even for those building simple designs, are recovery system failures and rockets lost to sight during recovery. During construction, use durable materials (such as Kevlar) for shock cords, make sure the shock cords are good and long, and make sure they are solidly attached AT BOTH ENDS. Don’t try to stuff a larger parachute or streamer into your rocket than will easily slide out at ejection, and use plenty of wadding. Improve your rocket’s visibility by using tracking powder (a colored powder, usually tempera paint or line chalk, that is poured into the body tube after the recovery system has been loaded, and which makes a colorful cloud at ejection), color your rocket with a mix of dark and florescent colors, and use florescent or reflective (such as mylar) materials for your parachute or streamer.

Streamer Spot Landing (WF 4) –
Just about everyone should be familiar with this event: try to get your rocket to land as close to a marked target as possible. To add just a bit of difficulty, you must use a streamer as the sole means of recovery. The size is up to you, however, the length of the streamer must be at least five times the width. The recovery system must fully deploy in order for the flight to count, the rocket must come down as one piece. Measurements are made from the target to the tip of the nose cone.
In NAR competition, only one flight is permitted for this event, with no practice flights allowed. Helpful hint: watch what other rockets (both sport and contest) are doing, especially those similar to the one you plan to fly, to get an idea of what motor size to use and what direction to aim the launch rod.

1/2A Boost Glider Duration (WF 17) –

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The purpose of this event is to achieve the longest flight duration using a 1/2A-powered boost glider whose sole means of recovery is via a fixed wing gliding flight. The wings of the glider must be rigid; in other words, the wings cannot be folded up during boost and then unfold for recovery. The entry may separate into multiple pieces and only the gliding portion of the rocket is timed. Often, you will see the piece that does not glide referred to as a “pod”, and it usually returns via parachute or streamer. This event is distinguished from Rocket-glider by allowing the model to separate into separate parts, whereas a rocket-glider must remain in one piece.
Two flights are permitted, and the winner is determined by adding the times of the flights. The return rule applies to this event, so it is important to get the glider back. One hint that may help is to slightly weight one wing of the glider with clay so that it always glides in a slight circle.

A Flexi-wing Boost Glider Duration (WF 18) –
The purpose of this event is to launch an A-powered flexible winged glider that recovers with the longest flight duration. The glider portion must use gliding surfaces made of flexible materials, such as mylar, or nylon. This event has the highest number of points in the contest, but a flexi winged glider is notoriously easy to build. The problem is trimming them to glide well. The glider itself is usually carried inside a body tube housing both the motor and flight fins.
Two flights are permitted, and the winner is determined by adding the times of the flights. The return rule applies to this event, sometimes difficult to achieve with these light gliders

http://www.crashonline.org/nwsltr/vol13no05/images/Flexi.pdf
(Download a Flexi-wing plan Here).

C Eggloft Duration (WF 16) –

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The purpose of this event is to fly an exceedingly fragile payload for as long a time as possible and recover the payload without damage. The payload must be a USDA Large hens egg with mass no less than 57 grams and no more than 63 grams, and measure no more than 45 mm in diameter. Don’t worry about bringing eggs for this event, as that is part of the entry fee, and the contest director will bring and hand them out. Each egg will be numbered, and must be removed in view of a contest official after the flight in order for the flight to count. If the official cannot examine the egg, then the flight is disqualified. Of course, if the egg breaks or has any visible signs of cracking, the flight is DQ’d as well. Contest beginners may want to put their eggs inside a sandwich bag before packing it inside that gorgeous rocket. Unless you happened to paint it yellow and white, that is!
Two flights are permitted for this event, but only the single longest time is used for scoring.

1/4A Super-roc Duration (WF 13) –
The purpose of this event is to launch a longer-than-normal rocket on an 1/4A motor for the longest flight possible without the body tube folding or crimping during flight. The score for this event is determined by multiplying the length of the rocket (in centimeters) by the duration of the flight (in seconds). Entries must be at least 25 cm long, and the maximum length that can be used for calculating the score is 50 cm. A contest official is required to measure your rocket before flying so the length can be recorded. The hardest part of this event is getting a big enough parachute into that narrow body tube to get a respectable time. Parachute folding skills are very important in this event, so practice often. Another trick used by experts is to add a bit of baby powder to the chute and tube to help the parachute slide out easily during ejection.
Two flights are permitted for this event and the winner is determined by adding the times of the flights.

E Streamer Duration (WF 12) –
This is a rather deceptively difficult event for competitors. After all, who can’t find some old big rocket and add an E9-6? Well, it’s just not that simple. The purpose of this event is to launch a rocket using a streamer for recovery for the longest duration. A rocket this size can be very hard to keep together. Even 120 LB kevlar shock cords tend to rip under the stress of E powered ejection charges. Light streamers made of mylar tend to rip easy, but Nylon tends to be heavy and take up too much space in the body tubes. Tough choices abound in this event, including engine choices. Will you use the reliable but under powered single-use Estes E9 or the more powerful Aerotech E18 with its expensive reload case and half-hour build times?
Two flights are permitted, and the winner is determined by adding the times of the flights. The return rule applies to this event, so color that rocket brightly. Balsa doesn’t show up very well, even on cloudy days. Paint does add a touch of weight, but greatly increases your chances of finding the rocket, particularly if it separates from the streamer, for any reason.

That’s all the events for the CMRC XIV. Everyone builds and flies a bit differently, so keep your eyes open. The best way for a beginner to learn and become competent in competition rocketry is to watch, listen, and ask questions. Most participants in competition rocketry will be more than willing to share their ideas and techniques with you. You will never find a more helpful bunch of competitors in one place. C.R.A.S.H. has many people with tons of competing experience, including the defending National and NARAM Champion. Someday, we hope to bring home a Section National Championship as well, but we need more people in C.R.A.S.H. competing in NAR competitions for that to happen. If you enter and manage to pull out a victory in any event, you can be proud to have defeated many of the best rocket modelers in the country! Good luck!

The Flight of Thistle III

Author: Ian MacDonald

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The weather was partly cloudy and a comfortable temperature the day I flew Thistle III and an Apogee F10. Although the F10 is not a high thrust motor it has almost an eight second burn. Everyone present knew the lightweight Thistle was going for a high flight. Jim Lambert was nice enough to give me an igniter so we wouldn’t have the uncertainty of the Copperhead.
The three of us who had cameras “ready” for the launch were taken by surprise with how quickly the rocket took off. Everyone was saying with the slow burn engine how we’d have lots of reaction time for pictures. 20 Newtons of initial thrust pushing a 4.3 oz rocket sent it up in a hurry.
Thistle III took off fairly straight, and if it had been an under 2 second burn I would have called it a straight flight. The reality of the long burn combined with the long delay however is that a little bit of arc turns into a much more arc by the time it deploys. Unfortunately it was arcing towards the lake. People watching guessed the rocket went up to 3 or 4 thousand feet. I was able to follow the smoke on the way up, but I never did see it deploy or pick it up on the way down. Fortunately Bill Tigar was able to follow it with his binoculars and went with me for the recovery.
As feared, it landed in the lake. We stood there awhile passing Bill’s binoculars back and forth looking at a log in the lake, which we thought might be the rocket. A canoe passed near the log so I waved to him, hoping he would recover it. As the canoe got closer we could see the streamer from the rocket on board. The paddler had already recovered it and was nice enough to bring the rocket to shore.

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Thistle III survived its dunk in the lake. It did take some effort to get the motor out. I finally had to drill a hole through the motor, which I then looped some wire through. The other end of the wire was attached to some storage shelves. Being careful of the tube fins I pulled. It finally let go sending me backwards against my wife’s car.
Pictured is Thistle III after the flight showing the redundant streamers and shock cords. I will fly it again on a 29mm motor to see what happens. I will wait for an ideal day, and aim it a bit away from the lake.

C.R.A.S.H. Landings is published by:

Colorado Rocketry Association of Space Hobbyists (NAR section #482)

No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited material. All submissions become the property of C.R.A.S.H. Landings. Submissions should be delivered in electronic format by e-mail or diskette. For other formats, please contact the editor:

Ian MacDonald – [removed email]

May – June 2004

Editor’s Message …

Author: Ian MacDonald

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This is the third issue of our revived newsletter. This month we get to find out how the Evergreen TARC team did on their trip to the finals. Bruce has a report on UROC’s Pioneer ’04 contest while Russ is contributing an article on Thunder in the Desert. I chronicled building a tube rocket which I will launch and report on in the next newsletter. Special thanks again to Bruce for all his help, especially with the computer programming side of publishing this newsletter.
C.R.A.S.H. members and other interested parties are welcome to submit articles for our newsletter. Perhaps you have an exciting project you would like to share with others. Maybe you went to a rocketry related event or attraction we might find interesting. You may contact me at

[email removed]

President’s Message…

Author: Steve Clapp

T-Shirt Orders – The T-shirt order is in. We will have the shirts at the Saturday, July 17th launch. So, if you have not already paid, bring your checkbooks. Cash still works too.
Summer Picnic – The summer picnic has been scheduled for Saturday September 11th. Stay tuned for further details. We will circulate a sign up sheet for side dishes.
New Rail – Thanks to James, the club now has a new rail. It should work for most rail buttons. Unfortunately we still need to cut it down to 85″ so that it will fit in the trailer. We also need to figure out how to mount it to a tripod. If anyone has any ideas let us know.
Record Trails – We are still doing record trials during the Saturday launches. Just give us an advance notice so we can get the paper work in on time. There is now a 1/8A motors class. That means that there are a bunch of unset records out there for the taking. If you would like to set a record now is a good time.
CMRC XIV – Watch your e-mails, we will need to decide on our CMRC XIV events. So if you have an event that you would like to fulfill let us know. Remember that the weight factors need to add up to 80 points. Targeted contest date is October 16th and 17th.
The Rocket Garden – I am sad to say that The Rocket Garden will no longer be able to have their trailer at our launches. As they found out, selling anything in the park a violation of City of Lakewood ordinances. They are still doing business thru their web site

http://www.therocketgarden.com
www.therocketgarden.com

and will be able to make deliveries to launches with special arrangements.

C.R.A.S.H. Business Meeting…

May 30th, 2004

Author: David Hanson

In attendance:

Steve Clapp, Bruce Markielewski, James Russell, Jordan Russell, David Tjarks, David Hanson, Chuck Watts, Russell Anthony, Daniel Anthony-Ceres, Ryan Anthony-Ceres, and Bill Tigar.

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The meeting began with the usual discussion about the status of AeroTech production. AeroTech is producing motors, but they seem to be difficult to obtain at Colorado hobby stores. Bill Tigar was curious to know if there was any interest in his becoming a local AeroTech dealer. The consensus seemed to favor more dealers. James Russell stated that there is a letter on the NAR website explaining the exemption for PADs (Propellant-Actuated Devices).
Steve asked for a status report on the T-shirt order, but Todd was not present to give an update. James Russell suggested we order extra T-shirts on hand to sell at launches.
Steve stated that the club flyer needed to be updated and distributed to local hobby shops. Bruce said he will update the flyer. The flyer distribution list needs to be updated. Bruce and Dave Hanson will produce a PDF version for downloading off the website and printing.
Russ Anthony provided an update on new hobby stores in the area. There are two new stores in Broomfield; one is called “Things That Go Zoom,” the other is called “HSJM Collectibles”.
A tentative date of September 11th has been proposed for the club’s summer picnic at Bear Creek Lake Park.
Steve wanted suggestions for storage and transportation of the club equipment trailer. James mentioned that the club could pay $15 per month to keep the trailer in a storage unit near the park. Steve and James both have been in touch with a couple of people regarding keeping the equipment, but no progress has been made. Steve proposed posting a schedule at launches for people to sign up to haul the trailer.
Dates for an equipment maintenance party were proposed. It was suggested that equipment maintenance could be done at the club picnic. But it was determined that equipment maintenance is not necessary at the moment. The equipment is still in pretty good shape, except that the speaker connections on the PA need to be replaced.
Bruce presented results and awards from the CARCIS XII contest in March & April.
Suggestions for events for the upcoming CMRC XIV contest were taken. Russ suggested that we wait for the results of the MicroMaxx RPC proposals before determining the events. It was suggested that we would go ahead and set the events list now and see if the MicroMaxx proposals would affect our events list. We decided to choose the events later.
It was discussed whether we should include all flight logs in each newsletter. Dave Hanson mentioned that we previously discussed including launch highlights in the newsletter, while Bruce suggested that a list of total flights should be included plus some highlights. Ian needs to be updated with these decisions.
Steve asked for a report on the status of upcoming outreach events, but Kathleen was not present to give an update. There are a lot of Cub Scout packs coming out to launches in June and July.

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The club now has a launch rail, but needs to have an attachment so that it can be mounted to a stand.
The meeting ended with a “Show and Tell” session, where Steve showed off his MicroMaxx-powered downscaled Interceptor.EHS at the TARC Finals…

Author: Chris Twombly

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I would like to thank C.R.A.S.H. for its generous support of the Evergreen High School Team America Rocketry Challenge attempt. With your help we were able to qualify for the finals with a perfect score. We were one of 102 teams that were selected to compete in the finals in The Plains, Virginia (about 50 miles from D.C.).
A mad scramble issued to raise enough money for the club to reach The Plains. With a large amount of fundraising we raised the money a week early. The weather at the finals was a perfect blue-sky day with not a cloud in sight. The field where the contest was held is the greenest space I have ever seen.
We were in the second launch window of the day. Even at 11:00 is was extremely hot and muggy like anything. Our launch did not go off that great. Our double D12-0 rocket relied totally on all the motors starting at the same time. One of the motors did not ignite. We would have had a height of 678 feet if it had qualified. The bottom stage hit the ground burning and this disqualified us.
On the plus side the people running the contest liked our vacuum formed carbon fiber tubing to give us the Lockheed Martin Best Craftsmanship award. Despite our launch failure we did not come home empty handed!

Pioneer…

Author: Bruce Markielewski

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For the third year in a row, C.R.A.S.H. members invaded Utah to participate in UROC’s Pioneer ‘04 NAR Regional Contest over the May 15th weekend. The trip there is short nine hour drive, and their Pony Express Test Range launch site is about 30 miles southwest of the nearest town, Lehi. It’s a very wide open area surrounded by large hills and is reminiscent of Tripoli Colorado’s Hartsel site. I asked about the site name, thinking it might have some historical significance, but it turns out that the UROC members just made up the name, based on the fact that the Pony Express riders rode through that area in the past. Still, it’s a cool site name!
The weather was pretty nice, generally calm with a few gusty periods throughout the weekend. This year there were 16 individuals and teams competing in the contest. Representing our club were Ariana Williams, Paranoid Androids Team (Todd Williams), Dave and Dave Team (Dave Hanson), and myself. Five events were flown this year, Open Spot Landing, “C” Streamer Duration, “D” Super-roc Altitude, Sport Scale and “G” Dual Eggloft Duration.
The Team Division was by far the most competitive this year, with six teams participating, and all but one flew all five events. UROC’s Interkosmos team and our Dave and Dave team battled throughout the weekend for the top spot in the division. Dave and Dave took first in “D” Super-roc Altitude, setting a new NAR record in the event, and took third in “C” Streamer Duration. The team also had a new record in “G” Dual Eggloft Duration. but held it only for a short time, as the Interkosmos team took first in the event with a flight over seven minutes. They also had a qualified flight in Spot Landing, breaking a string of disqualifications in the event in the previous two Regionals (Dave suggested I mention that).

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The Sport Scale event determined the winner, as Interkosmos’ second place finish edged Dave and Dave’s third place entry. Paranoid Androids took second in “C” Streamer Duration, and third places in “D” Super-roc Altitude and “G” Dual Eggloft Duration, but fell to fourth overall as UROC’s Dizzy Dog team’s first place in Sport Scale and fourth place in “G” Dual Eggloft Duration were just enough to pass Paranoid Androids for third place overall.

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In A Division, Ariana Williams had unusually light competition, as the two other competitors flew only a few events. She took firsts in “C” Streamer Duration, “D” Super-roc Altitude, and Sport Scale and was first overall, but had recovery system problems in the big point “G” Dual Eggloft Duration event. She still won the division by over a thousand points.
In “C” Division, I had the best success of the group. Only one UROC competitor in the division flew all five events, while the other five flew two or less. I was able to win all five events, and had to fly only once in each. For the first time, I scored the maximum point total in a Regional contest (2400 points). My “G” Dual Eggloft Duration flight set a new NAR record with a time of almost eight minutes.
In spite of being outnumbered 4 to 10, C.R.A.S.H. managed to beat UROC in section points, 6066 to 5586. UROC’s Pioneer Regional Contests are always a great event at one of the best launch sites in the country. We would encourage everyone to take a trip to the Pony Express Test Range for next year’s event, and have a memorable time with the fine group of Utah rocketeers!Thunder in the Desert Regional Contest…

June 19th-20th, 2004

Author: Russ Anthony

After attending the White Sands Winter Regional in February in Alamogordo, NM, I knew another trip was in order. Why would someone drive 600 miles to a desert with little amenities, 90 degree temperatures, lots of scrub brush and blowing sand, you ask? Some NAR contestants, including me, know that this is the place to find giant thermals, good competition and an unlimited amount of recovery space for rockets. Along with a NAR regional contest, this annual event also included a sport launch, with motor and food vendors and forty enthused rocketeers.
My youngest son, Ryan (7) and I drove most of the day Friday to arrive about dinner-time and secured accommodations in the Holiday Inn Express at the far end of town. Although slightly more expensive than the cheapest motels, it provided large, clean rooms and an extensive, free continental breakfast that allowed us to eat and depart by 8:00am each day. Saturday morning was clear and in the high 70’s by the time we drove the 15 minutes to the launch area, west of town. One feature of the launch site is the many covered tables that allow people to register, prepare rockets and cool off from the intense heat of the desert. After all of the contest paperwork was filled out, Ryan and I started our contest flights. We had prepped most of our models before the trip, so we just had to repack several chutes to be ready.
The first flight of the contest had to be Random Duration, as specified in the NAR Pink Book rules. Ryan drew the official random time out of a hat. He did an excellent job in selecting 30 seconds, the minimum time allowed, and a time all the competitors were happy with. Ryan then proceeded to select a B6-4 and his venerable Code Red to post a winning score of 26 seconds and best score of the day in Divisions A and C. I entered as a team, Crash & Burn, since I already had all of the allowed contest factors in Division C. Open spot landing saw a pin placement that was too far to breach with the usual 1/2A6-2 motors, so most contestants used A8-3’s and streamers. The closest distance anyone achieved was 44’6″, a testament to the winds and distance to the pin. The ½ A Helicopter Duration event was thinly contested, with only four competitors in two combined divisions. Class C and Team had Jim Basler, the contest director pitted against me. One other A divisioner and a subsequent DQ flight gave Ryan victory in A division. He also had the best total of the event. Ryan and I also flew an “A Boost Glider Duration” flight on Saturday before winds picked up and shut down all launch operations about 3:00pm. Ryan’s Deltie separated from the pod at about 20 feet, providing a qualified flight, but only a 5 second duration. I had a real nice single flight of 51 seconds with my Jeff Vincent Special to secure 1st place in Team. Jim Basler’s Deltie tangled in a Red Baron on the first flight, but rebounded to claim 1st in C division with a 50 second flight.

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With the winds howling, and thunderstorms moving in, we tried to drink all of the lemon-aid at the Pizza Hut in town. Jim Basler, his father, and John DeMar of team International Rescue joined us as we discussed rocketry and told stories. I particularly enjoyed listening to John, as he told of many rocketry adventures, including NARAM’s. Invaluable, for those of us with limited experience. Around 5:00pm we left to visit the Alamogordo Space Museum to photograph several real rockets including a Little Joe II, hopefully my Sport Scale model for NARAM. Jim and his father left to pick up supplies to build bases for their theodolites, which would allow us to compute the altitude events on Sunday. Jim and his father had talked about having a night launch if the weather behaved, but looking from motel window, it seemed to me that the winds never died down, leaving Ryan and I to enjoy a relaxing night of swimming and prepping rockets! Ahhh, the perfect evening! Little did we know that Jim and several other people did launch rockets into the night, something I would have loved to see, even if it would have resulted in less preparation time.
Since we were well rested, Ryan and I ate another early breakfast and arrived at the launch site a little before 8:00am. We found that several other sport fliers had spent the night in Motorhomes or tents right at the site. In fact, several sites provide electric hook-ups for RV’s. Despite this, I found that I was the only one ready to launch so early. Ryan and I put three or four models on rods and in towers before anyone else awoke and wandered out to the launch area. I was serious about getting as many flights in as I could before any weather problems could arise. Ryan tried another Glider flight, only to DQ when the pod veered horizontal and impacted the side of an RV. I posted a decent 2nd flight with my back-up helicopter and then got ready for a serious attempt at a national record flight.

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In February, I missed setting a C division “C Parachute Duration” national record by about 10 seconds, and I really wanted to get it. The 191 second record was still intact, and I had built an extremely efficient egglofter with G-10 fiberglass fins, a lightweight paper shroud, and a custom built 36″ fabric parachute out of .8 oz ripstop nylon. Although I didn’t use a piston, my newly acquired BMS Medallion tower really helped the rocket to a very straight boost without the aerodynamic drag of a launch-lug. The C6-5 put the empty egglofter briefly out of sight, before the orange chute appeared and started drifting north. I ran for nearly a mile, but didn’t gain any ground on the rocket. It caught a thermal at about a hundred feet for nearly a minute. Since I had given my stopwatch to the timers, I didn’t know whether the record was mine until I returned with the rocket. The 36″ chute was spotted in heavy sage, and I sliced up a leg pretty good getting it out. Desert Tip: NEVER wear shorts in New Mexico, event if it is 95 degrees! In the end I set the record with a time of 306 seconds and brought back the rocket intact without a scratch on the rocket.
Most of the contestants were arriving by 10:00am or so, and Jim had the altitude trackers ready for use. Most people flew the B altitude event first, with 9 people competing. Although nobody had enough time to fly two flights, there was good competition, and only two lost tracks, despite many trackers with no experience, myself included! In A division, Evan and Nick Jaramillo picked up 1st and 2nd place, with Ryan coming in third. Jim Basler, once again, ruled in C division, while John DeMar of International Rescue beat my flight for Crash and Burn. Egglofting was the last event flown, and time was winding down. Winds picked up through the day once again, and there were only two successful flights. Ryan claimed top time of day with a 219.9 meter flight, while Jim Basler claimed C division with a 147.3 meter flight. John DQ’d with a scrambled breakfast, while Jim’s father had a no-closure flight. I chose not to compete and flew another “E” dual eggloft duration national record attempt, but failed due to a separation. Another reason to return next contest season!

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In the Overall standings, Ryan came away on top of A division with 1770 points, with three others about equaling his total. Jim Basler was the real winner of the contest, claiming 2292 points in C division and winning first in everything but Spot Landing. The two teams were almost dead even with both just over 1000 points. For section points, Jim’s FLARE claimed 4800, while Independents (Me an Ryan) got around 3000, MARS 1014, SMRA 210, SRS 24.
I loved this event for many reasons. All of the officials, contestants and observers were really helpful and friendly. Although I haven’t focussed on the sport launches, many were great fun to watch. Many L1 and L2 hi-power certification attempts were made. Several K and L motor launches made the interludes between contest launches really fun. Some launches topped 7000 feet. Doug Gerrard’s Eye In the Sky rocket did a fantastic job getting pictures from the air – Really incredible photography. Kids were launching C6-5 Estes RTF rockets seemingly every minute, and many were interested in the contest events, boding well for the future. Many of them also had scratch built rockets built right on site. Ryan had plenty to keep him entertained, including chasing lizards and butterflies when he wasn’t launching or prepping rockets. Those winds and dust-devils are something to watch out for, though. One awning on an RV was damaged, and my tower even blew over a couple of times. But, nobody got hurt and everyone had a great time. If anyone is interested in driving down there, Jim will be hosting another regional in November, February and again in June. I’ll be there!

Building Thistle III…

Author: Ian MacDonald

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This is a rocket anyone can build. Thistle I was one of my earliest scratch builds, a basic tube fin rocket. When I first got into flying rockets, like many others, I took the Tim Allen approach – more power! Thistle I was a small rocket, about the size of an Alpha, that flew on a 24mm motor. There was no motor mount, the tube itself had an inside diameter of 24mm. The nose cone was salvaged from an Estes Jinx. It had to be a calm clear to send that baby up on a D12. After 4 flights, the ejection charge burned through the tube. I’ve been tempted to bring it out of retirement on an F21!
Thistle II is much larger, at 4.2 oz still pretty light, and flies the whole range of 24mm motors from the D12 to the F21. By the time I built it I had mellowed in my approach and decided that part of the enjoyment of model rocketry was actually being able to see the flight! Thistle II has had 31 successful flights to date.
Enter Thistle III, a sister design to Thistle II, both made from the same BT-55 tube. Inspired by the Apogee F10, Thistle III is being built to take 29mm motors! Obviously I’m getting back into calm clear weather only flying again. The Apogee F-10 has a burn time of 7.8 seconds, a total impulse of 80 N-s from its 40.7g of propellant. The great thing should be the long burn time. The maximum thrust actually comes in at less than the Estes D12, but it will burn almost 5 times as long!
Comparative stats on the motors can be found at Apogee’s site:

http://www.apogeerockets.com/index.asp

www.apogeerockets.com

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As I said, this is a rocket anyone can build. The only alignment issue for the tube fins is with attaching the first one. By placing the body tube and the fin tube against a flat surface they can be squared up to each other. After that the rest of the tubes are placed against one already attached. The angle at the top of the tube fins was achieved by using a miter box to do the cuts. A lot of sanding got rid of the rough edges generated by the saw. Remember to scuff the tubing so the glue sticks better. I used 5 minute epoxy. I anticipate flying some of the AeroTech F and G single use motors so I used a generous amount of glue while attaching the fins.
For the forward launch lug I used the tube an igniter came in. The rear launch lug is supplemented by the gap between a couple of the tube fins. As the picture shows I used a launch rod to help allign the lugs. For nose weight I cut up pieces of a pink Pearl eraser and poured in a generous amount of epoxy. I don’t put all the eraser or epoxy in at the same time. I add so much, let it dry and then weigh it. I know from Thistle II that 1.1 oz is plenty of weight for stability. I arrived at this weight by spin testing the rocket. Using simulation programs may come up with a more optimum nose weight. I used a few wraps of masking tape to center the motor mount in the body tube. Again I wasn’t afraid of the glue for holding it in place. I go for redundancy on the recovery system. The shock cord is Stretchrite round CORD elastic 3960 from the fabric store. I drill holes in the body tube and fasten the ends of the cords each with a knot. Contest flyers will cringe at the extra drag, but the cors can be replaced easily. One of the streamers is attached to the body tube and the other to the nose cone. There are two shock cords attaching the nose cone to the body tube. Any part of the recovery system can fail and the nose cone and body tube will each come down on a streamer. The tube fins can take a harder landing than fins and the rocket still flies straight.
My strategy with Thistles II & III was to build a durable rocket that flies straight and provides some wow factor. The name Thistle comes from my Scottish heritage and the resemblance of the tube fins to a thistle. The paint job is always a surprise to myself as I use multiple colors and blend the transitions.
I plan to fly the completed rocket at the July 17th launch. That is if it’s a calm clear day!

C.R.A.S.H. Landings is published by:Colorado Rocketry Association of Space Hobbyists (NAR section #482)

No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited material. All submissions become the property of C.R.A.S.H. Landings. Submissions should be delivered in electronic format by e-mail or diskette. For other formats, please contact the editor:

Ian MacDonald – [removed email]

March – April 2004

Editor’s Message …

Author: Ian MacDonald

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This is the second issue of the resurrected C.R.A.S.H. newsletter. We have settled on a name. It was pointed out to me that C.R.A.S.H. Landings was the name used in the past. In the interest of tradition we not only adopted the past name, but the volume and number progression as well.

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The intent is to have an issue every two months. There’s only so much new news in a year from the contests and regular launches, so feel free to submit some articles. There is a great deal of knowledge among C.R.A.S.H. members. Here’s a chance to share some of your expertise with others. Another suggestion is to write of your experiences when you travel to contests and launches elsewhere. Special thanks to James Russell for his article about traveling to SpringFest ’04 and to Mary Twombly for her report on the Evergreen High School rocketry team going to the TARC Finals!
As a relative rookie to model rocketry I intend to write some articles telling of my learning experiences while modifying rocket kits to make them more reliable or to enhance the “wow” factor. I’m just about to start a new scratch built rocket called Thistle III. Thistle III will be similar in appearance to Thistle II pictured on the right but with some design modifications. I will take some pictures of the progress and tell of my building strategies. C.R.A.S.H. members will then get to see me launch it, and maybe tell me what they might have done differently. This month I’m contributing an article based on an unplanned event – recovering my Public Missiles Callisto from a cottonwood tree.
Special thanks are in order for Bruce Markielewski. This newsletter wouldn’t have been possible without his hard work and dedication. Bruce constructed the editor which we use to build this newsletter and is an integral part of the publishing effort.

President’s Message…

By Steve Clapp

T-Shirt Orders – We are finally finalizing the t-shirt order. Let Steve or Bruce know if you do not receive an order confirmation. If you haven’t placed an order, there may still be time to get an order placed. Send it in today.
Fire Danger – We may be heading into another dry summer. This could result in a limitation on “heads-up” flights, two-stage rockets and the infamous wacky wigglers. Take advantage of the recent precipitation and fly those rockets now.
Launch Equipment – We are looking for volunteers to transport the launch equipment. If you can help, see Bruce or Steve at the next launch. We desperately need help with the transportation of launch equipment
Pioneer 2004 – Mark your calendars; May 15th Utah Rocket Club (UROC) #523 is having their Regional Contest for 2004. The event takes place at the Pony Express Test Range and the events are:

Open Spot Landing
C Streamer Duration
D SuperRoc Altitude
G Dual Eggloft Duration
Sport Scale

Remember, anyone can participate in this NAR sanctioned competition. For more info visit the UROC web site at

http://www.uroc.org

Newsletter articles and photos – If you have any ideas for newsletter articles, comments, photos or something you would like to share with other CRASH members, contact Ian MacDonald or Steven Clapp.

EHS Team Advances To TARC Finals!

April 6th, 2004

By Mary Twombly

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What a journey it has been! It began last summer with 15-year-old freshman Chris Twombly (now aka “Fearless Leader”) coming across an article announcing the TARC (Team America Rocketry Challenge) competition and putting together an Evergreen High School model rocket club with Mr. Kim Herfurt as faculty sponsor. At the first parent-teacher conference, Chuck Luciano stopped at Chris’s fund raising table and flashed his NAR card. Twenty minutes later (with Chuck’s 2 year old son saying “go now”), they were excitedly conversing about the potential and fun of rockets, and EHS had successfully snared a mentor.

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The team worked hard and has made such progress! (thanks Greg Twombly, Chuck, Mr. Herfurt) It went from “what makes it go?” to last night’s late discussion on Newton-seconds vs. flight time and how to maximize thrust out of the tower. It evolved from hot glue and glue sticks to thin CA, 5-minute epoxy, micro balloons, and other magic stuff including masking tape (thank you all, C.R.A.S.H. Members). It has gone from crooked fins falling off, rockets falling apart, parachutes detaching or burning or not opening, eggs smashing, motors exploding, 8+ rockets and over 26 launches (landing all over Bear Creek Lake Park) to a beautiful vacuum bagged, carbon-fiber rocket nicknamed “The Scrambler” making a beautiful final flight to exactly 1250 feet (thanks to Bruce for making the last flight possible and for staying hours late on multiple days just to let them fly).

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From a Mom’s viewpoint, this journey has had invaluable non-technical benefits. We are all extremely grateful to the C.R.A.S.H. members who lent a helping hand, piece of tape, epoxy, motor, or a bit of well-timed advice after the variations of failure. From this the kids have experienced and learned the benefits of generosity and a welcoming spirit, as well as what it takes to be prepared for a flight (they’re still working on that check list thing). We are grateful that the numerous failures (including the first Fat Boy diving straight into the parking lot) were met with deadpan faces and encouragement, rather than head shaking or negativity. From this the team learned that in the “real world” it’s okay to make mistakes and move on. Chuck spent many e-mail hours bolstering spirits, teaching the team how to analyze failure and how engineers approach problems. The team has learned that they have the power to make things happen! I’d say that going to the TARC finals is “icing on the cake”!
The journey continues! Now the EHS TARC team is wrestling with the trials and tribulations of fund raising and travel arrangements. Chris is managing new rocket construction (not an adult hand in sight) and planning a launch schedule so that the team can arrive with two rockets with improved reliability and predictable altitudes. The final competition is the weekend before final exams, which adds to the anxiety. But are they excited!!! And I think it is safe to say that the team will travel to Virginia with a wonderful feeling of support from C.R.A.S.H.

CARCIS XII Results…

By Bruce Markielewski

The Twelfth Annual Colorado Aerial Rocket Circus was scheduled for March 6th and 7th, 2004, but didn’t get off to a good start this year. We didn’t get to fly at all on Saturday due to high winds, but we got some flights in on Sunday. It was a pretty busy day with all of the sport flights and Team America Challenge activities. Luke Short had the best shred of the day on his “B” Rocket glider flight, resulting in more pieces than what he used to build the model! Most of the Parachute Spot Landing and “1/2A” Boost Glider Duration flights were flown, along with a number of “A” Parachute Duration and “B” Super-roc Duration, and “B” Eggloft Duration attempts. The Park graciously allowed us to reschedule the first day that we lost, and we decided to continue the contest a month later, on April 3rd and 4th.
Saturday, April 3rd, was quite a bit different than a month earlier. We actually had a fairly nice day at the launch site – overcast and cool, but no wind throughout the day, other than a light breeze late in the day. It had snowed throughout the state the day before, and this contributed to a low turnout. Competing were Russ Anthony, Ryan Anthony-Ceres, Steve Clapp, and Bruce Markielewski. The Evergreen TARC team was there, and attempted a qualification flight. One egg broke when the parachute tangled, but they had one more attempt to make on Sunday.

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The final day of the contest was once again a very busy day, as the weather was perfect and there were a lot of sport flights and three TARC teams attempting qualification flights. Lakewood High School made one qualification flight, reaching just over 1000 feet, but their three stage model performed surprisingly well. Arvada High School’s three stager didn’t fare as well, landing hard on a couple of practice flights. Evergreen High School saved the best flight for last, earning an amazing score of exactly 1250 feet (the target altitude), and no broken eggs.
Remaining contest flights were completed by several participants, although some competitors couldn’t attend due to other commitments. Had they been able to continue, the results might have been much different. Parachute Spot Landing was more challenging than expected, although a few competitors managed to get close. In the combined A and B Division, Ryan Anthony-Ceres took first place with a fine 5 meter score. Evan Sauls was second at 10 meters, and Luke Short and Ariana Williams were distant third and fourth places. In C Division, the top three were very close, with Ian MacDonald winning by just a meter over Carl Truszynski. Russ Anthony was 2 meters further for third, followed by Steve Clapp. Paranoid Androids took the Team Division with a flight that normally wouldn’t win, but the Dave and Dave team had an unfortunate disqualification, preventing them from placing in the event.

“1/2A” Boost Glider Duration was very competitive, particularly the A Division, where Ryan edged Ariana for first place by only five seconds. Russ Anthony won C Division with a nice 57 second time on his second flight. Carl had two consistent flights for second place, and Steve rebounded on his second flight to capture third. Jim Hinton had a pair of nice flights for fourth place. Paranoid Androids won the Team Division, with Dave and Dave, unable to attempt a second flight, finishing second.
In “A” Parachute Duration, all A/B Division competitors attempted only one flight each. Ariana Williams won with a 72 second flight. Kara Boyer edged Ryan for second place, with Luke a close fourth. C Division was a bit more interesting, as Russ led Bruce and Steve by a small margin after their first flights. Steve’s second flight was over three and one half minutes, and appeared to have won the event, but Bruce’s flight of just over four minutes secured the victory. Russ held onto third with a disappointing second flight, and Carl took fourth on a single 74 second flight. Dave and Dave’s single flight of 95 seconds was enough for the Team Division win, as Paranoid Androids attempted only one qualifying flight for second place.

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“B” Rocket Glider, being perhaps the hardest event of the contest to prepare for, had only a few participants. Luke’s single flight DQ allowed Ariana the win in A/B Division with her single successful flight. Since Dave and Dave didn’t attempt a flight in this event, Paranoid Androids had to compete with C Division. Bruce and Russ had very close first flights, but a flap problem on Russ’ second attempt resulted in a low time, allowing Bruce to take over first place. Paranoid Androids could have moved up from third, but chose not to make a second attempt. Steve had structural problems on both flights, but managed a qualified flight for fourth place.
“B” Super-roc Duration was a popular event, with most participants entering. A/B Division was won by Ryan, who had two nice flights and set a NAR national record with his first flight. Daniel Anthony-Ceres and Ariana each had a single flight, with Daniel’s just slightly better to take second place. C Division was hotly contested between Steve and Bruce, with Bruce’s second flight determining the winner. Russ had an early DQ, but bounced back on the second flight to take third place. Jim Hinton’s single flight qualified him for fourth place. Each team flew only once, but Dave and Dave’s flight far outpaced Paranoid Androids’ attempt to win in Team Division.

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“B” Eggloft Duration is usually a pretty messy event, but the group appears to be getting better, as only one egg out of fifteen attempts was broken. Ryan had the best A/B Division flight, followed by Ariana, Daniel and Luke for second through fourth places. Bruce only needed one attempt to secure the C Division win, with Steve holding on to second place with a nice second flight. Russ tried to move up from third, but was thwarted by a deployment problem on his second attempt. Once again the teams each only flew once, with Dave and Dave having the best flight in Team Division for first place.
Overall, the A/B Division surprisingly ending in a tie for first between Ariana and Ryan, where a non-flown event and a non-NAR competitor helped keep Ryan from winning first outright. Daniel was a distant third, flying only three events, followed by Luke in fourth. In C Division, the top three competitors has successful flights in all events, but Bruce’s four firsts were enough to capture the contest championship. Russ had a fine contest, winning one event and placing second or third in the rest, resulting in a second place finish ahead of Steve. Carl flew only four events, but secured fourth place just ahead of Ian, who won one of the two events entered. The Team Division championship was very close with Paranoid Androids winning the battle.

The complete points listing for

http://www.crashonline.org/crash-cgi-bin/contst?carcis-12 [Fix Link]
CARCIS XII

can be viewed on our

http://www.crashonline.org/competition.html [Fix Link]
Competition pages

. Only one NAR records was set during the contest, by Ryan in “B” Super-roc Duration, although nine

http://www.crashonline.org/crash-cgi-bin/contst?clbrcd [Fix Link]
club records

were set. In spite of weather and scheduling problems, CARCIS XII was well contested, and served as a learning experience for both the new and seasoned competitors, who are already looking forward to the next chance to test their model rocketry skills!

NAR RCP Voting…

Author: Bruce Markielewski

The latest issue of the NAR’s Model Rocketeer (Vol. 46, No. 2) has the Rule Change Proposal voting information, including a ballot form. If you’re a NAR member, please consider voting even if you’re not active in competition. This is one of the few opportinities we have to improve the way things are done in the NAR competition world.
A reletively small number of people vote on these proposals, so your vote counts a lot! The ballots must be postmarked by May 15th, so please get your ballots in the mail soon! If you have questions, you can e-mail me at

[email removed]

or post them to our CRASH-Talk forum.

SpringFest ’04…

Author: James Russell

SpringFest has been an annual launch Dave Hanson and I have gone to for the last few years. SpringFest is held on a dry lake bed 25 miles south of Las Vegas every March. It is a TRA launch hosted by ROC with help from Tripoli Vegas. This launch brings a lot of people from California, Utah, Arizona and other surrounding states. It starts on Friday with an EX launch and then Saturday and Sunday are the commercial days of the launch. The three of us had several flights planned, several EX and several commercial.
Dave, Jim Amos and I left my house at 6:00 am Thursday and with good weather forecasted we were able to make good time. We only needed to stop for gas and lunch and made it to Las Vegas in a little less than 12 hours. Jim and I were able to meet up with Neil and Nadine form Colorado Springs and Bruce Kelly from Utah for the seafood buffet at the Rio (it is a must when in Vegas) and a little “chit chat” with friends before the launch.
Friday we were on our way to the launch site by 7:00 thinking things were going to be getting started early in the day. When we arrived at the site we were able to see a line of vehicles, campers and tents already forming what will be the flight light for the weekend. When getting to the flight line we met up with our other friends from Utah and California. After spending a couple of hours talking and prepping rockets the first flight of the day was around 10:00.
Jim Amos and I had to wait for the high altitude windows, both were going over the 7,500 ft standing waiver. The FAA delayed the first window for over an hour, Jim was able to get his “Widow Maker” up on an Ammonium Nitrate M-1000 to over 16,000 ft. for the second flight of the day. I think Jim should get the Spot Landing record of the year for going 16k and having his rocket land less than 15 ft from the pad. A great flight and landing
After Jim’s flight, Woody from Utah put his “Peer Pressure” up on a 4″ N motor. It was an awesome flight to almost 10K. Woody also had flown several of his “Sky Ripper” hybrid motors on Saturday, once certified they will be a great alternative to AP. He did have one mishap with the J motor; there was a failure at the nozzle O-ring and a burn through the case. Still a great 38 mm motor design, it only took a few minutes to assemble and was very similar to the AMW snap ring type closures. I will get the smaller H motor when available. It will be a good starting point to learn about Hybrid motors and it looks like the price will be reasonable; all of Woody’s products are.
With a lot of air traffic in the area we had problems getting the high altitude windows. My rocket sat on the pad for 2 hours waiting for word from the range head that the window would be opened. Once we got the OK from the FAA, several people that have been waiting armed altimeters and connected ignitors. My “BigEZ” was first, it was the third time I have put an EX motor to the test in this bird and it was a great flight to 11,511 ft on an L-1500. It was the third time that rocket has been over 2 miles and now has about 10 miles in total vertical altitude, WOW!
Dave Hanson and I were also able to fly his 3″ fiberglass rocket on a K-700 motor that worked great, it took his rocket to just under 6,800 ft. The recovery was also great up until it hit the ground and the wind dragged his rocket across the lake bed. The paint was scratched and the tip was broken off his nose cone, all will be fixed before the next launch at NCR.
Dave and I were also going to fly a few commercial motors on Saturday and Sunday but things did not work out. We did get to see several really great flights and some not so great flights but it was a great trip and get-together with friends. If you ever find yourself needing something to do over spring break, this is a great way to spend the weekend — maybe we will see you next year.

C.R.A.S.H. Business Meeting…

Sunday, March 14, 2004

Author: Dave Hanson

The meeting started off with Chuck Watts informing the club that he has motors for Level 1 cert attempts. Anyone wishing to attempt a high-power certification can contact Chuck about getting a motor.
Ian MacDonald is looking for contributions for the club newsletter. He also pointed out that anyone can submit articles. There was some discussion about whether the flight logs from each launch should be included in the newsletter, but it was decided that we may want to just include highlights of some of the more interesting flights.
Bruce Markielewski stated that the Member Info pages are now available on the club website. This section is accessed by clicking on the “Member Pages” link in the left-hand menu. Each member’s info page includes a line for any additional info which the member may wish to include. The Member Info pages are password-protected, so anyone wishing to view their own info must first contact Bruce for their user ID and a temporary password. Bruce is also working on website code to allow members to upload photos directly to the website. He also wants to make it possible for members to print their own membership cards.
Scott Sala from Denver Public Schools made a presentation about the video project he is doing for the schools. This included showing the video that he had put together.
Steve Clapp proposed switching the launch time on Sundays to 10 AM. It was determined that there are two main issues involved with making this switch: 1. The club will need to get the park’s permission, so we can ensure that our launches will not conflict with other park activities; 2. The club needs to have the launch equipment available. We also discussed the possibility of having the equipment stored nearby the park for easy accessibility.
Dave Tjarks suggested that the club should purchase a stool for kids to stand on so they can reach the pads when loading their rockets. James Russell said he will look for a stool.
James Russell stated that he plans to place an order for launch rail material from Tracey Wood.

Todd Williams informed the club that there were not quite enough t-shirt orders to make the minimum number of shirts needed to place an order. Todd suggested placing an order with Cafe Press as an alternative. It was pointed out that the t-shirt ordering deadline as listed on the club website needed to be removed or changed. During this discussion, there were enough t-shirt orders added to make the minimum order.
Bruce Markielewski discussed his proposed NAR Pink Book changes. These changes are listed in the latest issue of the NAR’s “Model Rocketeer” magazine.

Rescuing Callisto from Cottonwood…

Author: Ian MacDonald

Saturday March 20th was a nice day at Bear Creak Lake Park. The temperature was around 70 degrees under a clear blue sky. The winds were persistent, but not too strong, and generally from the east. I was anxious about the wind because I planned to fly my Callisto that day on an H180. According to the charts, that would put it up to around 3500′. My Callisto is built a little heavy, but it still promised to be a spectacular flight. Bob Ellis was kind enough to let me use his launch pad.

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When I’m anxious about a flight it seems to take forever between the time the rocket is ready on the pad and it gets launched. This time was no exception. I took my usual spot to the south side of the pad with the sun to my back. The rocket blasted off with the expected amount of intensity. It angled a bit to the east right off the pad. With how quickly it gained altitude I knew which way to start moving. It wasn’t hard to track with the clear sky, and after deployment it seemed to come pretty much straight down. The breeze may have moved it a little farther east.
As I was heading towards the rocket I had a pretty good bead on it. I had to glance away for a moment to cross the footbridge that crosses the creek to the west of our launch site. I could see the rocket drop below the edge of a small hill. I started to run out of concern that it may have landed on the road. After cresting the hill I expected to find the rocket fairly easily. After all, it’s not a small rocket. With a feeling all too familiar to most people reading this, I methodically marched back and forth, scouring beyond where I knew it should be. A few others eventually joined me. We fanned out even further. Had the rocket been on the ground we would have spotted it in this expanded search. I was walking next to Bob Ellis heading back towards what should be the most likely area when he said, “we have a problem.”
There was the Callisto, about 50′ up in an old cottonwood tree. The rocket was too high in the tree to get with anything we had with us. The club has an 18′ telescoping painting pole with a hook at the end but this was way above that. Climbing the tree was totally out of the question. The main trunk was missing bark, had several woodpecker holes and was basically dead. It also went fairly straight up for a cottonwood. The lowest branches were about 20′ above the ground. We had no choice but to walk back to the launch site discussing options.
I went to Wal-Mart and returned with some rope, Duck Tape, a quick link, and I thought – also a hook. Religious quotations followed my discovery that the friendly clerk didn’t put the hook in the bag. I looked in my range boxes for an idea. My eyes keyed in on the cheap open-end wrenches that live there. After tying the link on the end of the clothesline cord, I then used the Duck Tape to attach the wrench so it angled back making a hook. My idea was to fling the rope upwards and snag the rocket, its shock cord, or the branch it’s on and pull. ‘Sounded simple. If the rocket were only 20 or 30′ up it probably would have been. The rocket was too far up to directly throw the hook. To get more velocity I held the rope about 15″ from the hook and swung it upwards underhand.

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It only took a few tries to realize this was going to take a lucky shot. I wasn’t going to give up easily however. After about three dozen tosses, the hook wrapped itself around the branch the rocket was on and stayed. It didn’t release with a tug, or several tugs. It was below the rocket on a part of the branch too thick to break with the rope. I started to get aggressive with the rope and got the branch shaking like it was in a windstorm. The rocket banged around and I hoped it might shake loose. After a few minutes of tugging the motor casing fell out of the rocket. As other reload flyers are well aware the casing is often worth as much as the rocket, so this was a victory. I continued shaking the tree and could see that the rocket was trapped as firmly as at first but the motor adapter was working its way out. I was encouraged to keep tugging but after the adapter made it about half way it didn’t seem to advance any further. Finally, I reluctantly called it a day
The next day my wife Dorthe and I stopped by the park again. On my first toss I got the rope snagged in an adjoining tree. After some tugging the rope snapped away from the hook. I attached another hook and it only took a few more tosses before I had it snagged on the branch with the rocket. I now had another rope firmly attached to the tree. My only move at this point was to try shaking the tree again. I did this with much enthusiasm but it was quite apparent I wasn’t going to get anywhere. All I was doing was banging around the rocket. I needed a new strategy.
On Monday I left work early and went to Home Depot. I bought six 10′ lengths of 1″ PVC conduit. I picked up a couple of actual hooks this time and made sure they made it into the bag. My plan was to attach a rope with a hook to the end of this improvised pole, feed it up to the rocket and pull the rocket down with the hook. I envisioned pulling the hook away from the pole as I ripped the rocket away from the branches. When I got to the site I could see right away that flexibility was going to be an issue. I fed the PVC up the tree. The PVC curved as it snaked up the lower branches. I tried whipping it around to get it to swing toward the rocket. Any swinging however served to exaggerate the bow in the pole instead of getting it to swing upwards. The problem was the pole had to feed up between some branches to get to the rocket. This required coming up from below. The PVC was just too flexible to achieve this. I had to call it a day.

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I went back to Home Depot again. I bought some 10′ lengths of half inch metal conduit just below the PVC like what I had purchased previously. A quick test in the store showed it to be significantly stiffer than the PVC while similar in weight. I also bought a 24″ piece of 3/4″ PVC. I cut this into 5 pieces to connect the lengths of conduit. During work on Tuesday I watched the clouds with some unease. The weather report wasn’t saying we would get rain, but clouds that dark sometimes mean lightning. Not a time to be holding a 50′ high metal pole! We’ve also had some strong winds in recent weeks and any wind would be a problem.
After work I headed to the park again. Although the clouds were still heavy, the weather was holding. I got there around 4:30 and carried the stuff into place and got to work. For a snug fit I put a single wrap of masking tape around the conduit before sliding the PVC over the joints, just like friction fitting a motor. I then secured the joint with a generous amount of Duck Tape. I had envisioned walking it upright like a ladder but weight became an issue. What was an easy bundle to carry became really heavy when supported at one end.
I attached a hook to the end of a length of braided nylon rope. I Duck Taped the hook to the end of the pole. The flexibility the pole had turned out to be a blessing in disguise. I fed it up the side of the tree by the same method as the PVC the day before. I used the branches of the tree to guide the conduit pole into position. This took several tries. The reality was I needed to thread it between the right sets of branches or it wouldn’t end up next to the rocket. On a few occasions I used the pole to ram and break branches that were inconveniently placed. I moved the pole up and down several times but I could only get to within a foot or so of the rocket.
I was able to shake the tree and the rocket with the pole. This got the rocket moving around and the nose cone bounced off the pole several times but never in a way that snagged on the hook. I didn’t want to get too aggressive with this for fear of breaking the pole. I still had the 2 lines snagged on the tree from my previous attempts. I grabbed one of those ropes with my left hand and started to rock the tree while holding the pole and its rope with my right hand. I started getting the rocket and its shock cord to swing towards the pole and its hook. As I did this I moved the pole up and down and twisted it to reposition the hook. One moment I’m in this mode and the next the piston swung into the hook. Just like fishing I quickly pulled at the nibble. I saw the piston and the lower part of the rocket drop several feet immediately. My eyes were fixed on the piston to keep the hook on it and with another pull the rocket dropped again. I was actually pulling down on the rope and the pole together because once hooked the rocket broke away quite easily – much more easily than the force needed to pull the hook away from the pole. I had to lift the pole and start to rapidly run backwards as the rocket then dropped to a much lower branch.
I now knew I had it. It was now on a branch that was almost in reach. Another quick pull on the pole and the whole arrangement rotated quickly to the ground! There were a few branches tangled in with the rocket, its shock cord and the rope. The motor adapter had fallen out separately. The rocket came through the experience with no apparent damage to the construction. Even the parachute remained intact. The paint does have several abrasions from all the banging against the tree during my first couple attempts to recover it. The only loss directly on the rocket is the motor retainer – a couple of Allen bolts holding a piece of metal across the aft end of the motor casing. After the past few days, I’m thrilled to have my rocket back!

C.R.A.S.H. Landings is published by:

Colorado Rocketry Association of Space Hobbyists (NAR section #482)

No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited material. All submissions become the property of C.R.A.S.H. Landings. Submissions should be delivered in electronic format by e-mail or diskette. For other formats, please contact the editor:

Ian MacDonald – [removed email]

January – February 2004

Editor’s Message …

Author: Ian MacDonald

This can be considered the first issue of the latest version of a Colorado Rocketry Association of Space Hobbyists Newsletter! I volunteered to do this at the December C.R.A.S.H. business meeting. Among the regulars at C.R.A.S.H. launches there are flyers with a great deal of knowledge and experience in the sport of rocketry. Consider this a solicitation for articles. You won’t be paid but you will gain lots of positive karma – that is unless you use your article as an opportunity to provide misinformation to potential contest competitors!
Distributing the newsletter on CRASH-talk has some limitations. The most obvious is CRASH-talk doesn’t allow attachments so we can’t have any pictures or diagrams. I’ll be talking to Todd and Dave some more on the possibility and logistics of the newsletter being on our web page. If you’re reading this on the web, then you know this has been sorted out. A big thanks to Bruce Markielewski for his work on building the Newsletter Editor. I’m open to suggestions on the practicality verses the cost of printing and mailing the newsletter. It seems most of our regular flyers have Internet access, so I suggest it’s a waste to mail them a newsletter. I think an announcement on CRASH-talk when the newsletter hits the web page would suffice. After that, we could, on an individual basis, print copies to distribute to those without Internet, or maybe there could be a mailing list for those who wish hardcopy sent to them. With a mailing list we would need to decide if we limit it to current paid members, or if there should be a separate charge.
I’m also open to suggestions as to what should be in the newsletter. Should it be for those unable to make it to our launches regularly to keep in touch with what’s going on? (Hello Chris!) Should it be a conduit for announcements that may or may not otherwise be seen on the web page or CRASH-talk? Should it be more anecdotal in nature as opposed to the “official” announcements that are on the web page and CRASH-talk? Should it be all of the above along with some education/information articles such as those found on the
I look forward to producing upcoming newsletters. Luke Short has contacted me and we plan to work together on upcoming newsletters. I see the format, content and frequency being in flux at first. Please comment to CRASH-talk what you would like to see in the newsletter. Ultimately I hope the C.R.A.S.H. newsletter can be an important and entertaining source of information for and about our club.

CARCIS XII Announcement …

Author: Bruce Markielewski

The 12th Annual Colorado Aerial Rocket Circus is scheduled for March 6th and 7th at our Bear Creek Lake Park launch site, starting at 10:00 AM each day. Fees are $1.00 per event, up to $5.00 for “C” and “Team” Divisions, free for “A” and “B” Divisions.

Contest Events (WF)

“A” Parachute Duration ( 7)
“B” Super-Roc Duration (14)
“B” Rocket Glider Duration (21)
“B” Eggloft Duration (17)
“1/2A” Boost Glider Duration (17)
Parachute Spot Landing ( 4)

Club Meeting …

Sunday, December 14th, 2003

Author: Ian MacDonald and Dave Hanson

The December business meeting and Christmas party was held at the Englewood Library. In attendance: Bruce Markielewski, Todd Williams, Kathleen Williams, Steve Clapp, Nathan Coit, Dave Hanson, Russ Anthony, Scott Hommas, Cliff Hoenstein, Ian MacDonald, James Russell, and Jeff Mosal.
Our annual elections for club officers was held at this meeting. It wasn’t nearly as hotly contested or as emotionally charged as the fall American Presidential race is expected to be. There was however some changing of the guard. We have a new President. There seemed to be pressure from the former first lady for Todd to pass the torch. The new list of officers is as follows:

Elected Positions:

President: Steve Clapp
Vice President: James Russell
Treasurer: Bruce Markielewski
Secretary: Dave Hanson
NAR Senior Advisor: Todd Williams

Appointed/Voluneteer Positions:

Newsletter Coordinator: Ian MacDonald / Luke Short
Contest Coordinator: Bruce Markielewski
Education Outreach Coordinator: Kathleen Williams
Membership Chairman: Jeff Mosal

Other topics that were discussed:

Dates and events for contest in March (CARCIS XII).
UROC’s Pioneer NAR Regional Contest which was held over Memorial Day weekend in May is possibly being moved to June due to the low turnout last year.
We have an upcoming outreach event at a Longmong elementary school in January.
CMRC XIII contest results and awards were presented by Bruce.
We are still accepting T-Shirt orders. Please contact Todd or Kathleen Williams, or sign up on the club web site.
Russ Anthony has a source for custom parachutes from neighbor. He has a signup sheet for 30″, 36″ and 24″. Samples of larger chutes will be available at the next launch.
The next Tripoli-Colorado busines meeting is scheduled for Dec. 27th.

NAR RCP’s …

Author: Bruce Markielewski

No, this isn’t an article on recipes by NAR members, but a reminder to NAR members that we’re coming up on the end of the NAR Sporting Code Rules Revision Process, and this is the time to review the Rule Change Proposals (RCP’s) that were submitted by June 30th, 2003, and eventually vote on them. By now, all NAR members should have received the NAR’s “Model Rocketeer – Vol. 46, No. 1”. This is the 12 page newsletter that generally contains articles on the inner working of the NAR.
This issue contains six proposals, and three are mine this time. I believe all six are important revisions that will improve NAR competition, and I encourage everyone to read them and vote on them when the time comes. Comments are enouraged and can be submitted to the NAR Rules Revisions Charman, Jim Filler, at, and you can of course discuss your views on our CRASH-Talk forum. The deadline for comments to the NAR is March 15th, so there’s not a lot of time to do this. Voting information will be published in the next “Model Rocketeer” issue, so here’s your chance to have a voice in how NAR competition is run, and help make it more enjoyable and competitive for everyone involved!

Launch Photos …

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Another full rack of models is ready for flight at a recent C.R.A.S.H. launch at Bear Creek Lake park.

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Bob Ellis’ Apogee Rocket Design Contest fantasy scale entry is ready for launch on two C11-5’s.

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Ex-President Todd Williams takes his LCO duties seriously!

(If you have any pictures that you would like to see published in the newsletter, please send them to the editor!)

C.R.A.S.H. Landings is published by:

Colorado Rocketry Association of Space Hobbyists (NAR section #482)

No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited material. All submissions become the property of C.R.A.S.H. Landings. Submissions should be delivered in electronic format by e-mail or diskette. For other formats, please contact the editor:

Ian MacDonald – [removed email]