Colorado Model Rocketry Championships IV – November 19, 1994

By Bruce Markielewski We had a weather postponement in October, and our rescheduled November 19th date seemed to be in jeopardy, as the forecasts all week were for snow throughout the weekend. But as is typical for Denver, the predictions were wrong, and we awoke to a great day, perfect to hold our fourth annual Colorado Model Rocketry Championships event. It was cold when we arrived, and a thin layer of snow covered the launch area, but calm winds and blue skies prevailed throughout the day. We had only six participants, but the contest was very competitive. Three regulars in our area events, Ed O’Neill, Bruce Markielewski, and COSROCS’ Dave Nauer were in attendance. First time competitor Don Nelson did well entering three events. Chris Brickley and Michael Geck each entered the Sport Scale event with some fine models. Kevin Kuczek, the current “C” Division National Champion, elected to rest on his laurels and not enter. Instead, he performed the scale judging duties, helped time the duration events, and assisted others in prepping their models. Mike Mikkelsen also attended, but did not enter, choosing instead to just learn from the veterans. Ed captured the “1/2A” Flexi-wing event with one great flight of over three minutes. Don and Bruce fought it out for second place, but Don prevailed after his second flight exceeded two minutes. Dave flew his giant “D” flexi-wing twice, but the large wing span couldn’t compensate for the low altitudes attained. “B” Rocket Glider was all Bruce’s as his initial flight was more than enough to secure first place. Ed used his Estes Tomcat in two short sixteen second flights, but was able to hold second place. Don had problems with a couple of untried designs, but managed third place, as Dave shredded his model on an Apogee B7-4. “C” Streamer was hotly contested, but Ed’s superior design overwhelmed the others. He only needed two flights, but he also required the assistance of a couple of friendly fisherman to recover one flight from the middle of Bear Creek Lake! Dave overcame a first flight separation to hold off Bruce and Don who each CATO’s and separations to overcome. Both had to repair models on the site, but Bruce was able to capture third on his final flight. Sport Scale would be determined by whoever could manage a successful flight. Bruce’s Apollo Lunar Module lead in the static points, but the rest followed closely as all models were nicely done. Dave had the only casualty, as his normally reliable Little Joe II landed hard when the ‘chute tangled. Ed’s Titan IIIE, Mike’s Honest John, and Chris’ Black Brandt II all flew nicely. Everyone wondered if the Lunar Module would finally fly successfully, after a crash at Pikes Peak or Blast V. The model was lighter this time, and flying on a D12-0 booster engine. The liftoff was slow but stable, and the draggy model’s flight was short and not very high. Still, the parachute opend in time to provide a safe recovery, ensuring Bruce first in the scale event. The dreaded “D” EggGlider fun event was anything but, as we realized to late how difficult this event would be. Ed’s model was damaged weeks ago during a hand toss flight test, and he didn’t have time to rebuild. That left Bruce and Dave to settle the issue. Dave’s “Airplane-on-a-Broomstick” design bounced and flipped it’s way to destruction, and a DQ. Still, his egg amazingly survived the ordeal. Bruce’s more conventional design did one giant loop before landing hard on the parking lot, breaking both the model and his egg. With no qualified flights, we decided to remove the event from the contest. Still, it was an enjoyable event to attempt and watch, and the challenge to fly a “D” EggGlider successfully, is still unfulfilled! The overall contest winner was a surprise as Ed O’Neill just barely edged Bruce for the 1994 championship title. With wins in the two highest valued events, Bruce appeared to be the winner, but Ed’s consistency with two firsts and two seconds proved to be just enough for the title! Ed has been improving every time out since entering competition three years ago, and the win is well deserved. Don’s fine showing in three events netted him third, not bad for a first-timer. He’ll definitely be back! Dave had some bad luck this time, but his never quit attitude awarded him fourth place overall. Thanks to everyone who participated and helped run the competition, making it another successful C.R.A.S.H. contest! We will be looking forward to COSROCS’ Winterfest V in Colorado Springs on January 7th!
	“1/2A” Flexi-wing Duration (WF 17)
Pl.	Contestant	Flight 1	Flight 2		Times	Pl. Pts.	Tot. Pts.	NAR PP	NAR Total
1	Edward O’Neill	224	NF		224	10	170	20	340
2	Don Nelson	16	141		157	6	102	12	204
3	Bruce Markielewski	76	48		124	4	68	8	136
4	David Nauer	46	30		76	2	34	4	68
	“B” Rocket Glider Duration (WF 21)
Pl.	Contestant	Flight 1	Flight 2		Times	PP	TP	NAR PP	NAR Total
1	Bruce Markielewski	61	15		76	10	210	20	420
2	Edward O’Neill	16	16		32	6	126	12	252
3	Don Nelson	DQ	8		8	4	84	8	168
4	David Nauer	DQ	DQ		DQ	0	0	0	0
	“C” Streamer Duration – Multi Round (WF 14)
Pl.	Contestant	Flight 1	Flight 2	Flight 3	Times	PP	TP	NAR PP	NAR Total
1	Edward O’Neill	206	MAX	NF	446	10	140	20	280
2	David Nauer	DQ	167	150	317	6	84	12	168
3	Bruce Markielewski	104	DQ	106	210	4	56	8	112
4	Don Nelson	65	DQ	49	114	2	28	4	56
	Sport Scale (WF 20)
Pl.	Contestant	Flight	Static		Score	PP	TP	NAR PP	NAR Total
1	Bruce Markielewski	692	100		792	10	200	20	400
2	Edward O’Neill	621	85		706	6	120	12	240
3	Michael Geck (B)	458	110		568	4	80	—	—
4	David Nauer	465	60		525	2	40	8	160
5	Chris Brickley	379	110		489	1	20	4	80
Pl.	Overall Standings		FW	RG	SD	SS	Total
1	Edward O’Neill		170	126	140	120	556
2	Bruce Markielewski		68	210	56	200	534
3	Don Nelson		102	84	28	—	214
4	David Nauer		34	0	84	40	158
5	Michael Geck (B)		—	—	—	80	80
6	Chris Brickley		—	—	—	20	20
Pl.	NAR Standings		FW	RG	SD	SS	Total
1	Edward O’Neill		340	252	280	240	1112
2	Bruce Markielewski		136	420	112	400	1068
3	Don Nelson		204	168	56	—	428
4	David Nauer		68	0	168	160	396
5	Chris Brickley		—	—	—	80	80
Pl.	Section Standings		Open	NAR
1	C.R.A.S.H.		1404	2688
2	COSROCS		158	396