Colorado Model Rocketry Championships VII – October 18, 1997

By Bruce Markielewski Our seventh annual Colorado Model Rocketry Championships was held on October 18th, 1997 – well, most of it, anyway! This year’s contest was a bit of a departure from the past. In the NAR Section, we decided to depart from the usual duration events, and and instead scheduled three altitude events. This turned out to be a bit too ambitious, as we had a difficult time getting things going with everything that was happening that day. The weather was perfect, which contributed to our problems. We had an unusually large turnout that included a group of cub scouts and more than our usual number of members and newcomers. in spite of all large attendance, we had a difficult time getting enough people to help run the contest events, altitude tracking, and sport flying. We decided to concentrate on completing the events in the Open Section. This section was fairly typical, with the more usual style of duration events and spot landing. Twelve competitors entered the Open Section, and while most entered only one or two events, those who entered all events made the contest for the top overall places an interesting one! The “1/2” A Deltie Duration event had many fine flight, with most of the best around 30 seconds. Dennis Nicks exceeded the norm on his second flight, with an outstanding second flight of 86 seconds, taking first in the event. Brian Nicks was a distant second, with two consistent flights, followed closely by Tom Bell and Gene Nandrea. “C” Fat Boy Duration was hotly contested, with Dennis McNally coming out on top. Close behind was Jeff Karpinski, with Jeff Blinn third, and Dennis Nicks fourth. “D” Streamer Duration was never in question, as Dennis Nicks ran away with the event on his first flight. Jeff Blinn barely edged Brian Nicks for second, while Miles Shea was a distant fourth. Open Spot Landing was a but different than usual, as we allowed the best of two flights to determine the winner. This event was in doubt up to the end, with Jeff Blinn coming out on top. Dennis Nicks just barely bettered his brother Brian’s flight for second, with Miles Shea finishing a strong fourth. Overall, Dennis Nicks placed first, winning two events, closely followed by Jeff Blinn. Brian Nicks finished a strong third, and Dennis McNally’s single first place event earned him fourth place overall. The NAR Section was another story altogether, as getting flights flown and tracked proved to be a real chore. Nine competitors entered the section, with three from the COSROCS club. Notably absent was Dave Nauer, who missed only his first Colorado contest since we began. His presence was sorely missed! In most events most managed only one flight, which further demonstrated the difficulties encountered. Because we couldn’t complete all of the flights the first day, we continued the events at our next Saturday launch. “A” Cluster Altitude was too much for everyone who entered, as all flights were disqualified, quickly making this a three event contest! Bruce Markielewski was the clear winner in “B” Payload Altitude, followed by Jeff Proffitt. Greg Elder’s flight was qualified and earned him third, but too difficult to track. Everyone who entered “C” Eggloft Altitude had a qualified and tracked flight, and Ed O’Neill had the best, followed by Kathleen Williams. Bruce Markielewski’s second attempt was good enough for third, with Greg Elder taking fourth. In “D” Streamer Duration, Bruce Markielewski passed Ed O’Neill for first place, as Jeff Proffitt won a close battle with Ben Lewis for third place. In the NAR Overall standings, Bruce Markielewski claimed first with two event wins. Ed O’Neill’s single event win earned him second, with Jeff Proffitt a strong third. Kathleen Williams’ second place event was enough for fourth overall. This contest was certainly a leaning experience, and was a strong reminder why we rarely attempted altitude events in the past. Hopefully, we’ll do better in the future, and be able to use this contest as a guideline in planning future contests! Below are the final results and point totals for this contest, one that many of us were glad to see behind us!
	OPEN Section
	“1/2” A Deltie Duration (WF 15)
Pl.	Contestant	Flight 1	Flight 2	Score	Points	Total
1	Dennis Nicks	37	86	123	10	150
2	Brian Nicks	33	22	45	6	90
3	Tom Bell	29	18	47	4	60
4	Gene Nandrea	13	24	36	2	30
5	Ariana Williams	35	NF	35	1	15
6	Jeff Blinn	DQ	27	27	1	15
7	Miles Shea	13	NF	13	1	15
	“C” Fat Boy Duration (WF 15)
1	Dennis McNally	55	110	165	10	150
2	Jeff Karpinski	61	65	126	6	90
3	Jeff Blinn	76	20	96	4	60
4	Dennis Nicks	18	19	37	2	30
5	Christiana Williams	23	NF	23	1	15
6	Brian Nicks	11	NF	11	1	15
	“D” Streamer Duration (WF 15)
1	Dennis Nicks	239	52	291	10	150
2	Jeff Blinn	51	47	98	6	90
3	Brian Nicks	96	NF	96	4	60
4	Miles Shea	65	NF	65	2	30
	Open Spot Landing (WF 15) (meters)
1	Jeff Blinn	27	11	11	10	150
2	Dennis Nicks	17	30	17	6	90
3	Brian Nicks	33	20	20	4	60
4	Miles Shea	27	50+	27	2	30
5	Jim Lambert	32	50+	32	1	15
5	Loren Fletcher	32	NF	32	1	15
Pl.	Open Section Results	1/2A DD	C FBD	D SD	OSL	Total
1	Dennis Nicks	150	30	150	90	420
2	Jeff Blinn	15	60	90	150	315
3	Brian Nicks	90	15	60	60	225
4	Dennis McNally	—-	150	—-	—-	150
5	Jeff Karpinski	—-	90	—-	—-	90
6	Miles Shea	15	—-	30	30	75
7	Tom Bell	60	—-	—-	—-	60
8	Gene Nandrea	30	—-	—-	—-	30
9	Loren Fletcher	—-	—-	—-	15	15
9	Jim Lambert	—-	—-	—-	15	15
9	Ariana Williams	15	—-	—-	—-	15
9	Christiana Williams	—-	15	—-	—-	15
	NAR Section
	“A” Cluster Altitude (WF 16) (meters)
Pl.	Contestant	Flight 1	Flight 2	Score	Points	Total	NAR
x	Greg Elder	DQ	NF	DQ	0	0	0
x	Jeff Proffitt (Non-NAR)	DQ	NF	DQ	0	0	0
x	Bruce Markielewski	DQ	NF	DQ	0	0	0
x	Kathleen Williams	DQ	NF	DQ	0	0	0
x	Todd Williams	DQ	NF	DQ	0	0	0
x	Ed O’Neill	DQ	NF	DQ	0	0	0
	“B” Payload Altitude (WF 15 ) (meters)
1	Bruce Markielewski	250	NF	250	10	150	300
2	Jeff Proffitt (Non-NAR)	109	NF	109	6	90	—-
3	Greg Elder	NT	NF	FP	1	15	30
4	Ed O’Neill	DQ	NF	DQ	0	0	0
	“C” Eggloft Altitude (WF 18)
1	Ed O’Neill	222	NF	222	10	180	360
2	Kathleen Williams	187	NF	187	6	108	216
3	Bruce Markielewski	DQ	537	164	4	72	144
4	Greg Elder	134	NF	134	2	36	72
5	Daron Klugesherz	82	NF	82	1	18	36
5	Warren Layfield	76	NF	76	1	18	36
x	Jeff Proffitt (Non-NAR)	58	NF	58	1	18	—-
	“D” Streamer Duration (WF 11)
1	Bruce Markielewski	223	NF	223	10	110	220
2	Ed O’Neill	DQ	204	204	6	66	132
3	Jeff Proffitt (Non-NAR)	57	69	126	4	44	—-
4	Ben Lewis	66	54	120	2	22	88
5	Greg Elder	66	NF	66	1	11	44
6	Daron Klugesherz	31	NF	31	1	11	22
6	Warren Layfield	21	NF	21	1	11	22
x	Todd Williams	DQ	NF	DQ	0	0	0
	Overall Results	A CA	B PAY	C ELD	D SD	Total	NAR Points
1	Bruce Markielewski	0	150	72	110	332	664
2	Ed O’Neill	0	0	180	66	246	492
3	Jeff Proffitt (Non-NAR)	0	90	18	44	152	—-
4	Kathleen Williams	0	—-	108	—-	108	216
5	Greg Elder	0	15	36	11	62	146
6	Ben Lewis	—-	—-	—-	22	22	88
7	Daron Klugesherz	—-	—-	18	11	29	58
7	Warren Layfield	—-	—-	18	11	29	58
x	Todd Williams	0	—-	—-	0	0	0
Pl.	Section Results	Open	NAR
1	C.R.A.S.H.	766	1518
2	COSROCS	243	204