All posts by user

Grandma Goodard’s High Power But Somewhat Less Than Exceptional Extreme Altitude Model Rocket Extravaganza and Chili Cookoff II November 17th, 1990

Grandma Goodard’s
High Power But Somewhat Less Than Exceptional
Extreme Altitude Model Rocket Extravaganza and
Chili Cookoff II
November 17th,
1990

By Bruce Markielewski


    On November 17th, we held the
second annual Grandma Goodard’s High Power but Somewhat
Less Than Exceptional Extreme Altitude Model Rocket
Extravaganza and Chili Cookoff (?). Although the
contest events were not attended as enthusiastically as
we would have hoped, we had a lot of rocketeers there
and many exciting flights. The day started typically
for this year (windy, cool and overcast), and
threatened to once again dampen the spirits of our
dedicated group.

Dave Nauer Preps a Glider Dave Nauer Preps a Glider
    After an hour or so, however, the
wind died down a little. The sport launches began, and
later the braver competitors flew their contest models.
Although much of my time was spent tracking down
potential entrants, I noticed a large number of
AeroTech “Initiator” flights! This seems to be a very
popular model. On one of the early flights, John Doran
watched one of his birds drift off over the northeast
horizon. Later launches were angled a bit more into the
wind, to compensate for the drift Most other flyers
spent a lot of time chasing rockets, insisting on using
“E” or higher engines.

    With the low number of entrants in
the contest, problems with communicating with our
tracking station, and not being a NAR sanctioned
tournament, we scaled down the competition to single
flight events, and used a single tracker for altitude
events. Everyone entering received a certificate (I
hope!), and I waved the “DQ” penalty on all events (I
figured anyone who took the time to build something,
and dare to fly it, deserved a break). As the day went
on, the weather got better and better. By the time we
shut down (around 2:00), it was just about perfect, as
another group of rocketeers took over our launch site
to fly several more AeroTech kits! I’d guess we
acquired a few more members that afternoon.

Ricky Wood Dave's Glider Flight
    Lastly, I’d like to thank Mike
Hellmund for doing most of the tracking, Tim Horner for
handling the launch duties, and those who helped with
the timing. They made the event a lot more enjoyable
for everyone!

    Here’s the results of the
competition:

“A”
Division

Bruce's "D" Rocket Glider
“B” Altitude First
Place
Second Place   
Third Place
Gabe
Horner
Ricky Wood
Margaret Anderson
1610 feet
1050 feet

633 feet

“B” Streamer First Place
Second Place
Gabe Horner
Ricky Wood
37 seconds

31 seconds

“B”
Boost-Glide
First Place Ricky
Wood
   
       (Second best
shred of the day!!)


“B” & “C” Division

“D” Altitude First Place
Second Place
Dan Fougner
Dave Nauer
1754 feet
730 feet

“D” Streamer First Place
Second Place
Dan Fougner
Dave Nauer
60 seconds

47 seconds

“D”
Boost-Glide
First Place Dave
Nauer
   
       (Definitely
the best shred af the day!!)

“D”
Rocket-Glide
First Place Bruce
Markielewski   
27 seconds
   
   (Good take-off, nice big
loop, then into a gentle glide,
        and it survived well enough
for another launch next month!)


Chili Cookoff !!
         
               
 First Place (not by much)
         Tim
Horner

         
               
 Second Place (just barely)
       Chipsand Jinx
Anderson

Colorado Aerial Rocket Circus II – April 21, 1990

By Larry Weber

      The Colorado
weather didn’t cooperate with us this year. High winds
blew out the CARCIS II launches on Saturday (April 21st),
half of Sunday (April 22nd), and the alternate date on
May 19th.

      You can’t say a whole lot about a
launch where the wind is so strong it blows a 2 x 6 foot
table over and over. We did get some eggloft flights off
on the 22nd, but didn’t get enough flights into the air
to even file for NAR points.

      However, the good news is that the
trackers are built for Grandma Goodards.

Mike Hellmund watches Rockets on the pad
Heritage Park launch site Contest Models on the pad
(A few contest flights were attempted
in spite of the bad weather, and are listed
below)

“B” Boost Glider Duration (WF 9)
Contestant
Div
Flt 1
Flt 2
Total
Kevin McKinney
C
156.00
84.00
240
Mike Hellmund
C
55.75
131.10
187
Bruce Markielewski

C
23.15
24.70
48
“1/2A” Parachute Duration (WF 3)
Contestant
Div
Flt 1
Flt 2
Total
Mike Hellmund
C
27.25
27
Larry Weber
C
22.27
22
Kevin McKinney

C
14.34
14
“B” Helicopter Duration (WF 10)
Contestant
Div
Flt 1
Flt 2
Total
Bruce Markielewski
C
UNS
Kevin Kuczek
C
58.60
59
David Nauer

C
NDP
“D” Dual Eggloft Altitude (WF 14) (C and Team Divisions
only)
Contestant
Div
Flt 1
Flt 2
Best
Bruce Markielewski
C
UNS
Mike Hellmund

C
EJT
“C” Eggloft Duration (WF 7) (A and B Divisions only)
Contestant
Div
Flt 1
Flt 2
Best
Ricky Wood
A
204.27
51.07
204
Todd Schneider

B
22.76
51
Other Entrants (did not fly)
Steve Anderson
Beth Weber

Grandma Goodard’s High Power But Somewhat Less Than Exceptional Extreme Altitude Model Rocket Extravaganza and Chili Cookoff October 21st, 1989

Grandma Goodard’s High
Power But Somewhat Less Than Exceptional Extreme
Altitude Model Rocket Extravaganza and Chili Cookoff
October 21st, 1989

By Larry Weber

    October 21, 1989
dawned crisp as a snap of the fingers when you remember
what you’ve forgotten. At 8:30 AM as we were setting up,
the sun was warming Highlands Ranch Heritage Park. A
sudden decision by the park officials to try to beat the
next snow by finishing and testing the sprinkler system
made our normal flight area into a swamp. By 10:00 we had
moved north, were set up, had our warning flags out, and
the first bird of Grandma Goodard’s High Power But
Somewhat Less Than Exceptional Extreme Altitude Model
Rocket Extravaganza And Chili Cookoff was in the
air.
Glider Trimming Contest Preparation
    After two snows this
fall, we had the finest flying weather I’ve seen this
year. The 45 or so spectators applauded, basked in the
sun in, and complimented the members of C.R.A.S.H. and
COSROCS on their High Power Rocketry. Five potential new
members gave us their addresses and asked about the
meetings. I guarantee that yours truly will never again
be at a shoot or at GGHPBSLTEEAMREACC without at least
20-30 brochures. However, even with all of the help in
timing and officiating I was lucky to get a grand total
of five flights into the air. I managed to get 5-6 photos
so I hope someone else got lots of pictures. All
C.R.A.S.H. and COSROCS members were awfully busy. We
wouldn’t have traded it for a day on the beach in
Jamaica.

    Half the launch
complex broke down. Even so we managed to get enough
spectator and junior C.R.A.S.H. member’s rockets up so
that the longest break in the day was 45 minutes at
lunch. During that time Beth and I redid the plumbing on
our field stove to heat up the chili and then warmed up
both our entry and Danita Hellmund’s. We tasted chili for
15 or so minutes and then started shooting again. All
during the early afternoon contestants and spectators
watched and ate. Kevin McKinney managed to drop some
wadding into Danita’s chili from 1200 or so feet, giving
an authentic composite flavor to the stew. You should
have seen the look on Danita’s face as she was fishing
out the soggy wadding!
CompetitorsCompetition models

    The chili tasting was
a bash. Beth Weber had the best Santa Fe Red. Danita
Hellmund had the best Green. Bruce Markielewski had the
most unique presentation (served directly from a cooler).
Hirrel Weber had a BBQ Bean dish that wasn’t quite chili,
and there were a couple of offerings from others that we
didn’t get names from. No one could agree on the best and
everyone went home full. Thank You all.

    Beth Weber got the
DQ award with a CATO on her Lasersonic 1.2. Her Aerotech
F20-8 blew up on ignition. We recovered all pieces and
the propellent was scorched but had not ignited. You
figure it.

    Bruce Markielewski
got the Rainbow Parachutes ‘chute as he rebuilt and flew
his glider entry 4 times. He flew it into the ground four
times on two F’s and two D’s. We figured he should stick
to parachutes.

    Jason Muehls got a
Flat Cat Kit for persistence. First for coming all of the
way down from Cheyenne, Wyoming and then for getting 8
flights from the same bird before loosing the nose cone.
We stopped flying at 4:30 pm and tore down the Launch
Pad. At 5:20 when I walked into the house it hit me that
I never had made it to the men’s room. What a
day!

      The competition
results are as follows:

Senior “F”
Boost Glide  

First
place
Second place
Mike Hellmund
Larry Weber
Glider Flight
Senior “F” Streamer
Duration
First place
Second place
Third place
Larry
Weber
Mike Hellmund
David Nauer
Junior “F”
Streamer
First place

Todd Schneider
Senior Olde Tyme
Boost Glide
First place
Second place
Kevin
Kuczek
Kevin McKinney
Junior Olde
Tyme
Boost Glide
First place Ricky Wood

NARAM 31

NARAM 31 Logo
NARAM 31 – August 7-11, 1989 – Manassas, Virginia

    This was the first NARAM attended by
members of C.R.A.S.H. Representing our group were Club
President Mike Hellmund, and former “A” Division National
Champion (NARAM 24) Kevin Kuczek, now as a member of the
team “East Meets West” (NARAM 27 Team National
Champions).

    Mike was successful in two “C” Division
events, taking third in “D” Eggloft Altitude, and second
place in “B” Altitude.

   Kevin’s team placed in seven events, taking
first in “B” Altitude, seconds in “1/2A” Parachute
Duration and “C” payload Altitude, thirds in “B” Boost
Glider, “B” Helicopter Duration, and “C” Streamer
Duration, and fourth in “C” Scale Altitude.
 Overall, the East Meets West team took third place
for the meet.

NARAM 32 Logo
NARAM 32 – August 4-11, 1990 – Dallas, Texas

    Once again, C.R.A.S.H.’s Mike
Hellmund, Kevin Kuczek as a member of the “East Meets
West” team<, and “B” Divisioner Todd Schneider (now
flying for COSROCS), attended the national contest.

    Mike placed in one event, a
second in “B” Boost Glider Duration. Todd took home
two trophies, third places in “1/2A” Helicopter and Sport
Scale.

    East Meets West won the Meet
Championship, with first places in Random Duration (tie),
“D” Dual Eggloft Duration, “A” Streamer Duration, and
second places in “1/2A” Helicopter, “C” Altitude, Sport
Scale, but another National Title eluded them once
again.

NARAM 33 Logo
NARAM 33 – August 3-9, 1991 – Elgin, Illinois

    For the third year in a row, Mike
Hellmund attended the NAR Annual Meet, this time entering
as a team along with first time NARAM participant Bruce
Markielewski. Their team was called the “Peripheral
Visionaries”, and took home places in two events – second
in “A” Payload Altitude (tie), and fourth in “C” Eggloft
Altitude.

    COSROCS’ Todd Schneider also
competed, his first year in “B” Division. Todd took home
trophies in seven events – first in “A” Streamer
Duration,  second places in “1/2A” Parachute
Duration, “B” Boost Glider Duration, Precision
Duration,  and Peanut Scale, third place in Open
Spot Landing,  and fourth place in “B” Eggloft
Altitude.   (More
info)

NARAM 34 Logo
NARAM 34 – August 1-7, 1992 – Las Vegas, Nevada

    In August of 1992, a contingent of
Colorado competitors descended upon Eldorado Dry Lake for
a week of hot desert rocketry competition. representing
COSROCS were Todd Schneider and his parents, Dave Nauer,
and Warren Layfield. Representing C.R.A.S.H., Bruce
Markielewski participated in his second NARAM, this time
as a “C” Division competitor.

    Todd did well in “B” Division, taking
home nine trophies. He had first places in “A” Parachute
Duration and “D” Flexi-wing Duration, seconds in “B”
Streamer Duration, “1/4A” Rocket Glider Duration, and “E”
Super-roc Altitude, third places in “F” Helicopter
Duration and Research and Development, and fourth in
“1/2A” Boost Glider Duration.

    In “C” Division, Bruce had first
places in “B” Streamer Duration and  Plastic Model
Conversion, and second places in Research and Development
and “1/4A” Rocket Glider Duration, finishing sixth
nationally. Dave did even better, with firsts in Research
and Development and “C” Eggloft Altitude, second places
in “F” Helicopter Duration and Super Scale, and third in
“D” Flexi-wing Duration. Dave also finished in second
place as the Reserve National Champion!    (More Info)

NARAM 36 Logo

NARAM 36 – July 23-28, 1994 – Houston, Texas

    Kevin Kuczek was C.R.A.S.H.’s sole
representative at this meet, this time entering as a “C”
Division competitor. Kevin took first places in “E” Dual
Eggloft Altitude and “F” Streamer Duration, second places
in “A” Helicopter Duration, “D” Altitude and “C” Rocket
Glider, third place in Scale, and fourth in “1/2A”
Parachute Duration.

    With his eight places in the
individual events, Kevin won the “C” Division National
Championship. Also, for the first time, C.R.A.S.H. placed
as a NAR Section, winning fourth place nationally,
largely due to Kevin’s impressive performance!
  (More Info)

NARAM 37 Logo
NARAM 37 – July 22-28, 1995 – Geneseo, New York

    C.R.A.S.H. had no members representing
the club at this NARAM. Surprisingly,  we won one of
the NAR’s most prestigious awards – the L.A.C. Newsletter
Trophy. The award (also known as the “Rockwell
Trophy”)  is given to the best NAR Section
newsletter for the contest year.

    Our newsletter, “C.R.A.S.H. Landings”
was selected as the winner over many fine rocketry
publications throughout the country.   (More Info)

NARAM 38 Logo
NARAM 38 – August 2-10, 1996 – Evansville, Illinois

    Todd Schneider (COSROCS) and Bruce
Markielewski (C.R.A.S.H.) represented Colorado at this
NARAM.

    Todd was entering as a “C” Division
competitor for the first time at a national contest. Todd
didn’t enter many events, but took first in “A”
Altitude.

    Bruce won first place in Sport Scale,
third in Spot Landing, and fourth in “A” Altitude. Bruce
also took home the dreaded “Best Midwest Qualified
Flight” award – for the worst flight of the week!
   (More Info)

NARAM 39 Logo
NARAM 39 – July 28 – August 1, 1997 – Tucson, Arizona

    Once again, Todd Schneider and Bruce
Markielewski attended the national meet, this time
accompanied by C.R.A.S.H. members Todd Williams and Ed
O’Neill. All were competing in “C” Division.

    Ed took first place in Sport Scale,
second in “1/4A” Helicopter, and third place in “1/2A”
Streamer Multi-round. Ed also tied for third place for
the meet.

    Bruce was third in “1/4A” Helicopter,
and fourth place in the National Championship race. Bruce
also won his second “Best Midwest Qualified Flight” in a
row, having been nominated for the dubious award in two
events.    (More
Info)

NARAM 40 Logo
NARAM 40 – August 8-14, 1998 – Muncie, Indiana

    Two of the newer C.R.A.S.H. members,
Mel and Paul Gray attended this NARAM. For both, this was
their first National contest, and the first contest of
any kind for Paul.

    Competing in “B” Division, Paul won
third places in “1/4A” Parachute Duration and Sport
Scale, and a fourth place in “A” Boost Glider Duration.
   (More Info)

NARAM 41 Logo
NARAM 41 – August 7-13, 1999 – Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania

    Paul and Mel Gray attended their
second NARAM, this time joined by Todd and Kathleen
Williams and their family.

    Paul took first in “B” Rocket Glider
and Research and Development, third places in “1/2A’
Super-roc Altitude and “B” Eggloft Duration, and fourth
places in “A” Helicopter Duration, “C” Payload Altitude,
“A” Streamer Duration, and Open Spot Landing. Paul was
also fourth place for the meet.

    Christiana Williams, competing in “A”
Division, took home fourth place in “B” Rocket Glider
Duration.   (More
Info)

       
           
NARAM 2000 Logo  
NARAM 42 – July 29 – August 4, 2000 – Canon City,
Colorado

    As one of the host Sections,
C.R.A.S.H. (along with COSROCS, and Tripoli Colorado) had
many members attend, contribute, compete, and be
successful at the first Colorado NARAM in 31 years.

    In “B” Division, Paul Gray won second
place for the meet, was second in the National
Championship race. New C.R.A.S.H. member James Snow was
third for the meet. In “C” Division,  Rick Hyman was
fourth in the meet championships, Ed O’Neill was second,
and Bruce Markielewski was first. Bruce also won the “C”
Division National Championship.

    C.R.A.S.H. was third in the Section
Championships, and also won the NAR’s prestigious Section
of the Year Award. C.R.A.S.H. members and as a club took
home 37 of the trophies awarded!    (More Info)   (Awards)

NARAM 43 Logo
NARAM 43 – August 4-10, 2001 –
Genesseo, New York

    Randy Chambers competed in his second
NARAM, and was the only C.R.A.S.H. representative this
year.

    Randy competed in all of the “A”
Division events, and qualified in every one, and 
took second place in “1/2A” Flexi-wing Boost Glider
Duration event.

Colorado Aerial Rocket Circus I – April 15, 1989

By Bruce Markielewski

    This was the first
model rockety contest sponsored by C.R.A.S.H., and being
a sanctioned NAR Open competition, was comprised of four
NAR “Pink Book” events. The contest was held at
Challenger Park, just north of Parker. For many
participants, this was their first contest ever. and it
was clear from the start who were the beginners and who
were the seasoned competitors.

    However, this didn’t
mean that those new to competition had no chance, as
Kevin McKinney proved by winning “A” Parachute Duration
in “C” Division with a couple of fine flights. Kevin
Kuczek, flying as part of the “East Meets West” team,
was a close second with the best flight of the day after
a disqualified first flight. Michael Hellmund was a
close third, with the rest of us trailing in the distance.

    In the “A/B” Division,
Bryan Schmidt won easily with his first flight, with Tom
Martin in second place by almost a minute and a half.
Since this was the only event that the “A'” and “B”
Division participants entered, the overall places for the
division were also decided.
Challenger Park left Challenger park right
    In “1/2 A” Boost
Glider Duration, “East Meets West” prevailed again by a
wide margin over Michael Hellmund and Dave Nauer, who
placed second and third, respectively.

    “East Meets West” won easily in “C”
Streamer Duration with a single flight of over three
minutes. Dave Nauer placed second with a pair of nice
flights, and third place was captured by Kevin McKinney
with two nearly identical flights.

Loading the pad Egglofter Liftoff
    “C” Eggloft Duration
was hotly contested, as all three competitors had at
least one flight over 1-1/2 minutes. “East Meets West”
won again, followed by Michael Hellmund and Bruce
Markielewski.

    Overall, Kevin Kuczek’s “East Meets
West” ran away with the contest, which was anticipated by
many from the most experienced competitor. Following in
the distance was Michael Hellmund, the next most seasoned
competitor, with Dave Nauer and Kevin McKinney finishing
third and fourth.

    Those of us who survived their first
model rocketry contest and those who compete on a regular
basis all had a great time and are already looking
forward to the next event, expecting the competition to
be a lot closer the next time!

“1/2A” Boost Glider
Duration (WF 7)
Contestant
Div
Flight 1
Total
PP
TP
1
2
3
4
5
6
x

East Meets West
Michael Hellmund
David Nauer
Bruce Markielewski
Kevin McKinney
John Garnham
Mollie Badger
T
C
C
C
C
C
C
50
18
39
CATO
9
2
DQ
96
54
29
30
DQ
NF
NF
146
72
68
30
9
2
0
10
6
4
2
1
1
0
140
84
56
28
14
14
0
“A” Parachute
Duration (WF 3)
Contestant
Div
Flight 1
Flight 2
Total
PP
TP
1
2
3
4
5
6
x

Kevin McKinney
East Meets West
Michael Hellmund
Larry Weber
John Garnham
Mollie Badger
Bruce Markielewski
C
T
C
C
C
C
C
65
DQ
118
76
57
10
DQ
107
160
20
NF
DQ
DQ
NF
172
160
138
76
57
10
0
10
6
4
2
1
1
0
60
36
24
12
6
6
0
1
2
3

Bryan Schmidt
Tom Martin
Todd Schneider
A
B
A
102
16
19
DQ
18
DQ
102
34
19
10
6
4
60
36
24
“C” Streamer Duration (WF 5)
Contestant
Div
Flight 1
Flight 2
Total
PP
TP
1
2
3
4
5

East Meets West
David Nauer
Kevin McKinney
John Garnham
Michael Hellmund
T
C
C
C
C
193
86
39
DQ
DQ
NF
77
39
48
40
193
153
78
48
40
10
6
4
2
1
100
60
40
20
10
“C” Eggloft Duration (WF 7)
Contestant
Div
Flight 1
Flight 2
Best
PP
TP
1
2
3

East Meets West
Michael Hellmund
Bruce Markielewski
T
C
C
189
DQ
117
NF
142
87
189
142
117
10
6
4
140
84
56
Overall Standings
DIV
1/2A BG
A PD
C SD
C ELD
Total
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

East Meets West
Michael Hellmund
David Nauer
Kevin McKinney
Bruce Markielewski
John Garnham
Larry Weber
Mollie Badger
T
C
C
C
C
C
C
C
140
84
56
14
28
14
—-
0
36
24
—-
60
0
6
12
6
100
10
60
40
—-
20
—-
—-
140
84
—-
—-
56
—-
—-
—-
416
202
116
114
84
40
12
6
1
2
3

Bryan Schmidt
Tom Martin
Todd Schneider
A
B
A
—-
—-
—-
60
36
24
—-
—-
—-
—-
—-
—-
60
36
24
Section
Points
C.R.A.S.H.
Independent
950
160