Our fifth annual Colorado Aerial
Rocket Circus was held on April 19th, with 14 entrants
participating. The day began sunny but a bit breezy, and
most of the competitors waited for a change in the
weather, opting to enjoy the many sport flights
attempted. The wind calmed around noon, and shifted away
from the lake for awhile, and the contest was underway.
Among the competitors were Dave Nauer from COSROCS, and
Tim Van Milligan from Apogee components.

    “1/4A” Helicopter
Duration was dominated by Kevin Kuczek. His 82 second
first flight nearly doubled his previous NAR record in
the event. Ed O’Neill was a distant second, followed by
Bruce Markielewski. “1/2A” Streamer Duration again was
won easily, this time by Kathleen Williams, competing in
her first contest ever! Ed again took second place, with
Todd Williams third. There was a surprising number of
DQ’s (disqualified flights), considering this was one of
the “easy” events.

    “A” Super-roc
Duration was the most popular, with 8 entrants, and the
most hotly contested. Bruce managed to squeak by Ben
Lewis for first, but lost his first model after a nearly
four minute flight. Since Ben was able to return his
flight of 218 seconds, it qualifies for a NAR national
record! James Simpson took third in the event, just
slightly ahead of Dave Nauer. “B” Boost Glider Duration
was won by Tim Van Milligan, who had a great flight of
over 3 minutes. Ed O’Neill also had a nice 149 second
flight, and took second well ahead of Dave
Nauer.

    Our “fun” event,
Broadsword Drag Race, was a new event for everyone, and
took a while to get organized and conducted. Five flyers
participated in the event, competing in pairs. Each
“race” was scored by awarding one point to the first off
the pad, one to the lowest altitude, and one for the
longest duration. James Simpson won over Brian Williams
in the first round, and Christiana Williams beat Tom Bell
in a close race. Ben Lewis was awarded a first round
“bye” as his flight was accidently raced against a large
sport model  flown by Mike Hellmund. James Simpson
could not continue in the contest, as he allowed his job
to interfere with his hobby, so it was up to Ben and
Christiana to compete for first place. The race was very
close in all areas, but Christiana was able to pull out
the victory.

    Ed O’Neill won first
place overall, with consistency and perseverance, taking
second place in three events. Bruce took second place,
just slightly ahead of Kevin, who entered only two
events. Tim Van Milligan took fourth place overall,
followed by Ben Lewis. Dave Nauer was sixth, and was one
of three contestants who entered all four NAR
events.

    This was a very fun
contest, in spite of the wind (which was still calmer
than a typical COSROCS contest), and the many trips over
the dam to recover models (Bruce had three trips). The
near record number of competitors seems to indicate an
increase in the interest in competition in our club. We’d
like to thank all of those who competed, and especially
those who help keep things going throughout the day.
Hopefully, we’ll have a large contingent attending
COSROCS’ Pikes Peak or Blast VIII in June, and our own
Colorado Model Rocketry Championships VII in
October!

    The Junior Division was contested
by Lynelle Lewis, Russell Moore, and Miles Shea. Miles
took first in the only event, with a two minute total
in “A” Parachute Duration, followed closely by Lynelle.
Russell rebounded by winning “B” Streamer Duration by
an eight second margin over Lynelle. The “B” Paper
Airplane Duration was attempted only by Russell, whose
flight was not quite stable. Russell’s first and third
places were enough to claim first place in the Junior
Division, with Lynelle a close second.

    The Open Division, comprised of
Jeff Proffit and Warren Layfield of COSROCS and
C.R.A.S.H.’s Ben Lewis was extremely competitive. In
“A” Parachute Duration, Ben had a great total time of
3+ minutes, far outpacing Jeff’s 39 seconds and
Warren’s 26 seconds. “B” Streamer Duration was much
closer, but Ben prevailed in this event also, with 84
seconds compared to Jeff’s 58 seconds and Warren’s 49.
The “B” Paper Airplane Duration event was a duel
between Warren and Jeff, with Warren barely winning the
event. Overall, Ben’s two first place finishes were
just enough to claim first place overall. Jeff was very
consistent, taking three second places and second
overall. However, Warren’s first place and two thirds
were good enough to tie Jeff for overall second place
in the division!

    The NAR division was perhaps the
most competitive, with three COSROCS members, Stan
Huyge, Todd Schneider, and David Nauer, plus our
C.R.A.S.H. regulars, Edward O’Neill, Kevin Kuczek, and
Bruce Markielewski. The events in this division were
very challenging, but Kevin’s 9+ minute total in “1/4A”
Flexi-wing Duration far outpaced everyone else in the
event. Bruce’s 3+ minutes barely edged Stan and Ed, and
was just enough for second place. Ed had the best
returned flight of the event with 103 seconds,
qualifying for a NAR National record!

    Kevin also ran away with the “1/4A”
Helicopter Duration event with a 75 second total. Ed
was a distant second with 39 seconds, followed by Bruce
with 27, Dave with 10 and Todd with 7. “1/4A” Rocket
Glider Duration was also won by Kevin, whose 58 second
total surpassed Dave’s 22 second total. Bruce was able
to manage 17 seconds after a DQ and three repair jobs
on his model. Ed’s single flight of 7 seconds was good
enough for fourth place.

    Kevin easily took first overall,
winning all events, and finally capturing the one
contest that had eluded him in the past. Bruce was able
to claim second place overall with one second place and
two thirds. Ed managed a close third over Dave, and
Stan finished fourth overall, entering only one event.
Kevin also qualified for possible NAR National records
in “1/4A” Rocket Glider Duration and “1/4A” Helicopter
Duration.

    Special thanks go to Pam Brann,
Warren Layfield, Dave Nauer, and every one else who
helped with the launch control duties, timing, and data
recording for the contest. Also, very special thanks to
the list of companies that contributed the great prizes
for our event:
    Aerospace Specialty Products,
Belleville Wholesale Hobbies, Colpar Hobbies, Countdown
Hobbies, Custom Rocket Company, Flight Systems, Inc.,
Public Missiles Ltd., Qualified Competition Rocketry,
Spherachutes, Thrust Aerospace, Top Flight Recovery,
and Vaughn Brothers Rocketry.

    Our Fifth Annual Colorado Model
Rocketry Championships was held on October 21st, 1995 at
our Bear Creek Lake Park launch site. Thirteen
competitors participated in the contest, with four from
COSROCS. As we arrived, the chances of holding the event
was questionable, as a rather large scout group had
commandeered our launch area (a scheduling error by the
park officials), plus high winds that would have put
every flight well over the dam. Fortunately, the wind
subsided just about the time the scout group was leaving,
and we decided to proceed with the contest.

    This year’s contest was organized a
bit differently than past events, with two separate
divisions instead of one. The NAR division was comprised
of four very challenging events, picked to accommodate a
NAR sanctioned contest. The four Open division events
were designed to allow those with little time to prepare
a chance to compete.

    The struggles for first places were
fiercely fought in both divisions, and the final outcomes
were not determined until the last flights. In the Open
Division, the simplicity of the events did not detract
from the efforts put forth by the competitors. In “A”
parachute Duration, the battle was between Dan Fougner
and COSROCS’ Jeff Proffitt. Jeff had an amazing first
flight that lasted over three minutes, and landed only
yards from the launch area. Not to be outdone, Dan’s
first flight was an even better four minute plus, but
unlike Jeff’s, it never came back. Jeff needed another
good flight to move ahead, but came up a few seconds
short. Dan needed a returned flight to qualify in the
event, and his 14 second “safe” flight was good enough to
take first over Jeff. The rest of the group had trouble
matching these two, but Pat Michl’s 47 seconds was enough
to beat Don Nelson for third place.

    In “B” Streamer Duration, Dan once
again took control with a 84 second total time,
outdistancing another COSROCS member, Warren Layfield.
Close behind were Don Nelson, and Jeff Proffitt. Warren
redeemed himself by winning Open Spot Landing with the
closest landing to the “spot”, followed by Dan, and
newcomer Pam Brann. All other flyers were beyond 100 feet
in this tough event. In Predicted Duration, Pam had the
best flight, guessing within six seconds of the actual
time, followed closely by Pat Michl’s eight seconds. Jeff
was third with 17, and Warren and Don tied for fourth
with 23.

    Dan Fougner won the Open Division
championship convincingly, with Warren Layfield second.
Pam Brann was third, not a bad result for someone flying
not only her first contest, but also her first rockets!
Jeff Proffitt was fourth overall, followed by Pat Michl,
Don Nelson, David Jones, and Michael Geck, who flew only
one event.

    The NAR Division featured five
seasoned competitors, andthe intensity level was high
throughout the contest. The “1/2A” Helicopter Duration
event, usually dominated Kevin Kuczek, went to Ed
O’Neill, with two very consistent flights of over 80
seconds each. Bruce Markielewski also had two fine
flights about a minute each, but only good enough for
second place. Kevin started well with a first flight of
58 seconds, but something went wrong on his next flight
which lasted only twenty seconds. This was still good
enough for third place, barely edging COSROCS member Greg
Elder’s 70 second total.

    Kevin got back on track in “1/2A”
Rocket Glider Duration, outpacing Ed by a wide margin for
first. Bruce’s 29 seconds edged COSROCS’ Dave Nauer for
third, and Greg had an incredibly low two seconds on his
only attempt. First place in “1/2A” Super-roc Duration
was a battle between Bruce and Greg, with Bruce barely
winning the event, and possibly setting a NAR National
Record with a 75 second first flight. Ed was a close
third over Dave, and while Kevin had an amazing flight of
165 seconds, his inability to return the model or attempt
a second flight disqualified him from this event.

    Ed showed his superior folding
techniques in “1/2A” Streamer Duration, as he took first
over Kevin with a 228 second total time. Bruce’s first
flight separated and was disqualified, but a respectable
second flight earned him third over Greg, who had similar
problems. Dave had disappointing results as he
uncharacteristically DQ’d both flights in this event.

    Overall, Ed O’Neill won the NAR
Division championship comfortably, followed by Bruce and
Kevin. The COSROCS contingent’s efforts were valiant, but
came up short this time. They will no doubt be waiting
for another chance at their upcoming Winterfest VI on
January 6th, 1996.

    Trophies and some very nice prizes
were awarded to those who participated. Thanks to all who
competed, and special thanks to Don Asmus, while still
claiming that competition is to stressful for him to
consider, was a tremendous help in timing the flight and
assisting in running the contest. Very Special Thanks go
to Dave Nauer, whose contest directing skills and efforts
were invaluable, as we might not have finished the
contest without his much appreciated help.

    Matt Boyd, also of C.R.A.S.H., had
some stability problems, and unfortunately was
disqualified. Greg Elder of COSROCS had a pair of
consistent flights with 6 second and 9.75 second times.
His model looked a lot like Jim’s; great minds think
alike! Ron Krenzin chose to parallel stage his entry for
flight scores of 18.23 and 5.95 seconds. COSROCS won this
event, as it was decided that if an entry DQ’d, he/she would
be given a maximum flight score of 30 seconds.

    It appeared at first
as a trademark O’Neill flight, but then something wrong
happened. The rocket proceeded to streamline in and
finally impacted, with shards of egg guts raining in
every direction! Even from about 100 yards away, it
looked spectacular, and is one prang I would have
definitely been proud of. According to Ed, there was
about a 15′ swath of egg around the crash site. So, the
pressure was on for Bruce Markielewski of C.R.A.S.H.
Bruce’s model consisted of AeroTech tubing with a
separate egg compartment that contained all the eggs.
Unique to this design was that each egg had it’s own
cushioned compartment. He used a 4 foot diameter
Spherachute cloth parachute to net the best time of the
event, 65 seconds with no broken eggs. It had been
decided that the best team duration would be used as the
“team time” and thus C.R.A.S.H. won this one hands
down.

    Both Ben Hays and Jeff Proffitt were
representing COSROCS for the “D” Streamer Duration event.
Each chose to use an AeroTech 18mm D21-7 for their first
flights. Ben’s model chose to do some sky writing after
loosing some fins during boost and unfortunately DQ’d
(too bad, Ben!). It should be noted here that Ben was at
the forefront of a COSROCS movement to try to disqualify
almost every C.R.A.S.H. flight even for such things as
“that streamers too bright – DQ!” He flew again, this
time with a D12-7 in an Estes Maniac. But good things
come to those who wait – his second and last model for
the event catoed into lots of pieces! Jeff did manage to
get one of his flights to work for 1 minute 18 seconds.
C.R.A.S.H. competitor veterans Kevin Kuczek and Ed
O’Neill had made a few test flights before the contest
and knew that 4+ minutes could be attained in dead air.
Ed flew a model with a triangular fin platform and a
micafilm streamer folded accordion style to 3 minutes 4
seconds. Kevin flew a similar model with clipped delta
fins and a 1 mil silver mylar streamer folded accordion
style and other secret styles to 4 minutes 37 seconds.
Both C.R.A.S.H. members used D12-7’s.

    The Altimeter Altitude
event required an Adept ALTIM1 altimeter payload to
record the altitude. Bruce Markielewski of C.R.A.S.H. had
the most advanced model for this event. His model was a
boat-tailed fiberglass bird of minimum diameter (.875″),
and used a 13mm Apogee B7. Although it oscillated slightly on
boost due possibly to an uneven thrust alignment, it
tracked straight and true during coast to post an altitude of
1,274 feet. Ron Krenzin flew a B4-6 in a blue model of his own
design and it coasted to 868 feet. Ron’s model was unique
in that everything on it was fabricated himself, the tube
was a rolled paper one and the nose cone was a conical
shape which he also rolled. Josh Hays had his Dad, Ben,
proxy fly his to 707 feet.

      “B” Paper Airplane
Duration – the rules of this event were simple, build a
paper airplane out of a standard sheet of 8-1/2″ x 11″
paper 20-120 lb. weight and fly it using a B class motor.
Both Kevin Kuczek and Dean LeBet flew a Kuczek design
which consisted of a trimmed dart shaped paper airplane
strapped to 36″ of 18mm tubing in such as way so that the
dorsal fin on the glider also doubled as the third fin on
the booster needed for booster stability. Kevin had a
couple of amazing flights of 67 and 85 seconds while Dean
posted a flight of 50 seconds and a second flight which
sailed away never to be found. To qualify, both the
booster and the airplane had to be returned. Ben Hays
found out during the contest that he’d be flying the
event, and he configured a crude but deadly entry that
netted a 42 second time. Jeff Proffitt flew a unique
yellow plane with lots of folds in it on a booster
stabilized by a ring at the bottom for times of 11.8 and
52.6 seconds.

    Without a doubt,
C.R.A.S.H. ruled with 56 total points over COSROCS
(drooling!) who finished with 40 points. All of us had a
great deal of fun, and can’t wait to continue the
Colorado Rocketry Team Championships next year, with a
new set of events and tentatively scheduled for the
COSROCS launch site. There is now a traveling trophy that
will display each year’s winning club name. See you there
next year!

    Our COSROCS team
would intimidate most clubs. President Ben Hays was ready
for competition, bringing son Josh Hays’ altitude entry
for proxy flight. David Nauer was ready to help run the
event and compete in the egglofting competition. Greg
Elder, ever present, was well prepared for his entries.
Jeff Proffitt brought his innovative solutions to two
events, and Ron Krenzin’s superior modeling capabilities
were brought to bear on some unique approaches to both of
his events. New comer rocketeer Mike Hill was teamed with
old timer Warren Layfield for the truest of the team
competition. COSROCS arrived in the best of moods,
sporting buttons reading “C.R.A.S.H. DROOLS, COSROCS
RULES”. C.R.A.S.H. members were immediately seen sporting
these buttons with tape over the “C.R.A.S.H.” and
“RULES”, thus reading “COSROCS DROOLS”. C.R.A.S.H. also
supplied buttons designed to commemorate the occasion.
The day was cool with a biting low velocity wind, but a
light cloud cover never formed into a winter storm as
predicted by the local seer sayers (weathermen). Access
to Ben Hays’ mini-motor home made a real difference in
tolerating the weather.

    The “F” 6-egglofting
duration contest required the competitor to fly 6 eggs
under F power for the longest duration. Each broken egg
counted for minus 15 seconds, and a competitor was
disqualified if he broke all 6 eggs. Dave Nauer broke one
of his 6 eggs, losing 15 seconds and flying a 21 second
flight. Don Fent bested Dave’s effort with a 40 second
flight using a modified Broadsword. C.R.A.S.H.’s Ed
O’Neill had very bad luck as his custom entry never
separated and formed a cold omelet on the unforgiving
Colorado plain. Bruce Markielewski took top honors with a
custom built model which featured separate cavities for
each egg. Bruce flew a 65 second flight for team honors.
In this event the best single flight won — C.R.A.S.H.
10, COSROCS 6.

    “D” Streamer
duration flew under pink book rules — use a “D” engine
with a streamer recovery. Two flight durations are added
for a total, and one of the two flights must be returned.
Ben Hays immediately met disaster with a D21-7 flight
which was DQ’ed due to a separated streamer. Ben then met
further disaster when his backup flight using a D12-7 met
instant destruction as the motor violently CATOed. Jeff
Proffitt started similarly with a separation under D21-7
power and a disqualified flight. Jeff then achieved the
only good flight from COSROCS, successfully flying a
D12-7 for a 78 second flight. C.R.A.S.H. brought out the
big guns for this event, using Kevin and Ed (#1 and #9 in
the nation respectively), each flying flights over 180
seconds (Kevin flew a 277 second flight, Ed flew a 184
second flight). Needless to say — C.R.A.S.H. 20, COSROCS
12.

    “B” Paper Airplane
brought several surprises, including the announcement
that Warren was not ready to fly. Ben Hays took his open
slot and represented the club with an entry prepared in
less than 30 minutes. He successfully flew his entry with
a 42 second flight. Jeff Proffitt came prepared and had
two good flights of 52 and 11 seconds. C.R.A.S.H. had two
renown competitors — Kevin Kuczek and Dean Lebet — fly
with similar designs using 120 pound weight paper, the
maximum allowed under the rules. Kevin achieved flights
of 67 and 85 seconds. Dean flew flights of 50 and 75
seconds. Again, C.R.A.S.H. dominated the event:
C.R.A.S.H. 30, COSROCS 18.

    “B” Altitude was
unusual in that Adept altimeters were utilized inside of
a custom rocket whose altitude was measured by the
altimeter. COSROCS was represented by “A” divisioner Josh
Hays and Ron Krenzin. Josh had to attend a hockey event
and was unable to personally attend; his rocket was proxy
flown by David Nauer. Josh’s rocket flew with a B4-6 and
attained an altitude of 707 feet. Ron’s custom beauty
achieved 868 feet. In this event, only the highest flight
by the club counted (there was no averaging in this one).
Bruce Markielewski sported a custom fiberglass job
typical of his “heads up” line of competition rockets.
Nervously everyone readied for the likely results when
Bruce managed to assemble a fantastic flight of 1274 feet
using an Apogee B7 motor. Again, C.R.A.S.H. 40, COSROCS
24.

    Two stage difference
was an event flown at Pikes Peak or BLAST III, way back
in 1992. The idea was to fly a two stage rocket with the
least time between the landing of the first and second
stages. Ron Krenzin designed a “parallel staged” rocket
first suggested by G. Harry Stine. His design was
graciously allowed by Kevin Kuczek, keeping in the spirit
of the contest. Ron’s flights included differences of 6
and 10 seconds. He would have done better, but Dave Nauer
talked him out of a parachute recovery for his second
flight. Greg Elder had a cluster/staged design for his
entry, flying excellent flights of 6 and 18 seconds.
Thus, COSROCS had a “best time” average of 6 seconds for
the team time. C.R.A.S.H. immediately shattered our
concepts of winning anything when James Simpson flew a 2
second entry (and also an 11 second flight which would be
discarded). Unfortunately for C.R.A.S.H., Matt Boyd’s
unique design didn’t work as he suffered dual DQ’s in his
flight, suffering a 30 second penalty. COSROCS was
finally victorious in one event: C.R.A.S.H. 46, COSROCS
34.