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July 1, 2007 Today we had the lightest turnout I've ever seen at PARA. I assume it was because of the July 4th holiday because the weather was the best I've seen in a long time. There were ten flights which included 2-B's, 3-C's, 1-F, 1-G and 3-H's. Karl Wagenseller had a great first flight of his scratch built upscale of an Estes Der Red Max on an H238. Cody Wagenseller had several good flights from rockets that he built from the kits that Muggs Ferguson generously provided. Among other things, Steve Terrell flew a kit called a Longshot also from Muggs. It is about 36 inches long minimum diameter rocket powered by a B6-4. Barney Snyder flew his Grid on a G64 and his AGM-40 on a H123. The AGM-40's ejection charge didn't go off and it took a core sample somewhere in the woods. If anyone finds it, Barney would appreciate getting what's left of it back. I flew my Small Endeavor on an H73 with no notable occurrences. We had a few people come to observe the launch. I'm sorry I didn't get names but I thank them for coming. Visitors are always welcome. Hopefully they will come back and fly rockets with us. Elections are over. Next year's officers are:
Thanks to Steve Terrell for serving as Secretary for many years. Thanks to Dean Sheaffer for volunteering as Secretary. Also thanks go to Tim and Barney for continuing to serve as officers. Special thanks to Karl Wagenseller for storing, transporting, setting up, tearing down and maintaining our range equipment. Hope to see everyone at our launch on August 5th. Phil Stein <-click here to email me. June 3, 2007 We had light turnout today. I think it was primarily due to the forecast. The weather report I saw didn't expect rain until around 4:00 but the radio and TV weather made it sound like it was going to rain all day. The weather turned out to be half way between the two. It started to drizzle around 12:30 so we packed up and headed out. We had 11 flights with 7 people present and 4 actually flew rockets. Keep an eye out for election emails. If you would like to run, nominate yourself. If you would like to nominate someone else, nominate them. Send you nominations to Steve Terrell at wrxdude144@comcast.net so your nominee can be put on out ballot. Once again - thanks to Karl Wagenseller for transporting and maintaining the equipment. I'd like to have a club meeting before the next launch. Tim is unavailable to his conference room is out. I can host it at my house. If you know of another place that you'd like to have it, let me know. Location wise, I live in Cheltenham, PA which is very close to North East Philly. Hopefully we'll have a better launch July 1st. Phil April 1, 2007 click here to see launch pictures We had a light turnout today - probably due to the chilly weather. We only had 19 flights but what we lacked in quantity, we made up for in quality. The TARC team from Central Montgomery County Career and Technical High School from Plymouth Meeting, PA had some cool two stage clustered flights. Unfortunately, they lost one of their rockets in the woods. We also had nice flights by regulars Jim Hansen, Blain and Noah Moyer and Karl Wagenseller. Last but not least, I'd like to welcome new members Ken Derstine and James Treimanis. They both brought some nice rockets that I look forward to seeing fly again in the near future. I hope to see everyone at our next launch on May 6th. December 3, 2006 click here to see launch pictures It was great to see everyone on a beautiful day. On behalf of everyone at PARA, I want to welcome our newest members from Boy Scout Troop 55. The following Patrols launched today: JASMs (Junior Assistant Scout Masters,) Cougar Patrol, the Question Mark (?) Patrol, the No Name Patrol and the Yellow Mustards. Everyone had a great time launching rockets with names like JASM's Jinxed Junk, Katchup, Jose', Place Name Here, Cow Pasture and Mutant Hush Puppy in Camo. I also want to thank and acknowledge the Scout's parents for supporting them. Blaine and Noah Moyer came with some hot rockets like Fire Flash and a two stager called Lightin'. Eddie Sundra had had his Sticker Rocket which had a bunch of cool stamps and stickers on it. We also were entertained by Karl Wagenseller, Barney Snyder, Chuck Arkens, myself and Tim Wilsey. In the spirit of the season, Tim flew a soldier lawn ornament. It flew great on a Loki H-144 but didn't do as well with an I-357. We had 40 launches today. They were with the following motors 1-A, 0-B, 3-C, 5-D, 1-E, 17-F, 9-G, 3-H, 3-I. We will be having another meeting in the near future. Watch here for dates and details. The meetings allow us to get together to share experiences which will allow all of us to benefit so please come and discuss problems that you are having, ideas, tech tips, rocketry stories or whatever you feel like discussing. At our last meeting, we discussed some improvements to range operations and safety. As a result, we now have a fire extinguisher donated by Karl Wagenseller, we will be adding a bright red flashing light to indicate the pads are armed that Barry Riggins donated and will be acquiring a rocket retrieval pole in the near future. We also discussed that in spite of recent ATF actions, with a little advanced planning, we can continue flying as we have for years. Those of us with LEUPs just need to work together with those that don't have them. Regarding the law suite against the ATF, there is nothing new to report. I don't thing anything will change until late 2007 but you never know. Suggestions and ideas for improving things are always welcome. Phil Stein
October 15th, 2006 <-Click to see pictures It was great to see everyone on a beautiful autumn day. If that wasn't enough, we were having fun flying rockets - instead of watching the Eagles lose. We had 34 launches today. They were with the following motors 7-A, 6-B, 8-C, 3-D, 3-E, 1-F, 3-G, 2-H, 1-I. We had a nice group from the Civil Air Patrol join the club. I look forward to watching their progress as they gain expertise in rocketry. Remember that we have a special deal for youth groups that want to join the club. If anyone can email me pictures from the launch, please do so. We all like to see pictures of ourselves and of our rockets on the web page. Because of a scheduling conflict, we need to move our November launch from the usual 1st Sunday. Watch here for the date. There is a big launch at MDRA starting Friday 10/20 and going through this weekend. Go to http://www.mdrocketry.org/ for directions and more info. Several members of our club and I will be flying big and fast rockets that you are not likely to see at our field. I predict that the most action will be all day Saturday and early Sunday. This will be a launch that you will not forget! One last thing - for your safety and the protection of our hosts and their property, please be familiar with our Range Rules, the NAR Model Rocket Safety Rules and the NAR High Power Safety Rules. Click the name to link to the rules. Even if you only fly either Model Rockets or High Power Rockets, please be familiar with both sets of rules. We fly both types of rockets at our field so knowing the safety issues of both types will help make you more safe. Hope to see everyone at the meeting. If there is anything specific that you are interested in discussing or learning about, let me know so that we can be prepared for it. Phil Stein
September 3, 2006 click here for launch pictures
It was nice to see some new faces. I hope this continues. I'd like to thank Don Kaufmann for taking pictures at the launch. Hopefully Don will continue to come to our launches, take pictures and fly some rockets. Don took the pictures I've used on out home page. He took more which, I will post them once I get them from him. Motors flown today were: 1-1/2A, 1-B, 8-C, 5-D, 1-E, 1-F, 4-G, 6-H, 2-I's. We had 20 flights which is less than average. John Ritz had a several cool flights which included two helicopter rockets and a 10 motor rocket which included a cluster of 4-C6-0's and a D12-0 CHAD staged to a cluster consisting of 4-C6-7's and a D12-5. Unfortunately, John didn't find the rocket although he did have a good recovery. John and Karl each had a very cool nut safe flight. A suggestion to anyone building reloads - get a plastic tray and dump everything from the reload's plastic bag into it. Then make sure the all plastic bags that came with it are empty before you toss them. Supplement the sticky disk that holds the black powder in with some masking tape. Lastly, make sure that all trash is disposed of. Our trash does not make good cow food. A reminder - anything that grows on these fields is a usable product for the farmer. Without their generosity, we would not have a place to fly. With that in mind, remember that every blade of grass or leaf on a corn stalk that may look like a weed to you or your kids is feed for the cows. This is a dairy farm and the crops are used to feed the cows. Please be respectful of that. Farm machines harvest the crops and the crops are fed to the cows so remember to pick up every bit of trash or anything else you see on the ground whether it is yours or not. This also includes cigarette butts. Sorry to have to mention this but we have to treat the land with our utmost respect for everyone's benefit. Hope to see everyone next month!
Message from the President
July 9, 2006
Our election results are final and our new President is Phil Stein, our new Treasurer is Barney Snyder and Tim Wilsey and Steve Terrell will continue as VP and Secretary. I have been involved with the club since it started in 1990, for many years as VP and then many years as President. I have tried my best to keep our club active. And we have had many great launches. There were many behind the scenes struggles with our farm owners, but I think we are on a good functional basis. I do stress that our new leadership has to keep this bond strong to keep our field (even though we have to contend with corn for a few months). Anyway, I will remain as an active flyer and I wish Phil, and the other Officers, the best in the direction that they will take our club in the future. And certainly many thanks to Karl Wagenseller for taking over maintenance of our launch equipment and bringing it to launches, the key element of our launches. To many great future launches.
Chuck Arkens
July 9, 2006 First, I'd like to thank Chuck Arkens for many years as President and Vice President of PARA. Without his consistent hard work and persistence, many of us would never have had the opportunity to enjoy rocketry in an organized club environment. I'd also like to thank Ed Romani for being Treasurer for the last several years. Ed has brought many great new ideas to the club. Also, thanks to Steve Terrell and Tim Wilsey for staying on as Secretary and Vice President respectively and to Barney Snyder for volunteering as Treasurer. And last but certainly not least, thanks to Karl Wagenseller for volunteering as Equipment Manager. I'd like to thank the people that had the confidence in me to serve as President of the club. PARA has been great in the past and I will try to make it even better. Please feel free to contact me with ideas and suggestions for making the club more enjoyable for everyone. As you know the club officers are all volunteers. But they can't do everything. In recognition of that fact, I'd like to thank all the members that help out in other ways. Without you, it would be very difficult to keep the club going. Setting up and tearing down the range is hard work and is needed at every launch. We appreciate whatever help you can give. Lastly, thanks for the pictures you send in for the web site. Watch your email and this page for more. At out launch Sunday, the weather was beautiful - in the low 80's, little wind and low humidity. We had 34 great launches which included two very nice clustered flights. Another notable event was that Chuck got to launch and recover three rockets. The motor breakdown was:
Once again, I welcome your suggestions and comments. July 2006 Our election results are final and our new President is Phil Stein, our new Treasurer is Barney Snyder and Tim Wilsey and Steve Terrell will continue as VP and Secretary. I have been involved with the club since it started in 1990, for many years as VP and then many years as President. I have tried my best to keep our club active. And we have had many great launches. There were many behind the scenes struggles with our farm owners, but I think we are on a good functional basis. I do stress that our new leadership has to keep this bond strong to keep our field (even though we have to contend with corn for a few months). Anyway, I will remain as an active flyer and I wish Phil, and the other Officers, the best in the direction that they will take our club in the future. And certainly many thanks to Karl Wagenseller for taking over maintenance of our launch equipment and bringing it to launches, the key element of our launches. To many great future launches. Chuck ArkensMay 2006The weather was near perfect, about 70, little wind
and sunny. But still a few still found a tree in the far end of
the field. April 2006Finally the weather was on our side. The weather was
very good and nothing growing over six inches was in March 2006 Again the weather was not on our side for this month. So this is the fourth month without a launch. But it is winter. We kept dates on the calendar just in case we had good weather. Through the years we have been able to launch in each of these months, but not this season. Surprisingly, the problem was not snow, but cold weather, wind and rain. There were several times when we had great weather during the week, but it fell apart by the weekend. Lets hope that next month will finally give us some good launch conditions. Dec. 2005 Nov. 6, 2005 We had a great launch today. For November, the weather was near perfect, at least until about 2:00. Then the wind picked up a bit. For the most part, it was sunny and about 70 degrees. Everything was cut down, but for some reason flyers seemed to like the woods at the far side of the field. So several rocket ornaments for the holidays were added to the trees. There was a total of 41 flights, ranging from A through H. We did have one successful Level 1 flight for Peter Valenteen - he flew an Angmar II with an H165. Can the nice weather hold out.? We will see. Our next scheduled launch is for Dec. 4. /// Chuck Arkens Oct. 2, 2005 Today we had a perfect launch day - everything in the field was cut down, cloudless sky, virtually no wind and nice temperature. We had a good turnout and many great launches - and a few interesting duds. Yet with these ideal conditions, some still found some trees and the adjoining cornfield. Condition wise, it will be tough to beat this day. We did add a new member and a membership renewal. Tim Wilsey suggested a 50/50 . We did this and it turned out well. We will do this again. Our next scheduled launch is for Nov. 6. Maybe the weather will stay nice for the next month. See you then. /// Chuck Arkens daaunch day - everything in field was cut down, cloudless sky, virtually no wind and nice temperature. We had a Sept. 4. 2005 We had a great launch today. Except for some wind at times, it was a near perfect day. We did have to deal with some corn. Several ended up there but were found. All except Barney Snyder's Black Brant. Its chute did not deploy. It ended up in the corn and is still there. Overall a good turnout and many great launches. Our next scheduled launch is for Oct. 2 . Hope to see you then. // Chuck Arkens August 7, 2005 We did have a launch today. I went with several forecasts that predicted a slight chance of showers Sunday morning, but some sun in afternoon. So I kept launch on. It turns out that Sun. morning showers were a little more than predicted and this kept many fliers at home. I did go to the field. With some rain in the air, I did not initially set up. By 11:25, no one showed up. I said to myself that if no one shows by 12,1 will go home. Well, at 11:30, the showers stopped and Jim Hansen showed up. And then others arrived. So we set up. From that point, the weather got better, the sun came out, more fliers showed up, and we had many great launches. We has some 2-3 ft com in part of the field (which will be higher for the next launch), but Barney Snyder kept finding higher corn in adjacent field with his Harpoon Missile - which he recovered for both flights. Jim Compara was not as lucky - loosing a Strong Arm in far woods area. It was great seeing Bill Sullivan at our launch (an early PARA member - #12). He launched (among others) a Big Bertha, which he said he launched at first PARA launch 15 years ago. And today we even added a new Junior member - Eddie Sundra. Welcome. So what looked initially this morning as a wash out, turned out to be a great launch day. Lets hope that our next scheduled launch on Sept. 4 has more precise weather "guesses". [This is Labor Day weekend, some may be on vacation, but hopefully many will do their labor at our launch. // Chuck Arkens July 10, 2005 June 5, 2005 May 8, 2005 April 17, 2005 March, 2005 We were able to launch in January, but the weather was not on our side for February and March. So our next scheduled will be April 3. It will be spring by then, and even Daylight Saving Time begins that weekend. So get those rockets ready. February 11, 2005 The launch for this weekend (2/13) is cancelled. This is due to a combination of the weather and the access road to our launch site being too muddy. January 2, 2005 We had a launch today, the first in January for many years. Looks like few believed that we could have a launch in January, so attendance was low. It was mostly cloudy, temp about 40 and little wind (no snow - and no corn). We did have some good launches, but those of you that didn't come out, missed a good day to launch. We had a waiver, but no one took advantage of it. Anthony Pipe, a visitor, launched a Mustang with a G40-7, and as everyone predicted, never saw it again. We did add a new member, Jim Hansen. He was initiated with the loss of the second stage of his two stage Comanche. Everyone had their fill of launching by 1:15 and we shut down. Some wanted to actually get home to watch the Eagles game. [Seems that about this time my wife got a call about someone trying to find the field. We did shut down early. If you read this, sorry you didn't make launch, but hopefully next time - but come out earlier.] And a comment about the dues and funds made at launches. We recently sent $200 to Jim Hallowell, the owner of the farm, in appreciation for the use of his field for our launches. Without this field, little chance that our club could continue. Always respect this area that we use for our launches. And a comment about the additional use of dues, etc. We have just purchased and have received, four new launch heads ($350). Barry Riggins will be working on fabricating foldable legs for each of these. These pads will give us a more secure system for any larger rockets that we launch at our field. And finally. Those of you that came to the launch today, the road was muddy. I had to do a lot of hosing down when I got home to remove the mud - and there is something about farm mud. Our next launch is scheduled for Feb. 13 (a week later because of a conflict on my part). But if winter is winter, little chance of a launch. But you never know. Chuck Arkens Dec. 10, 2004 Unlike last year, the weather was very nice for December and we had a good turnout for our launch on December 5. We had 45 flights. Many impressive flights, a few crunched rockets and a Level 1 certification by Barney Snyder. The most unusual flight was Tim Wilsey's Spoolzilla on an H220. We will try again on January 2. Last year we couldn't launch in January or February. The odds are against the weather being rocket friendly, but you never know. Since the back road is not plowed, snow will be a stopper, as well as temperatures below forty degrees with any wind (and there usually is wind at the field). For now, here's hoping that everyone has a wonderful holiday season, and may your stocking be filled with your favorite rocket. /// Chuck Arkens November 8, 2004
The weather cooperated last Sunday 11/7. Sunny, warm (for
November), and a little wind, but not excessive (maybe some will not
agree). Enough corn was cut so we did have a lot of open field - I
don't think we lost any rockets in the corn. We had 56 flights. We
had eleven young men from a Civil Air Patrol (in uniform) who
launched their rockets as part of their training program. There was
a certification flight Level 1 for Dave Mathews. Ed Romani had a
huge tower to launch a hard to see rocket, as well as a spider
ignition system for another rocket. Tim Wilsey went out of his
way to pull a tree down enough to retrieve his rocket with his
Hummer. We even had a rocket that ignited and deployed its chute
without leaving the launch pad. So overall, a great day.
Our next scheduled launch is for Dec. 5. Last year the
weather did not cooperate for Dec., Jan. or Feb. But in some years
we did launch in these months. So we will keep these months open
just in case. I will let you know where stand via E-mail and our web
page.
Also -Steve Terrell, our Membership Chairman, will be
sending requests to members about dues being due. Please keep your
membership up to date. /// Chuck Arkens
Sept. 6, 2004had a launch today, 9/5. Turn out was low, probably combination of holiday we Because of a communication problem, we did not have a launch in August. But we had a good launch on 9/5. The turn out was somewhat low, probably due to a combination of the holiday weekend, early morning (and not forecast) rain in some areas, higher winds and more cloud cover than expected, and maybe just a fear of corn. But for those there, we had many great flights, with Barney Snyder having the most spectacular flights despite the wind and daring the corn. We even added new members - Ed and Dan (Jr.) Barboni. And there were "observers" that will join us at future launches. And thanks to Eric Riggins, Sr. for getting the equipment to the field. Right now our next launch is scheduled for Oct. 3. However, we may want to wait until the corn is cut down before we launch again. I will try to get a date for this from the farm owner and schedule the next launch accordingly. So stay tuned. We will also try to have a waiver. // Chuck Arkens July 12, 2004
We had a great launch on 7/11. The weather was near perfect. We had
a good turnout and saw 65 great launches. Eric Riggins, Sr. had a
qualifying Level 1 flight. There were some new fliers there, and six
turned in applications (three adults and three juniors). And some
old timers with the club were there - Scott Tyrrell and Bill
Sullivan (part of the original starting members of the club). And
now for the bad news. After two years of just alfalfa or hay, our
farm owner has planted corn this year. It was only a foot tall for
our launch, but it will be much higher the next month or two (like
seven foot tall). So we will have to contend with it probably
until October. So keep this in mind - and
you may want to look
into beepers. And on a sad note. Our club founder, David
Klouser, developed a terminal illness a few year ago, and based on a note
from his brother, little time is left. I will let you know of his
status as I get info. .... Our next scheduled launch is August 1
(the rain date is August 22). See you then. // Chuck Arkens
June 6, 2004 The weather for the launch was not as good as expected, but it turned out OK. Contrary to promises, the sun didn't come out. It took a while for folks to show up once they were convinced that it was not going to rain. We had many great launches, some less than desirable, and a failed Level 1 Certification try (better luck next time). We had several observers, hope they come out next time ready to fly. Out next scheduled launch is on July 11. See you then. // Chuck Arkens May 24, 2004 We had a good launch on Sunday 5/23. The day was a little warm, buy sunny and low winds. A good crowd and we had about 40 launches. We did add two new members - Tim and Andrew (Jr.) Wilsey. Unfortunately, the alfalfa (grass, or weeds - or whatever the stuff is was a little high. Hope its cut by next launch.). This launch was later in the month - a first Sunday rainout, then Mother's Day and then a vacation on my part [which by the way was in Arizona and Utah - a lot of canyons and mountains, but also a lot of open space - sure would make for a great launching area out there]. .... We will stick to our schedule, so our next scheduled launch will be on June 6, 11-4. // Chuck Arkens April 21, 2004 We had a good launch this
Sunday 4/18. It was sunny and warm. The winds were moderate, but they
were blowing toward the woods and this caused a few problems – with some
rockets still hanging there. We had 51 flights from a wide variety of
rockets, several gliders and even a helicopter. We had several new
fliers and we did add two new members. Lets hope the weather stays on
our side in the months ahead. Our next scheduled launch is for Sunday
May 2, 11-4. See you at our next launch. // Chuck Arkens January 28, 2004
Chuck Arkens December 5, 2003
Chuck Arkens November 2, 2003
July 13, 2003 If you were not there, our last launch on 7/13 had near perfect weather. The turnout was low, but I guess that a lot of folks are on vacation. The great news is that we only have alfalfa to contend with and no corn. We did have 31 launches. We did add new members (Eric Hume and his daughter Allison). We had a meeting and snack after the launch at the Cactus Grill. We discussed several topics, but I will leave the details to Steve Terrell who will put together minutes that will be added to the web page. A key topic was the flying of EX (experimental engines) at our field [involving several of our members]. Insurance is a key issue. We are covered by NAR insurance, but they do not cover EX engines. EX engines can be covered through Tripoli, but costs are slightly higher. Certified and Experimental can't be done on the same day. Anyway, this is a complex area, and it will be looked at for the future. Chuck Arkens June 30, 2003 (click here to see launch pictures)
We had a good launch on 5/18, although the turnout was on the light side. We
had a total of 26 launches. Contrary to the forecasts, the clouds hung on and
there were apparently some light showers in more southern areas, which may
have kept some away. Initially, it was cloudy at the field, except for an area
of blue sky to the Northwest which very slowly approached us, with it being
almost clear by around 3:00. The big plus was that the wind was almost zero,
a rare treat. Except for some almost two foot alfalfa, the field was in good
shape, although it did hide Otto Kuehrmann's Mosquito - not a 'big' loss. With
the initial weekend and Mother's Day postponements this month, our
next scheduled launch is only two weeks away on Sunday June 1, 11-4. Hope to
see you then. / Chuck Arkens
I've received an FAA Waiver for all of our scheduled launches and rain dates until the end of September 2003. We are not limited to a weight of 3.3lb rockets and 125g propellant (per FAR101 notification rules). We still need to comply with NAR High Power Safety Rules (HPSR). Click this link to see our pad setup location. The yellow circles and lines in the picture, indicate the 1500' boundary from roads and occupied buildings. Phil Stein Surprisingly,
we had a good launch today. The winds were a lot higher than initial forecasts
suggested. When I arrived with the equipment, I looked down the muddy road, and
felt the high winds, I thought 'no way do we want to launch today". Several
folks showed up and they felt the same way. But then Phil Stein showed up. He
said that the wind wasn't that bad and the road looked passable. I still was not
willing to do the road since I had my daughter's van (my car died the night
before) and I didn't want to get it muddied up. But Phil suggesting loading the
stuff in his car and taking it downfield (actually it was his wife's car - he
wouldn't have done this with his car) - which he did successfully. A few more
cars made it back all the way. The turnout was good considering the wind. We set
up and ended up with 46 launches. It was a sunny day and in that regard
perfect. Because of the wind, most flights were in the A through D range. There
were a few Fs and one G40/F50 (the Bucks County Tech HS Team America from last
month returned). Our
'normal' next scheduled launch should be May 4. However, I have a conflict and
would like to make it May 11. Unless there is a clamor to have it on 5/4 and
someone wants to pick up the equipment (since I have the equipment) , our next
launch will be on 5/18. / Chuck Arkens March 16, 2003 Click here for launch pictures.
If you were not there, you missed
a great launch day - from different perspectives. First of all, the weather was
perfect - about 60 degrees, virtually no wind and more sun than clouds. On the
other hand, the winter weather left us with a muddy field and road. I warned
everyone about the road, but guess who go stuck - me. Since I had the
equipment, I tried to go a little further down the road and got stuck. Thanks,
many thanks, to some strong pushers, I got out. (one vehicle was left there - it
was partially stuck, but it also died and would not start - they were coming
back later - hope they got it out) .... We had a total of 25 launches -
although with the muck, everything was a little slow.
But the highlight of the day was
the presence of three TARC Groups (Team America Rocketry Challenge [A
high-school aerospace design challenge celebrating The Centennial of Flight]).
The teams had to build a rocket with at least two stages and launch two raw
eggs, with an altitude target of 1500 ft. (each rocket had an altimeter provided
as part of the contest). They had to recover the rocket, and of course the eggs
had to be intact. The final score is based on the difference from 1500 ft.
(lowest number is better). Results are as follows: Team for Center Tech
Studies, Team # 1435, Doylestown, scored 135; Bucks County Technical High
School , Team # 1023, scored 165 and 95 (they can use the lowest score); and
Center Tech Studies, Team # 1434 - their rocket hung up on the launch rod and
didn't get very far - and no score. Each group worked as a team to give this
competition a try. The had fun - thanks to them - and I'm sure that many of the
individuals will become future rocketeers.
There were a lot of other neat
flights, but this gives you some flavor of what we did today.
Our next scheduled launch is for
Sunday April 6. Hopefully the field will be more firm by then. Construction of the new LCS is underway. Click here for pictures. Please send some articles and pictures so we have content for the Web Site & DVR. I The pieces can be anything relevant to rocketry. I encourage you school age people to send in some stuff. You can show the grown ups how it's done. Here's a sample of one I did If you need help or something scanned, let me know. Thanks to Chuck Rudy for writing an article on NY Power 2002. Chuck and Ed Romani had successful Level 2 Certification Flights. I had a successful Level 3 Certification flight. Zach Stein had an almost successful flight of a rocket made entirely of Duct Tape. Wes Rudy was number one sales kid with Ed's Harmless Nerd T-Shirts. Phil Stein PARA welcomes Stu Johnson & his students to PARA. They are participants in the Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC) TARC is open to junior and senior high school students. The challenge of TARC is to design, build and fly a model rocket carrying two raw eggs as close as possible to 1500'. The top 100 teams will compete in a fly-off in Northern Virginia in May 2003. This is a great way for students to apply what they've learned in school to an interesting project. This project will show them how Math and Science relate to each other as well as to the various areas within the subjects. Using a project like this is a great way to motivate students to learn subjects that may be less interesting in other formats. The five winning teams will share in a total prize pool of $59,000. Three of the top ten teams are eligible to win $2500 grants to launch an advanced rocket with NASA. Each of the top 25 teams' schools may send one teacher on an all expenses paid trip to attend an advanced NASA rocketry workshop, meet with NASA engineers, and tour the Marshall Space Flight Center. The picture to the right is the first flight of their rocket. We look forward to assisting in any way possible to help them succeed in their challenge. February 27, 2003 With the snow on the ground and more to come, and chance for some precipitation on Sunday, our 3/2 launch is canceled. And with a temperature forecast for next week in the 30s or low 40s, melting of the snow pack will be slow. Thus, we will schedule our next launch for Sun. March 16 - but no guarantees. Not a good winter for rockets - hope you're enjoying the snow. / Chuck Arkens February 15, 2003 Well, with snow on the ground, more predicted for the weekend and an expected high for Sunday at launch field of 19, it doesn't take a rocket scientist (couldn't resist that) to guess that we will not have a launch this Sunday 2/16. So let the weather settle for a while. Our next scheduled launch will be for Sunday March 2, 11-4, with a "rain" date on 3/9. / Chuck Arkens February 1, 2003We will not have a launch this Sunday Feb. 2. The weather for Sunday doesn't sound too bad, but with snow still on the ground and with the forecasts for next two days including some snow, some warmer days, maybe some rain. etc. Not too sure how the field or road to it might be - if too much melting they will be muddy. We need a drier spell, and this has not been that type winter [not a good winter for rockets, but us skiers have enjoyed it). .... So, we will try again on Feb. 16. / Chuck Arkens January 9, 2003A couple of warm days, but then a nose dive for the weekend. The forecast for the launch area is a low of 14 Sat. night and a high of 26 on Sun. And if any wind, super brrrrrr. There may be a few tough fliers, but I think that not too many want to launch in those temperatures. So, no launch on 1/12. This is our second try this month. We will let it go at that. We will try again on our next scheduled date of Sun. Feb. 2. This will give you more time to compete those rockets that you got for Christmas. / Chuck Arkens November 3, 2002 Click here for 11/3 Launch PicturesWe had a good launch today. The attendees were on the low side, but the marginal weather was a factor. It was on the cool side and the clouds were more than expected. We did have 28 launches, some great, and some not so great - premature ejection seemed to be a problem. We did have several members from the Cheltenham High School Astronomy Club and Bucks County Technical H.S. both had some good launches - we expect to see more of them in future. And we added four new members - Eric Kahler and Eric Riggins, Sr., Eric Riggins, Jr., and John Riggins. Welcome. Our next scheduled launch is on December 1(rain date 12/8). We are getting into the time of the year when the weather may be more unfavorable for rocket launches, but if reasonable, we will give it a try. Check your E-mail and our web page for launch status. October 7, 2002 Click here for 10/7 Launch Pictures We had a great
launch today, although a few rockets were left in trees. Clear skies, nice
temperature - but enough wind higher up to cause some problems. We had a modest
crowd and got off 45 launches. And it looks like we have added a few new
members. Our next scheduled launch is for Nov. 3 - hope
we see you then.
September 27, 2002
Click here for 9/8/2002 Launch
Pictures Chuck Arkens July 30, 2002 Click here for 8/4/2002 Launch PicturesOur next scheduled launch is Sunday Aug. 4, 11-4. We have a waiver, the details for which are given above by Phil. The weather looks great for the launch. We will also have a meeting at my house on Tuesday Aug. 6, 7:15. We will discuss the launch, general club business and check out any videos that members bring. Here's looking forward to a great launch on Sunday. / Chuck Arkens June 3, 2002 Click here for 6/30/2002 Launch Pictures We had our launch on 6/2 and everything was perfect except for one thing - the wind was much higher than expected. Everyone started small, but worked up to some bigger stuff. Many fliers had some long walks to retrieve their rockets. We had a total of 48 flights. One flight (by Clay Gustafson), a vintage Estes Starlight, ended up high in a tree. Well, Phil Stein worked on getting it down for about 1 1/2 hours and finally succeeded. Its looks like we have good news concerning the corn. I spoke with the farm owner and he said that he will not be planting any corn this year. He has planted hay and alfalfa - which doesn't get high like the corn. / Chuck Arkens
May 30, 2002 Click here for 5/5/2002 Launch PicturesOur
next scheduled launch is for Sunday June 2. The weather looks good, partly
cloudy, upper seventies and no mention of showers until late Sunday night. The
corn is still low, so don't miss coming out on what should be a great launch. We
are still sticking to 3.3 lb max weight and 125 g. propellant. Phil is working
on getting a waiver so we can launch "somewhat" heavier stuff, but we will not
have it for this weekend. We will also wrap up our nominations this weekend. And
the usual reminder - we have to be mindful of and respect our farm owner's
property. And don't forget your donation, which we give to him. May 1, 2002 Click here for 5/5/2002 Launch PicturesOur next scheduled launch is May 5, 11-4, and early weather forecasts look good. At our last launch we had one of our biggest turnouts in a long time. However, this did cause some crowd control problems. Since then I have received many suggestions on how to improve things. We hope to incorporate many of these suggestions during our upcoming launch. A key area is the equipment. Some of the leads just didn't seem to work. I am replacing all the clips and Phil is checking out the control box. I hope to have some new rods and we may have a PA system. There will be an extra table to fill out cards to keep congestion away from the launch table. And there will be other things. The key goal is that we have a safe launch and that everyone has fun. No corn yet, so if the weather is on our side, we should have a great launch this weekend. We are flying under FAR 101 regulations (max 3.3 lb total weight / 125 grams propellant) See you then…….Chuck Arkens April 7.2001 We had a great launch Sunday 4/7. The weather was near perfect a See you at next launch. / Chuck Arkens March 29,2002Message from the President March 2, 2002 (Click this link for pictures from 2/9/2002 launch)We are apparently in a drought, but rain and showers have shown up for the weekend and I have postponed our 3/3 launch until 3/10. Lets hope that the weather is on our side for the next launch. Jon Rose and Phil Stein have been working on getting us involved with the East Coast Hobby Show, March 23 & 24. Jon has reserved a booth and is working out the details. We will have a new club banner, a brochure and a display of club rockets. Hopefully, this will attract new members. We need PARA members to help out - let Jon know. February 10, 2002 (Click this link for pictures from 2/9/2002 launch)We had a good launch yesterday at our rescheduled "rain date". Eleven flyers showed up and we had many great flights, and a few.......well you know. The weather was about as perfect as you could hope for - barely a breeze, about 50 degrees and nearly clear. The only problem was trying to keep Phil from plowing the field. Our next scheduled launch is Sunday March 3, with a rain date of March 10. See you at our next launch. February 9, 2002 (Click this link for pictures from 2/9/2002 launch)Well, January didn't give us favorable launching weather, and neither has our first scheduled date for February. Of course, this is not too unexpected for this time of the year. But we will still keep the first Sunday of each month open (with following Sunday as a "rain date") scheduled with the hope of finding a good launch day. Always check out our web page for latest info. On Feb. 5 we are having a meeting at my home (see banner). This will give us a chance to discuss ideas for future club launches and activities as well as go into some rocketry topics. If you can't attend the meeting and have some ideas or suggestions for our club, please send them to me via E-mail (chuckroc@aol.com) before meeting so we can discuss them. Looking forward to our next launch..... December 2, 2001 (Click this link for pictures from 12/2/2001 launch)We had a good launch today. 47 launches were made - some exciting ones, and some - well after the parachute separates you know the rest. The sun never came out as promised, but for December we couldn't complain. [hey-no corn] Our next scheduled launch is January 6. Who knows what the weather will be like then. Stay tuned. Everyone - have a wonderful holiday [maybe Santa will bring some neat rocket kits]
November 4, 2001 (Click this link for pictures from 11/4/2001) Well after a windy October, the winds slowed down enough for us to have a launch on 11/4. Except for a little breeze, almost a perfect day. We had a great turnout and logged 78 flights. Even with the corn down and the field wide open, some found a few trees to decorate. Mark from M & G Hobbies was there. Check out the web page, Phil already has some pictures from the launch posted. Lets hope that the weather holds out for our next scheduled launch on 12/2. I want to again thank
everyone for the contributions which, we give to the farm owner in
appreciation for use of his property. Please continue to be generous. We still hope to add more info to our web page. But to do so, we need input. Please send any info, dates for any rocketry events, stories, etc. to Phil Stein.See you Sunday!
Chuck
Arkens
Happy New Year to everyone. We have a new year with hopes of many great launches. The beginning of the year is always iffy. And the weather for our first scheduled launch on 1/6 is questionable, so we will hold off and try for 1/13. Last year we couldn't launch in January or February (and in some years we have). We launched the rest of the year except for October - the weather just didn't cooperate. Phil has done a great job with our web page. And we just might see another DVR. If any members have suggestions or ideas to make our club better, please pass on your thoughts to me or any of the officers. We had hoped to have a general meeting which would include presentations on different rocketry items. This didn't get off the ground, but maybe this year. And finally, thanks for your field contributions for our farm owner Jim Hallowell. In December we presented him with a check for $200 (a similar contribution was made last June) in appreciation for the use of his field. Please continue with your generosity this year. September 9, 2001 (Click this link for pictures from 9/9/2001) There
has been a lot of stuff on web regarding what can be launched. Initially FAA
banned anything, but now we are OK for a max of 4.4 oz. (125 grams) of propellant
and 3.3 lb max rocket weight. We have been launching bigger stuff in
past, but for this launch we will stick to these limits. We will have a
scale and latest list of NAR certified motors.
You can check
www.NAR.org.
to make sure what you plan to fly is OK. I want to again thank
everyone for the contributions made which we give to the farm owner in
appreciation for use of his property. Please continue to be generous. We still hope to add more
info to our web page. But to do so, we need input. Please send any info,
dates for any rocketry events, stories, etc. to
Phil
Stein. Finally, check out the
membership list and see if its time to renew your membership. Send your
renewal to Dave Stoetzer. We let
these ride for a while, but
eventually after a reminder from Dave, we do clean up our list. See you Sunday! |
We had a beautiful day to launch
today. The temperature was in the 70's with a slight breeze.
Although the corn was still up, people had few problems recovering their
rockets. For those concerned, there was some but not much mud on
the farm road.
