HELLFIRE 20, SUN, SALT & ROCKETS!

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Anthony Bean

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I wanted to let you know about Hellfire 20, sponsored by the Utah Rocket Club (UROC), a month in advance so if you are interested in attending you can get you plans squared away. I have attached the press release for the event. This is located in the Bonneville Salt Flats in the Utah desert just a few miles from Wendover, Nevada. It will run July 30 - August 2. If I am not mistaken we have FAA clearance, as needed, to 25,000 AGL. Continuous clearance to 10,000 AGL.

Hotel accommodations are available at many of the casinos located in Wendover and there are several motels in the area.

For more information read the attached press release, visit the club website at UROC.ORG, or you can contact Heather or Tony as listed on the press release. You can also follow us on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/urocfb/

I will keep this thread updated over the next month with any new information. You can ask any questions you may have, as needed on this thread.

patriot_launch.jpgmarquee.jpg

View attachment Hellfire XX 2015 1.4.pdf
 
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Looking forward to the road trip. I'll be bringing what's left of the Moto-Joe Inc. Cesaroni stock - that is after sales at NCR's High Skies in July launch and the SCORE/ULA Chili Blaster event in Pueblo. If there is something of desired impulse that's specific, let me know ASAP. Big or small, we can make the call and probably acquire in time. Of course, I'm pretty sure Tim and Das Rockets has you already hooked up but just in case....

As some of you may already be aware - I longer vend for Giant Leap but have struggled out on my own, as Moto-Joe Inc. - with two partners, neither of whom can attend Hellfire this year. But I am bringing Ben Whitfield along so we can win whatever contest(s) there might be in the mix. Sun, salt and rockets!!!!
 
Launching rockets on the salt flats is a unique experience. The recovery area is huge. There are no trees for miles. No bushes or corn for rockets to hide in. The down side is that it's hot and really bright. It's worth making a road trip.

Joe
 
Absolutely one of the coolest (though very hot) rocketry experiences you could ever have. Truly one of those "must do" events, at least once in your life. I encourage everyone here who has the slightest interest to follow that urge and make the trip - GO TO HELLFIRE! You will love it.

Is it hot and bright and "weird"? - oh yeah. Does the salt get into everything? - yep.
But in my book it beats blowing dust and sand (Blackrock and most other lakebed launch sites) any day of the week.

Do it. Attend and launch at Hellfire.

s6
 
I would recommend that attending rocketeers keep an eye on the UROC website. Even though the Bonneville Salt Flats can be very hot, there is the occasional July monsoon weather that puts rain water on top of the salt. The UROC website always posts the status of the salt flat conditions prior to the meet.
 
Absolutely one of the coolest (though very hot) rocketry experiences you could ever have. Truly one of those "must do" events, at least once in your life. I encourage everyone here who has the slightest interest to follow that urge and make the trip - GO TO HELLFIRE! You will love it.

Is it hot and bright and "weird"? - oh yeah. Does the salt get into everything? - yep.
But in my book it beats blowing dust and sand (Blackrock and most other lakebed launch sites) any day of the week.

Do it. Attend and launch at Hellfire.

s6

We are going and it's all your fault! Sharon brought this up today, and I just registered both of us. We are looking into the special rates at the casino, and will be getting reservations next.
Now I gotta figure out what rockets to take and what to put into them.
 
We are going and it's all your fault! Sharon brought this up today, and I just registered both of us. We are looking into the special rates at the casino, and will be getting reservations next.
Now I gotta figure out what rockets to take and what to put into them.

Oh, now that means I gotta go! Trouble is, I do NOT have the time off, and I kinda promised various "powers that be" that my attendance at TRA Vegas Springfest this year meant that I would not be attending Hellfire come July. But things change, don't they? Hmmmm, gotta start scheming to see if I can make this happen.....

s6
 
Oh, now that means I gotta go! Trouble is, I do NOT have the time off, and I kinda promised various "powers that be" that my attendance at TRA Vegas Springfest this year meant that I would not be attending Hellfire come July. But things change, don't they? Hmmmm, gotta start scheming to see if I can make this happen.....

s6

Your attendance is not mandatory, It was your glowing endorsement that got Sharon excited. I really like it when Sharon is excited!
We are currently making a list of rockets that we can fly there without encroaching on planned flights for Airfest in September. Most launches in AZ are not happening due to the heat, it's nice to find something that is close enough for us to attend that is cooler than 110*.
 
I will keep this thread updated over the next month with any new information. You can ask any questions you may have, as needed on this thread.

View attachment 266557View attachment 266558

View attachment 266556

I sent an email to Heather about this, but thought I would throw it out here and see what happens.
Sharon and I will be driving from Goodyear, AZ to Wendover, NV on Wednesday with our little 6'x8' utility trailer. It holds our camping/launch equipment. I'm scheduled for range duty on Thursday morning, and wondering when we can expect the signs to be up to guide us to the launch site. We have never been out there so we will need guidance.
Will we be able to leave the trailer at the site overnight?
When will the club be setting up the launch equipment?
What food/rocketry vendors can we expect at the launch?
We like to get out early and set up before things get rolling, (it's a desert rat approach to launches), so any info. that will help with that would be appreciated.
 
Made reservations today at the casino and got the Special Hellfire 20 Hotel Offer mention on the UROC.org website. For those interested the "Melissa" referred to below no longer works at the Rainbow. The person to contact now is "Marina". Call the number below, press "1" for reservations and ask to be transferred to Marina. Really terrific rate - it was half the price that we would have paid staying at the Best Western!

Phone Reservations
Call Melissa Esparza in Rainbow's Marketing Office at (800) 648-9660 Ext. 36667. Tell her that you would like to reserve a room under the code ROCKET” for Jul 29 to Aug 2, 2015.

Please note Melissa'’s Office hours are 8AM-5PM Mon-Friday. If you leave a message it will be returned during these hours or you may call the numbers below.
 
Two words, SPF 3000! Apply it regularly and on anything you don't want burned to a crisp.


TA
 
Can't wait! Hopefully I can make my L3 attempt this year. Either way, I'll bring a pile of rockets and spend a pile of money. I'll be there with my handy dandy Rocket Retrieval Vehicle (Honda XR400) flying the Stars and Stripes from morn 'till eve. Hopefully I'll have some research motors (PBAN formulation and sucrose based) ready to fly in my BASIC rocket and my 3" Darkstar will take its maiden voyage on something 54mm-ish.
-Ken
 
I sent an email to Heather about this, but thought I would throw it out here and see what happens.
Sharon and I will be driving from Goodyear, AZ to Wendover, NV on Wednesday with our little 6'x8' utility trailer. It holds our camping/launch equipment. I'm scheduled for range duty on Thursday morning, and wondering when we can expect the signs to be up to guide us to the launch site. We have never been out there so we will need guidance.
Will we be able to leave the trailer at the site overnight?

When will the club be setting up the launch equipment?
What food/rocketry vendors can we expect at the launch?
We like to get out early and set up before things get rolling, (it's a desert rat approach to launches), so any info. that will help with that would be appreciated.
I leave my stuff there overnight! Motorcycle, rockets, etc. not motors though. Seems signage is up sometime on Wednesday which consists of reflective markers every so often. I usually roll out on the salt by 4:00 am on Thursday to enjoy shooting stars and set up. Not sure about food vending. I may have broken their windshield last year... They weren't overly enthused about that...
-Ken
 
Sharon and I will be driving from Goodyear, AZ to Wendover, NV on Wednesday with our little 6'x8' utility trailer. It holds our camping/launch equipment. I'm scheduled for range duty on Thursday morning, and wondering when we can expect the signs to be up to guide us to the launch site. We have never been out there so we will need guidance.

Follow the paved road at the I-15 exit. It goes past a gas station and curves to the east and becomes straight for about 5 miles. At the end of the paved road you will actually cross the Salt Flats. Follow the orange cones across the flats put down by the UROC Club. (The cones will be up by Thursday and might even be up by Wednesday afternoon.) If you stay on this path, you will be safe from any soft patches in the salt, where you might get stuck. You will travel about another 5 miles to the launch site. As others have said take plenty of sun block and water.
 
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I leave my stuff there overnight! Motorcycle, rockets, etc. not motors though. Seems signage is up sometime on Wednesday which consists of reflective markers every so often. I usually roll out on the salt by 4:00 am on Thursday to enjoy shooting stars and set up. Not sure about food vending. I may have broken their windshield last year... They weren't overly enthused about that...
-Ken

Hey Ken, you're our kinda people. We are early risers too, best time to get things done in the desert.
Sharon and I are planning a 3" Darkstar drag race with K750's. You are invited to join in if you can find an appropriate motor. Just so you know, Sharon always wins, and I can't figure out how she is cheating....
I got a good email from Heather Park and talked to her on the phone today. She thinks that the "Enola Gay" will be back out to cater the launch.
See you there.
 
One thing I would recommend is going with a larger main parachute than you normally fly. The salt is flat and rough on the rockets. There is mud underneath the salt but it is so compact that it creates a hard surface. Basically, there is no give in the ground.
 
I leave my trailer out on the salt. My trailer doors lock and the hitch can be locked. I leave my canopies up also. I just lower them to the ground and insure they are spiked down in case the wind comes up.

I sent an email to Heather about this, but thought I would throw it out here and see what happens.
Sharon and I will be driving from Goodyear, AZ to Wendover, NV on Wednesday with our little 6'x8' utility trailer. It holds our camping/launch equipment. I'm scheduled for range duty on Thursday morning, and wondering when we can expect the signs to be up to guide us to the launch site. We have never been out there so we will need guidance.
Will we be able to leave the trailer at the site overnight?
When will the club be setting up the launch equipment?
What food/rocketry vendors can we expect at the launch?
We like to get out early and set up before things get rolling, (it's a desert rat approach to launches), so any info. that will help with that would be appreciated.
 
As soon as you drive out onto the salt from the hardball road this is what you will see. I videoed this last year at Hellfire 19. Notice there are orange markers every now and again. This is from near the beginning of the salt to the launch site so you will get an idea of the distance.

[video=youtube;o085ljbgDEg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o085ljbgDEg[/video]
 
HI everyone,
This is Heather Park, chairlady for the Utah Rocket Club. Thanks to Tony for posting our Hellfire information. I just happen to notice a discrepancy however. It is listed that our Saturday banquet at the Montego Bay is 70.00 per person. This is incorrect. Our banquet is only 40.00 per person. Registration is 35.00 to fly rockets. If there are any other questions or concerns, you can give us a call. We probably need to get the press release corrected asap.
Thanks
Heather Park- uroc secretary.
 
HI everyone,
This is Heather Park, chairlady for the Utah Rocket Club. Thanks to Tony for posting our Hellfire information. I just happen to notice a discrepancy however. It is listed that our Saturday banquet at the Montego Bay is 70.00 per person. This is incorrect. Our banquet is only 40.00 per person. Registration is 35.00 to fly rockets. If there are any other questions or concerns, you can give us a call. We probably need to get the press release corrected asap.
Thanks
Heather Park- uroc secretary.

Welcome to TRF Heather. It was nice to talk to you yesterday, cleared up some questions I had. We still haven't figured out how to add Banquet tickets to our registration, maybe you could walk me through that.
Also, at other launches, some clubs have a link to printing out launch cards, does your club have something like that? I looked on the UROC website and couldn't find anything.

Frothy Chimp,
I really enjoyed watching the video you took driving out on the salt! I probably won't be driving at 90 mph with my old GMC Sierra, but it makes me want to bring our Trans Am out and see what it could do. Unfortunately, It won't hold all the rockets we want to bring.... Since we fly in the desert, larger chutes are a standard with most of our rockets.
Thanks for all the tips, really looking forward to this launch!
 
The UROC website had some issues not too long ago and was rebuilt. Normally, under online tools we have a copy of the flight cards you could print but it appears the link to the general category is not working yet. I will see if we can get the PDF for the card and make it available.

Welcome to TRF Heather. It was nice to talk to you yesterday, cleared up some questions I had. We still haven't figured out how to add Banquet tickets to our registration, maybe you could walk me through that.
Also, at other launches, some clubs have a link to printing out launch cards, does your club have something like that? I looked on the UROC website and couldn't find anything.

Frothy Chimp,
I really enjoyed watching the video you took driving out on the salt! I probably won't be driving at 90 mph with my old GMC Sierra, but it makes me want to bring our Trans Am out and see what it could do. Unfortunately, It won't hold all the rockets we want to bring.... Since we fly in the desert, larger chutes are a standard with most of our rockets.
Thanks for all the tips, really looking forward to this launch!
 
Here is the flight card. I have 2 on a sheet.

I think I do only 50 or 60 mph on the Salt Flats. I always wash the car after Hellfire is over. Actually I get the garden hose out back home and spray the under carriage after the car wash.
Hey,
Thanks for the cards.
 
FYI for everyone, getting stuck on the flats is VERY REAL! Keep your car, truck, suv near the markers and launch site and you will be OK. Every year I've seen garden variety tourists go flying down the salt and a few hours later the snow cat goes by to go pull them out. VERY EXPENSIVE!!!! Where the cars and trucks get stuck, seems real solid but it's just like grease a half inch down. Not a problem for 4-wheelers and dirt bikes but pretty mind blowing to me to see the marks where they got stuck on flat ground. Often times the rust are only an inch deep. Deeper if it was a truck.
-Ken
Looks like I need a K750...
 
Can't wait to fly my new BOMARC at Hellfire 20. It's nearly finished. Some pinstriping, clearcoat and finish the nose cone and it will be ready to fly.

CIM-10 BOMARC 1.jpgCIM-10 BOMARC 2.jpg
 
I might add that it is my understanding the Gary Rosenfield, the president of Aerotech, is going to give a talk at the Banquet (I think it's Saturday night). This will be a good opportunity to see Mr. Rosenfield up close and personal. The food at the banquet is very good, too. I don't know if tickets are still available.
 
I figured out how to get tickets to the banquet yesterday, with a little help from my new friends at UROC. They are available through Eventbrite, in with the Pre-registration stuff. Looking forward to Gary Rosenfield's presentation, and the good food.
Started making a list of rockets to take with us, dusting off some old Estes kits that haven't been flown in years. The HPR site we fly at locally doesn't make it easy to recover little rockets, so we will fly a few of them Thursday to warm up with.
I also want to fly my Blackhawk 54, a minimum diameter rocket that needs a tower since it has no rail buttons. Does UROC have a tower that I can use for this 54mm rocket? I can bring my own if that is allowed.
If the weather stays good for all four days of launching, Sharon and I will be flying a BUNCH of rockets, from Estes "D" motors to an M1550 Redline in my "Red Tailed Extreme".
 
People bring their own towers all the time. You will love the recovery area on the salt for little rockets. We always see a mix of impulse from 1/2A to M, all within seconds of each other.

Joe
 
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