NARCON 2010 Official Thread

bobkrech said:

You can make your NARCON hotel reservations at the NARCON 2010 website. https://www.narcon.org/lodging/lodging.html

Simply follow the link on this page to the Crowne Plaza Reservation webiste to insure that you get the special $89 per night rate.

Only 66 days to go.

Bob

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If you're planning on staying at the hotel you should make your reservations soon. We have reserved what we think is an adequate block of rooms but that reservation goes away in mid February. There is another event in Worcester that weekend that will use about about 2/3 of the rooms in the area so if you wait until the last minute you may not be able to get a room.

If you've already registered for NARCON and want to add either the dinner or a T shirt you can do so by going back to the registration page and selecting what you want without checking off the registration box.

Registrations have been coming in faster than I expected so if you want one of the 60 free kits you should register soon.

Hotel booked.

As billspad suggested, don't wait until the last minute. There is also only limited choice. Above the quoted room rate, there is only the executive suite at about 300/ night available.

Sorry, but it now appears unlikely that I will be traveling to the Commonwealth at any time in the foreseeable future.

MarkII

January 21, 2010

From the CMASS Officers and the NARCON 2010 Planning Committee For Immediate Release:




The Central Massachusetts Spacemodeling Society is hosting the National Association of Rocketry’s Annual Convention on March 13-14, 2010 in Worcester, MA at ClarkUniversity, home of Dr. Robert Goddard, the father of American rocketry.

NARCON 2010 https://www.narcon.org will be headquartered in Tilton Hall at the HigginsStudentCenter, ClarkUniversity. Parallel technical presentations are scheduled for Saturday 9-12 & 1:30-4:30, and Sunday 9-12 covering model rocketry, high power rocketry, propulsion, electronics, recovery, competition, scale, safety, education, advanced projects, aerospace science.

Our Keynote speaker is Mott Linn, Clark University Archivist and former Archivist of the Goddard Collection. His presentation about Robert Goddard will be on Saturday evening at 7 PM followed by the traditional NAR Town Meeting moderated by NAR President Trip Barber at 8 PM. More than a dozen manufacturers and vendors will have booths in Tilton Hall to exhibit their products to the attendees throughout the convention.

Two additional events are planned for Sunday afternoon following the convention. At 1:30 PM there will be a guided tour of the exhibits in Goddard library at Clark, followed a model rocket launch at the Pakachoag Golf Course, Auburn, MA, the launch site of the world’s liquid fueled rocket flight on March 16, 1926 featuring the launch of a full scale replica of Goddard’s first rocket to commemorate the 84th anniversary of the launch.

The Crowne Plaza Worcester is the host hotel for NARCON 2010 and is conveniently located less than 2 miles from ClarkUniversity, and Destination Worcester assisted CMASS with the NARCON 2010 lodging and venue arrangements.

The National Association of Rocketry, founded in 1958, is the oldest and largest hobby rocketry association in the US with more than 4,500 members. https://www.nar.org

The Central Massachusetts Spacemodeling Society, Section #464 of NAR was founded in 1985. We are the largest hobby rocket organization in New England. CMASS has 150 members and has 18 rocket launches scheduled for 2010 in Acton (4), Amesbury (9), Auburn (1), Sudbury (2), Newbury (1), and Canton (1). https://www.cmass.org

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A printable .pdf is attached for redistribution.

View attachment NARCON 2010 50 day notice - r2.pdf

As the proud sponsor of NARCON 2010 FlisKits will be releasing several new kits, the most notable will be the two Goddard rockets:

• Nell - Goddard's first liquid fueled rocket
• L13 - one of his later creations as depicted in Robert Alway's Rockets of the world

FlisKits is donating 30 of each of these kits so that the first 60 registrants get their choice of a free commemorative kit at NARCON!

Further, for those who aren't early enough to get a free kit, FlisKits is providing a $5 gift certificate in your registration packed (only for those registrations after the first 60) that can be used at our booth at NARCON!

You can expect range box stickers as well as single digit versions of the new kits *and* the Decim8 to grace the list of prizes available to NARCON participants this year.

Add that to the location of Clark University, a fine list of speakers and sessions, a great collection of some of the best vendors in the industry and you have the makings of the best NARCON ever!

If I could be so bold...

Aim for the commonwealth and try not to miss!

Officially signed up. I was wondering if anyone that is renting a room anywhere that Saturday night, and has a spare bed, mind if I split the cost of the room? Driving back to Manchester Saturday night only to come back again sunday morning is not that appealing to me

If anyone attending would be interested in selling one of the free Flis kits, I'll gladly pay, especially for a single digit number. I'm not going to be able to make it this year.

PM or email to chanstevens at gmail dot com if interested.

There will be no empty hotel rooms in Worcester or the surrounding towns on Saturday night March 13 because the MA Special Olympics is occurring in Worcester that weekend and they need at least 600 hotel rooms on Saturday night, and there are only 981 hotel rooms in the city.

Now is the time to make your hotel reservations at the Crowne Plaza if you haven't done so. We reserved a block of 50 rooms for Friday and Saturday night and have filled 30 so far. The Crowne Plaza is the best hotel in Worcester and at $89 a night with indoor parking is a steal (a $40 discount off the lowest priced rooms). You will not find a better price (or a hotel room if you wait) within 20 miles so a word to the wise.....

You can make your NARCON hotel reservations at the NARCON 2010 website. https://www.narcon.org/lodging/lodging.html

Simply follow the link on this page to the Crowne Plaza Reservation webiste to insure that you get the special $89 per night rate.

Only 42 days to go.

Bob

Any update on what seminars will be offered and whom the speakers will be?

Well Troy, if nobody else will...I'll talk to you.

Booked my hotel room. I decided to book somewhere cheaper. see you all at Narcon

Booked my room, thanks for setting these aside. If anyone wants to share a double, contact me via pm. If someone wants to carpool from the midwest, that would be really cool. Plane flight & car-rental is going to add up...

Now to figure out how to get stuff back on the plane if I end up flying.

The NARCON 2010 Presentation List as of February 1, 2010 is shown below.

Keynote Speaker: Lynn Mott, Clark University Archivist: Goddard
NAR Town Meeting moderated by Trip Barber, NAR President

Vendor Forum: Latest News from the Attending Vendors

Jennifer Ash-Poole: NARTREK Cadet Program
Jennifer Ash-Poole: The Fun and Agony of a NAR HQ Conversion
Trip Barber: D-Helicopter
Trip Barber: FAI International Competition
Mark Bundick: Growing Up Wallops: A Personal Reflection and History
Mark Bundick: What's in Your Workshop? - Sorting, Stacking and Storing for Better Building
Ted Cochran: Old Motor Testing: Data on over 300 Motors
Ted Cochran: Safety in Sport Rocketry (Presentation/Workshop)
Larry Curcio: Altimeters 101 -Analysis of Accelerometer Based Atimeter Data for Vertical and Non-Vertical Trajectories
Larry Curcio: Altimeters 102 - Analysis of Barometric Altimeter Data to Obtain Velocity and Acceleration Information
Drake "Doc" Dämerau: Rocket Materials and Data Rocket
Howard Greenblatt: Tracking Electronics
Joyce Guzic: Inside the Sun
Bob Harrington: Fun with Paper Rockets
Vince Heugele: Modeling the Ares I in 1/50 scale
Vince Heugele: Launching Student Experiments with High Power
John Hockheimer: Launch Site Assistance for NAR Sections
John Hockheimer: NAR Section Leaders Discussion
Boris Katan: Fun with Clusters
Bob Krech: Motor Market 2010
Bob Krech: What's Up There and All About Air.
John Lyngdal: Igniter Current: How Much Is Really Needed for Successful Clustering?
John Lyngdal: NAR S&T Motor Testing and NFPA 1125
Claude Mania: NARTREK: The Next Generation
Claude Mania: Model Rocketry as a Tool to Teach Math and Physics in Grammar School
Will Marchant: NuSTAR and STARDUST
Will Marchant: Rocket Electronics
Kevin O'Classen: Design of Hybrid Powered Rockets
Kevin O'Classen: Hybrid Principles and Operation
Bill Spadafora: NAR S&T Activities
Tony Vincent: A Good Finish Starts At The Beginning

We also will have 2 build sessions

We can always find room for a few more good presentations so if you have one ready to go, e-mail [email protected] and [email protected] with your proposal by February 15.

Bob

bobkrech said:

Bill Spadafora: Surprise

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If it's going to be anything other than my presentation on S & T it's going to be a really big surprise to me.

billspad said:

If it's going to be anything other than my presentation on S & T it's going to be a really big surprise to me.

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Go ahead. I can stand being surprised.

GuyNoir said:

Go ahead. I can stand being surprised.

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I was afraid Bob was going to give me a topic the day before and tell me to fake it.

I'll have to update the S & t video with some new video I have (Inside joke. I checking to see if Lyngdal is paying attention.)

billspad said:

(Inside joke. I checking to see if Lyngdal is paying attention.)

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You certainly need to keep an eye on those quiet ones. . . .

Countdown to NARCON: T-5 weeks and counting
https://www.narcon.org

Overall Numbers

• 100 registered to date
• 13 vendors
• Saturday night dinner - currently 56 reservations
• Tee shirts ordered - currently 50
• 31 Presentations
• 2 Build Sessions

Friday, March 12

• NARBOT Meeting at Crown Plaza Hotel - 9 AM -> 6 PM
• Vendor Set up at Tilton Hall - 4 PM -> 7 PM
• Reception at Crowne Plaza Hotel Lobby Bar - 7 PM -> ???

Saturday, March 13

• Vendor Setup in Tilton Hall, Higgins Student Center - 7:30 AM
• Registration opens in Tilton Hall - 8 AM
• Vendors open in Tilton Hall - 8 AM
• Welcome in Tilton Hall - 8:30 AM
• Morning Sessions in Jonas Clark Building 9 AM -> noon
• Lunch in Main Dining Hall, Higgins Studend Center - noon
• Afternoon Sessions in Jonas Clark Building - 1:30 PM -> 4:30 PM
• Vendor Forum in Tilton Hall - 4:30 -> 5:30 PM
• Dinner - Grace-Laurie Conference Room - 5:30 PM -> 6:45 PM (Reservation Only)
• Mott Lin, Keynote Speaker Conference, Tilton Hall - 7 PM
• NAT Town Meeting moderated by Trip Barber, Tilton Hall - 8 PM
• Vendors open till 10 PM

Sunday - March 14

• Registration opens in Tilton Hall - 8 AM
• Vendors open in Tilton Hall - 8 AM
• Morning Sessions in Jonas Clark Building 8:30 AM -> 11:30 AM
• Concluding Remarks - Tilton Hall - 11:30 am
• Cleanup and Lunch in Tilton Hall - noon

Post Conference

• Special Goddard Library Museum Tour - 1:30 PM
• Special Goddard National Launch Site Model Rocket Launch - 3 PM -> 5 PM

Bob

bobkrech said:

.....Countdown to NARCON: T-5 weeks and counting
.....

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Wow, coming up fast!

sunward said:

Wow, coming up fast!

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Too fast!

What I wouldn't do for a 28 hour day, 8 day week... LOL

Of course, the really *nice* thing about NARCON in March is that it makes the winter FLY by!

GuyNoir said:

You certainly need to keep an eye on those quiet ones. . . .

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Just too busy collecting data for my presentation to do an adequate job keeping my eye on you...:neener:

John

NARCON 2010 is less than a month away. Here are some details if you're planning to attend.

Most of the block of hotel rooms is gone but you should still be able to get a room at the NARCON rate. If you have a problem please let us know.

After Sunday 2/28 you will not be able to order a T shirt or dinner. This is necessary because we have to provide a head count for those the next day. You can still register online up to 3/7. You can also register at the door but it would make things easier for us if you do it in advance.

In a couple of weeks we'll be sending out an email to everyone who has registered with links to maps and the schedule. They'll also be available on the website at that time. The mailing is going out using Constant Contact. If you're already getting the NAR Electronic Rocketeer you should receive the mail. If you're not registered for that you may get an email asking you if it's okay.

NARCON Commemorative kit update:

Both kits (Nelle and L-13) documentation is done and through proofing. I hope to be ordering it Monday.

The custom parts will be ordered later this week and we hope to be kitting the weekend before NARCON.

New catalogs (with these kits as well as the Decim8) are done and will be released at NARCON

Complimentary NARCON range box stickers are done and will be sent out for insertion into the registration packets.

It's all coming together! Don't miss it!

jim

I have heard a few negative things about Main street location that the NARCON 2010 convention is being held. For folks that live near the area is it anything a women that will be traveling there alone should be concerned about? I like to go it as would be my first NARCON. But is the area around Clark College a bit dangerous ?

space_cowgirl :y:

space_cowgirl said:

I have heard a few negative things about Main street location that the NARCON 2010 convention is being held. For folks that leave near area is it anything a women traveling there alone should be concerned about. I like to go it. would be my first NARCON. But is the area around Clark College a bit dangerous ?

space_cowgirl :y:

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I've only been there a couple of times and while I wouldn't be inclined to buy a house there it didn't look threatening to me. The parking lot is directly across the street from the campus so you won't need to wander around the neighborhood.

space_cowgirl said:

I have heard a few negative things about Main street location that the NARCON 2010 convention is being held. For folks that live near the area is it anything a women that will be traveling there alone should be concerned about? I like to go it as would be my first NARCON. But is the area around Clark College a bit dangerous ?

space_cowgirl :y:

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My son graduated from there about 3 years ago. While the area may look a bit seedy around the university area he never knew it to be dangerous after living there for 4 years.

jflis said:

My son graduated from there about 3 years ago. While the area may look a bit seedy around the university area he never knew it to be dangerous after living there for 4 years.

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Useful information, to be sure, but it might have somewhat more authority if your son were a daughter.

space_cowgirl said:

I have heard a few negative things about Main street location that the NARCON 2010 convention is being held. For folks that live near the area is it anything a women that will be traveling there alone should be concerned about? I like to go it as would be my first NARCON. But is the area around Clark College a bit dangerous ?

space_cowgirl :y:

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Are you staying at the Crowne Plaza? There will be enough of us there that several could drive to Clark as a group and walk across the parking lot together. Don't miss out on a great event like this!

Bazookadale said:

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Are you staying at the Crowne Plaza? There will be enough of us there that several could drive to Clark as a group and walk across the parking lot together. Don't miss out on a great event like this!

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I honestly don't think the neighborhood is that bad but, if you're uneasy at all, let me know and I'll give you a phone number you can call and I'll have someone escort you in.

space_cowgirl said:

I have heard a few negative things about Main street location that the NARCON 2010 convention is being held. For folks that live near the area is it anything a women that will be traveling there alone should be concerned about? I like to go it as would be my first NARCON. But is the area around Clark College a bit dangerous ?

space_cowgirl :y:

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The neighborhood is safe, but if you want an escort, you'll have 100 volunteers. The NARCON parking lot is on Main Street directly opposite the Clark entrance from Main street at the Higgins Student Center. It is also used by the Church on the side street.

Sunrise is at 6 AM, so the sun will be well up when you arrive on Saturday morning, and sunset is at 6PM. If you are having dinner at Clark and staying for the evening program, there will be over 100 folks leaving afterwards so you won't be alone in the evening.

Sunrise on Sunday is at 7 AM, so again the sun will be up when you arrive. If you stay for the library tour, again there will be dozens of folks to accompany you to your car at 2:30 pm.

Bob