Model Rocketry Club Member?

[dwmzmm]

Back in the good ole days of the hobby (well, at least around the time I joined the hobby and NAR 1969 - early 1970's) you'd find model rocket clubs
in places you'd not expect to. Look up the Model Rocketry magazine issues
in the Ninfinger website and you'll see what I'm talking about. Seems like there was at least one model rocket club (stand alones and/or NAR Sections)
in every State......

 

[n5wd]

Yep - my local NAR section is DARS, to which I just renewed my membership today. I also belong to Tripoli-Houston #002 - if I'm going to regularly fly with someone, seems to make sense to support them with my membership money, as well as the launch fee.

 

[mjennings]

Belong to Spaceport Rocketry Association (SRA) me wandering out to see them launched is part of what got me flying again.

 

[MarkII]

... (No, I don't count DARS in Dallas, that's a two hour drive in traffic just for the club meetings, and further than that to their launches.) ...

Bummer! (Actually, I kind of understand...)

...ASTRE, which was based in the Capital District of NY, about 150 miles to the south of me. ... Just being able to discuss model rocketry with some other people, and not have them squirm and quickly change the subject, alone is worth the 6 hour drive time to get to and from club events, but of course, there is so much more to it than that.

We almost had some school clubs started up over the last 20 yrs or so, on the west side of town. They just never quite seem to get the necessary momentum (it doesn't seem to be "cool" enough to stand up to teenage peer pressure).

It never was, even way back when - except to those of us who were in the know...

Still, I keep hoping--

Yup! :bang:

MarkII

 

[Patch]

Not entirely true, there is https://www.tripolioklahoma.org/, in OKC with a launch site in far west Oklahoma, (Sayre), https://www.tulsarocketry.org/, and for NAR https://www.piedmontrocketry.org/, which is currently looking for a launch location. There is a meeting for https://www.piedmontrocketry.org/ 6-6 at 1:00, in the Piedmont city/event building.

Thanks, happy flying.
Mike Dickinson

I wasn't thinking about Oklahoma City Tripoli when I wrote this. I did know about Tulsa and that was why I said central and Western Okla. I'm really rooting for the Piedmont Club to find a place to launch, and hopefully expand. Sorry for the confusion.

 

[Randy K]

I did belong to a club back in the 70's. Then I got out of the hobby for several years and when I got back in I noticed several clubs in the my state were now gone, including the one I once belong too. This closest one now is over a 90 minute dive away. I may head to one of their launches a year, but that's it. Just to far to drive and with gass prices going up that don't help.

I mainly launch MPR now days with a couple others and we do get several people that stop by to watch. So I guess we had a somewhat informal club mainly for some of us just got together to launch, but that is it. Tried about two years ago to get a club going, but there was no real interest.

Someone made a good point that I'd like to explore . . .

Do you, as a member of TRF, belong to a model rocketry club - defined as capable of launching either LPR, MPR, HPR, or a combination of any of these?

 

[gpoehlein]

Yup - I belong to the (in)famous Launch Crue in Holland Indiana. Not only are they a great bunch to fly with, they are both incredibly competitive in our regional contests AND helpful when you ask for help and advice. Plus, we have a wonderful field and some of the best launch equipment there is. Only downside is that it is an hour drive from my home and in the Eastern time zone, while I live in Central (so it takes two hours to get there - but I get home the same time I left, so it balances out! )

 

[dwmzmm]

Yup - I belong to the (in)famous Launch Crue in Holland Indiana. Not only are they a great bunch to fly with, they are both incredibly competitive in our regional contests AND helpful when you ask for help and advice. Plus, we have a wonderful field and some of the best launch equipment there is. Only downside is that it is an hour drive from my home and in the Eastern time zone, while I live in Central (so it takes two hours to get there - but I get home the same time I left, so it balances out! )

You're essentially in a "time warp." When returning from the Philippines (where my wife's family resides), you get to live the same day when you left
the island again on returning to the states.......:y:

 

[MarkII]

Yup - I belong to the (in)famous Launch Crue in Holland Indiana. Not only are they a great bunch to fly with, they are both incredibly competitive in our regional contests AND helpful when you ask for help and advice. Plus, we have a wonderful field and some of the best launch equipment there is. Only downside is that it is an hour drive from my home and in the Eastern time zone, while I live in Central (so it takes two hours to get there - but I get home the same time I left, so it balances out! )

I always wondered what that was like, living right next to a time zone border and being able to cross back and forth. The closest that I ever got to the Eastern Time Zone border was when I lived in Grand Rapids, MI. And also, when I was vacationing on Mount Desert Island, Maine. In Maine, I noticed that the twilight hours around dawn and dusk looked very different than they did back in Michigan, and even look a little bit different than they do in the Adirondacks. Hard to believe that the hour of the day is exactly the same in Grand Rapids as it is in Bar Harbor.

MarkII

 

[gpoehlein]

I always wondered what that was like, living right next to a time zone border and being able to cross back and forth. The closest that I ever got to the Eastern Time Zone border was when I lived in Grand Rapids, MI. And also, when I was vacationing on Mount Desert Island, Maine. In Maine, I noticed that the twilight hours around dawn and dusk looked very different than they did back in Michigan, and even look a little bit different than they do in the Adirondacks. Hard to believe that the hour of the day is exactly the same in Grand Rapids as it is in Bar Harbor.

MarkII

I have to say it is pretty screwy in Indiana - I can drive directly north from Evansville to Chicago and go from Central to Eastern and back to Central again. I have to admit it isn't as bad as it used to be - until a couple years ago, most of the state did not observe Daylight Savings Time - so half the year the majority of the state would match the Eastern time zone and the other half would match Central. It was really confusing.

 

[jflis]

I belong to CMASS. Used to belong to The Goddard Society (Arni Paye and I founded it), but it went defunct in the 90's.

I flew for decades by myself and, as much fun as that was, it was nothing compared to flying with a large group of like minded folks. CMASS launches are the best i've ever attended. Good clear days could see over 100 modelers out flying and seeing 400 flights in an afternoon is not uncommon. It's the best way to see a very wide variety of kits and scratchbuilts fly. great fun

 

[les]

I used to belong to NEPRA, but it was still a trip to get there so I generally only made about 2~3 launches a year.
Unfortunately, the club folded when the president couldn't support it due to a change in his work. Unfortunately, no one (including myself) stepped up to take over.

There is METRA, but they are even further away - I would be lucky to get there even once a year (beyond NERRF).

I've thought of starting one locally, but my own work schedule would make things iffy. I also would want to find a better launch site (I fly at a school football field) for a club activity. Yes, I know - mostly excuses

 

[RocketsNorth]

Does anyone know if there is a club in Toronto Ontario?

 

[Mike Di Venti]

I belong to several.
There's 6 seasons in my book:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter, Construction, and Rocket seasons!!
My main club I fly with is very close to home(15mins.)METRA
and the other close one is about 45 mins(CTRA)
For some winter flight time I'll travel down to MD to MDRA's field and fly there
a couple of times. I try to carpool with my friend and make it a mini- vaca.
away from the home stresses.

I also fly rockets on mine own in a nearby empty corn field

 

[MarkII]

...CMASS launches are the best i've ever attended. Good clear days could see over 100 modelers out flying and seeing 400 flights in an afternoon is not uncommon....

Good Lord!!! :jaw: I didn't know that there were that many rocketeers in the entire Northeast! What do you do, truck them in from Texas? :eyepop:

MarkII

 

[GlennW]

Oh, there's plenty up in these parts. Our club (GSSS) is one of 2 in NJ that I know of (SOJARS being the other) and while our launches don't see quite as many flyers as CMASS we get a nice group out there when it's good weather.

Glenn

 

[MarkII]

Oh, there's plenty up in these parts. Our club (GSSS) is one of 2 in NJ that I know of (SOJARS being the other) and while our launches don't see quite as many flyers as CMASS we get a nice group out there when it's good weather.

Glenn

Oh, well I was exaggerating just a little bit. But whenever I read about club launches that draw 50-100 participants (or more), it just floors me. When I was growing up, I knew a grand total of two other people who flew model rockets. Yes, I knew that the hobby grew in popularity in the 1970's, but I still never saw anyone ever launch one or even build one during that period. I flew model rockets from 1967-71, but the first time that I ever saw one launched that didn't belong to either me or my friend Danny was when I went to my first ASTRE launch in 2006 (two years after becoming a BAR). Most of ASTRE's launches draw between 6-10 participants. That first club launch that I attended had something like 12 or 13 participants over the course of the day, and to date that is the largest group launch that I have ever seen. I don't know about what happens at your launches, but at ours, the people who do attend trickle in over the course of the day, stay and launch a little bit, and then leave. We seldom have a situation in which the half-dozen to one dozen people who attend a launch are all there at the same time. (Not many can devote the whole day to it.) I don't know why, but there just doesn't seem to be very many rocketeers in northeastern NY. I would love to travel to a town, or even a small city, that has more than one rocketeer living within its limits.

MarkII

 

[dpower]

I'm fortunate to have a local club, WOOSH, with 2 fields & meeting location within an hour drive, of which I've been a member for the last few years. It is a fairly active group, launches range from a half-dozen to a few dozen folks, depending on the location and the weather (during the coldest winter months, it is a wee bit more sparse). I've found the hobby immensely more satisfying since joining; in part because we all share an interest in this hobby, can show off our builds, learn from each other, and see a lot more launches; and also because it is just an incredibly friendly group of folks to be with.

 

[Verna]

We are currently members of two clubs, BRB 665 and SEARS 572.

Verna
http:www.vernarockets.com

 

[WRE]

I've found the hobby immensely more satisfying since joining; in part because we all share an interest in this hobby, can show off our builds, learn from each other, and see a lot more launches; and also because it is just an incredibly friendly group of folks to be with.[/QUOTE]

Could not have said it better than you....
10 year member of WOOSH NAR #558

 

[Night Tripper]

Yep, the Birmingham Rocket Boys #665.

I find that launching with other rocketry enthusiasts is more fun. The BRB primary launch site is about a forty-five minute drive from my home in Tuscaloosa. They launch every third saturday of the month.

 

[jflis]

Good Lord!!! :jaw: I didn't know that there were that many rocketeers in the entire Northeast! What do you do, truck them in from Texas? :eyepop:

MarkII

Here are some images from various launches. All different launches. No event, just a club launch. This is typical, especially when the weather is nice

Makes for a good day. Come on out and fly with us!

jim

 

[tonypv]

I'm also a CMASS member.

Nice pictures Jim, I hadn't seen those before.
There are quite a few CMASS members that are here on TRF.
BTW in the first picture that's me on the far left.

 

[MarkII]

Here are some images from various launches. All different launches. No event, just a club launch. This is typical, especially when the weather is nice

Amazing, simply amazing!

Makes for a good day. Come on out and fly with us!

jim

Well, at 300 miles and 6 hours of driving each way, it is something that I would have to think long and hard about. (Roughly twice the distance that I drive to get to ASTRE's launches.)

ASTRE has really great and interesting people, including current and past national champions, a holder of several current national records, veterans of past WSMC teams, and some well-known people in our hobby. (I'm not included in any of those categories.) We are pretty small in number now but we remain quite viable (but not very visible) as a club.

All of you who are members of big clubs like CMASS, NARHAMS, WOOSH, DARS, etc. should take a moment at your next meeting or launch and reflect on just what you have there. Appreciate how precious (and how increasingly rare these days) it is, and don't take it for granted. Above all, remember how important it is to hold on to members who are committed and involved.

And also how important it is to have a nice, big and easy to reach flying field.

MarkII

 

[jflis]

And also how important it is to have a nice, big and easy to reach flying field.

MarkII

Oh man, before Bill sees this... Don't get us started about "nice, big and easy to reach flying fields"... LOL Finding and securing good fields is always a challenge, even AFTER you *have* them...

 

[MarkII]

If you have a big, successful club, prefecture or Section, congratulations - you have successfully beat gravity. But to keep yourself in the air, you have to keep at it, and keep working hard, even very hard. Do you understand what I'm saying?

If you have good people in your club who are dependable, committed, and who go the extra mile to make everything not just work, but work optimally, do everything that you possibly can to keep them. Never, ever forget to tell them how much you appreciate all that they do. And constantly work at finding more people like that. Because even the most generous people have their limits. Really dedicated people, the backbone of your club, can eventually burn out. Especially if it is just assumed that they will keep carrying the burden.

Also, please leave politics to the professionals. Don't let it creep into your club. It is a disease that will always prove to be fatal.

Whatever happens, do not ever, ever slack off. Keep flapping your wings as hard as you possibly can. Even though it is very hard work, flying is glorious. Gravity, on the other hand, is harsh.

MarkII

 

[Micromeister]

AK:
I've been a member of two NAR Sections for much longer than I've been a TRF member if that's what your looking for.

I am often reconized at these and other launches by my TRF handle and talk to other TRF members often.