NAR National Sport Launch 2005

[kelltym88]

wwattles:

I believe What's up Hobbies will be there, and Andy is always ready to donate motors for cert flights, just ask him, or let him know you'll be certing with that motor and he may even offer. If you need a case, you can borrow one or again Andy will let you borrow one. I will have a Dr. Rocket 29/180 and 240 case with me along with Cesaroni Pro 38 2,3,&4 grain cases. You are welcome to any of them.


As for the TRF banner, I will be bringing that with me. I plan on being there by about 10 or 11a.m. on Friday, and then again about 6 a.m. on Saturday. Speaking of the banner, Eugenio, I have not received it yet. Have you sent it out?


wwattles, you can pm me if you have any more questions.

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by kelltym88
As for the TRF banner, I will be bringing that with me. I plan on being there by about 10 or 11a.m. on Friday, and then again about 6 a.m. on Saturday. Speaking of the banner, Eugenio, I have not received it yet. Have you sent it out?

Yawn.... Sorry, I've been slackin'. Actually, I got it out of the trunk of my car (from the last launch) and picked up a 2" tube for it at Office Depot. I have a label on it. It'll go out tomorrow!

 

[wwattles]

Originally posted by eugenefl
Yawn.... Sorry, I've been slackin'. Actually, I got it out of the trunk of my car (from the last launch) and picked up a 2" tube for it at Office Depot. I have a label on it. It'll go out tomorrow!

Hmm... a 2" tube for it? That's purty small for Kelltym to make a rocket out of... but it'll give some challenge, right? And hey, we're getting a banner out of it, to boot! Well, at least, for the time being, we're going to be the caretakers of it.

I'm planning on being out there on Friday, probably around noonish. I'm taking off work that day, spending the night in El Centro, then doing both my certs on Saturday (L1 first thing in the morning, L2 around noon before the winds pick up at all).

Are we all staying at the John Jay Best Western, or are people bringing campers?

I know that mkeene's wife bought him an EZ-up recently (think it was a birthday), so he'll have that, but no camper or anything (not to that point in birthday giving, I s'pose, with a little rocketeer on the way and all).

I've been busy working on my rocket (trying to find my microballoons lately for the fillets, grrrr.....) Should be ready just in time.

See you all there!

WW

 

[kelltym88]

You hear that...... tick, tick, tick...... time is running out fast. I've only got 3 of the 5 fins attached. Probably only about 30% done, and the finishing is going to take about a week and a half. That means I've got to have it all put together by the 20th. That's only 2 weeks away. ( I reach to pull my hair out and then realize I don't have any, Doh!!).

 

[wwattles]

I just heard from Mike Jerauld about the donated motors from AT, and they are going to be H128's and J350's. If your bird likes those motors, you're set. Otherwise, you may end up going for a "shopping trip" through one of the motor vendors' stores.

WW

 

[wwattles]

Here's who I currently see as having said they'd be going:

RocketmanTM (Poway, CA)
wwattles (Chula Vista, CA)
bsdrocketry (Glendale, AZ)
SpartaChris (and fiancee) (Riverside, CA)
kelltym88 (Fullerton, CA)
valkrider15 (SoCal)
Ozymandias (LA area, visiting from school in FL)

Does anyone else see a trend here? If this is the National Sport Launch, where exactly does the "National" part fit in? Honestly, people will drive for hours and hours to make it to launches all over the East Coast and throughout the Midwest, and even to Texas for last year's NSL, but when you put it out here in one of the best places for launching/recovering, nobody wants to drive more than a couple hours?

Are any of the higher-ups from NAR going to be there?

Just trying to understand how these things really work...

WW

 

[DPatell]

The main difference is simply NAR vs. TRA.

LDRS gets huge crowds because when you hear LDRS, you think big rockets. People don't nescessarily connect big rockets to NAR launches. I went to NARAM 43 and I think there was 2 M motors and a handful of J's and K's.

NAR does not advocate HPR as much as TRA does, and the turnout shows that.

 

[wwattles]

So is it a matter of people not realizing that the desert is not just a place for LPR as well? Seriously, when I go out to the Plaster City launch site for our monthly launches, about 75% of what goes up is LPR. The scouts go out there for their camp-outs, and launch with us. There are dozens of people who come in from AZ and San Diego who fly LPR, and enjoy not having to worry about rain, wind, trees, power lines, nearby homes, or land-usage issues.

Is it a marketing problem? I'm getting the impression that people here see the desert as being great for HPR and nothing else, and that's simply not the case. It's also one of the best darned places for LPR around! Where else can you put that C6 in your minimum diameter bird and let her rip without a second thought for how far it's going to drift? In other places, people have to consider, when deciding if they want to plan to attend a big launch, "Is it worth it to drive that far, if the launch is cancelled due to rain or wind?" Plaster City doesn't have those problems, except for maybe a few days a year!

I guess we could say, "Let's just make all the NSL's be at little fields where people can only do LPR, and if they're daring, some MPR. And while we're at it, let's put it in the middle of a meadow surrounded by trees, and make sure there's a 50% chance of rain for that time of year." But that wouldn't exactly be reaching out to the entirety of the NAR membership.

Again, I'm just trying to understand what is going on here...

WW

 

[SpartaChris]

I personally go to regional launches for HPR. LPR is something I reserve for the school playground when the weather doesn't permit launching for long periods of time. I don't need to drive 3.5 hours to fly LPR when I can drive 15 minutes. Besides, Plaster City has a 25,000 ft waiver, and is in my opinion, the best place to go in Southern California for higher powered flights.

But I do agree that NAR has a bad stigma to being only LPR to it, and I wish there was a way to change it. I was very disappointed when I went to GHS this past year and 90% of the flights were low powered flights. The remaining 10% heavily favored MPR flights with few HPR flights. I will be very disappointed if this launch goes the same way, to the point where I will probably join TRA.

-Chris

 

[PunkRocketScience]

I have heard from Mike Jerauld that the last he heard, Trip Barber will not be appearing due to a conflict with military service but he had not heard whether or not Bunny will be showing.

If it's anything like a normal TRASD/DART launch there should be a good mix of L/M/HPR. Most everyone here in San Diego flies whatever strikes their fancy that day. I'll be mainly launching big stuff, but will also be running Superroc A PD.

Of course a more centrally located launch will draw more people, but it's great that with NARCON and LDRS being up in the great white north this year, that the southern end of the country gets the NSL.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

I will definitely be there on Saturday and possibly on Sunday too. I'm looking forward to meeting some of you in person! Look for a maroon Trooper with bright, neon yellow and orange rockets on the roof, and a "Rocket Aerial Photos" sign on the back.

I'll have lots of my mounted, 8x10 rocket aerial photos for sale. I may also do some flying, especially if someone has a large rocket who would be willing to let me fly a small camera rocket alongside it.

 

[Initiator001]

Originally posted by DPatell
The main difference is simply NAR vs. TRA.

LDRS gets huge crowds because when you hear LDRS, you think big rockets. People don't nescessarily connect big rockets to NAR launches. I went to NARAM 43 and I think there was 2 M motors and a handful of J's and K's.

NAR does not advocate HPR as much as TRA does, and the turnout shows that.

Wow! I'm having flashbacks to the late 1980s/early 1990s!

The participation turnout at a NARAM or NSL has less to do with the type of rockets being flown and more to do with geography.

NAR members with interest in attending a NARAM or NSL are less likely to do so as the event is moved closer to the West Coast.

Call it my un-scientific analysis based on personal observation.
Eastern NAR members (East of the Mississippi River) are less likely to attend rocketry events that are further west than Texas.

I have found West Coast NAR members more likely to go to an East Coast NAR event than the other-way-around. NARAM-27 (Los Angeles, CA) and NARAM-34 (Las Vegas, NV) had turnouts around 120-140 people. NARAM-41 (Pittsburgh, PA) had nearly 300 participants. I have seen attendance figures like this for other 'Eastern' NARAMs I have attended.

It's not the size of the rockets or flying site, nor the height of the FAA waiver. Also, NAR members who fly HPR do not always attend NARAMs because the flying sites can not always accomodate HPR flying. Likewise, NAR members who are competition/LPR flyers are less likely to attend a NSL with a large flying site as they don't need it to fly their type of rockets. I think a more accurate gauge of event popularity would be to add the attendance figures for both NARAM and NSL together.

I'm sure Ray Dunakin remembers back 15-20 years ago when the NAR & TRA were not on exactly friendly terms. I sure do. Both organizations have come a long way since then, the NAR especially. Both organizations are working hard to preserve our hobby against unfair regulation.

I will be at the NSL. If you want a history lesson, buy me a beer and I will tell you some stories about "the bad ol' days".

 

[SpartaChris]

here is one of the reasons why i will be at NSL this year: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16667

 

[SpartaChris]

here is one of the reasons why i will be at NSL this year: https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=16667


-Chris

 

[Bill]

Originally posted by wwattles
Here's who I currently see as having said they'd be going:

RocketmanTM (Poway, CA)
wwattles (Chula Vista, CA)
bsdrocketry (Glendale, AZ)
SpartaChris (and fiancee) (Riverside, CA)
kelltym88 (Fullerton, CA)
valkrider15 (SoCal)
Ozymandias (LA area, visiting from school in FL)

Does anyone else see a trend here? If this is the National Sport Launch, where exactly does the "National" part fit in? Honestly, people will drive for hours and hours to make it to launches all over the East Coast and throughout the Midwest, and even to Texas for last year's NSL, but when you put it out here in one of the best places for launching/recovering, nobody wants to drive more than a couple hours?

Are any of the higher-ups from NAR going to be there?

Just trying to understand how these things really work...

There are two factors at work here. Many rocketeers use an SUV, pickup truck, minivan, RV or pull a trailer to transport their gear to a launch. Not exactly the best for fuel mileage. California and especially San Diego have seen a lot of press in the past year for having the highest gasoline prices in the Lower 48. When I read that the Vostok may be flying again at NSL, I seriously thought of going, but fuel sticker shock was the final straw in killing that idea.

The other and probably more significant factor is geography. I live just outside of Dallas which is about the same distance from Plaster City as Washington D.C., the site of the last NARAM. Draw a 500 mile radius around Plaster City and you will include the San Diego, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix and Tucson metropolitan areas. Do the same with D.C. and you cover a very significant portion of the population of the country. It doesn't help that half of the Plaster City circle is either ocean or Mexico.


Bill

 

[Ray Dunakin]

I actually looked at the dates on the calendar for the first time yesterday, and discovered that the Sunday of the launch is Mother's Day. If attendance is down this year, that's probably the reason. I will only be there on Saturday because of this.

 

[kelltym88]

While I was planning on being there early Friday and all day Saturday, financial requiremnets have neccesitated that I need to work at least 6 hrs. on Friday. As a result I will be arriving much later in the afternoon than I wanted, but I will be there bright and early Saturday morning. Look for "Barney" my purple Nissan truck.

 

[wwattles]

I'll be heading out from SD sometime mid-morning on Friday, to get there around noon or early afternoon. My wife and I are staying in El Centro overnight, and will be back out bright and early on Saturday. I'm hoping to stay long enough to watch some of the night launches, but after the long day, I may have to succumb to my wife's wishes and start the 2-hour drive back to the coast before nightfall.

My vehicle of choice doesn't really have a name yet, nor is it very descript - it's just another of the bajillion silver Honda Odyssey's out there on the road!

WW

 

[SmkSignals]

My family and I will be there !!! Gonna cert level 1 while there. Can't wait !!!!

I told my parents about the launch, and they are gonna make it also. This will be there first time at a rocket launch.

We are going to camp out while down there. This event actually helped me pull the trigger on a new travel trailer. Gonna be a great shake down trip !!!

WooHoo, this is going to be an awesome weekend !!!!

See ya Friday...

 

[valkrider15]

I'll be heading down either Thursday evening or early (REAL EARLY) Friday morning. I'll be in a Pewter Suburban pulling a 26' Toyhauler.

I'm coming from North LA County (Yes, the Valley) and am debating about going down the 5 or 15 to the 8 then across or out teh 10 through Indio and then down the 86 to El Centro. I am not familiar with Highway 86 so can anyone local let me know if that is a reasonable way to go or should I stick to the "Big Roads" and just fight the traffic?

We need to get all of us L1 / L2 Certifiers together for moral support lol

-Greg

 

[SmkSignals]

Greg, I asked the same question in an email a couple of months ago. I am coming from Orange County. Here was their response -

fastest is I5 South,
I805 South
I8 East (about 90 miles)
Exit Dunaway Road, go north (left)
Left at the end (S80)
1.1 miles, right at the "Plaster City East OHV Area" sign, then go .5 miles north on the dirt

 

[wwattles]

From OC, yes, the fastest way is to come down the coast on 5. But if at all possible, do NOT get yourself stuck trying to come through I-15 or I-5 any time during the afternoon. Traffic is very bad, and San Diego drivers are extremely aggressive and not very accomodating for a trailer or similar large vehicle. If you can get inland and then come down from Indio, I'd recommend it. Besides, the mountains between San Diego and Ocotillo aren't exactly steep, but the ride down the eastern slope will be treacherous for large vehicles this weekend (high wind advisory).

WW

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Originally posted by valkrider15
I'm coming from North LA County (Yes, the Valley) and am debating about going down the 5 or 15 to the 8 then across or out teh 10 through Indio and then down the 86 to El Centro. I am not familiar with Highway 86 so can anyone local let me know if that is a reasonable way to go or should I stick to the "Big Roads" and just fight the traffic?

I haven't taken 86 in several years, because the traffic sucked so badly. It's also notorious for the high number of deadly accidents. Maybe they've improved it since then, but I doubt it.

 

[kelltym88]

Would leaving the OC around 1:00 be too late to miss the traffic?

 

[shreadvector]

I'm driving down I15 super early Friday morning (my normal 'drive to work' time). I've driven down I15 super early in the past and the traffic was not too bad. I know that later in the day the traffic can build up.

I will probably stop a bunch of times along the way since I like to do that to check out the areas I'm driving through. I have not driven east on I8, so I'm curious if there is anything to see along the way.

If you cruise through a gas station or fast food joint and see Golden Dollars or "Apollo XI" dollars in the cash register, then I might have been in there before you. I like to spread them around and everyone along I 15 (north and south) goes nuts over them.

I should be out at the launch site by mid morning - depending on how many places I stop at.

This is gonna be fun.

 

[shreadvector]

I have driven south on I15 from the 91 to Temecula during the noon/1pm time frame. I hit traffic at Winchester RD where the large shopping and banking centers are conglomerated. Part of that was construction on the surface streets backing traffic up onto the freeway, but I think the local street and traffic lights might always get overloaded there. Stay to the left and you can probably blow right by without slowing down.

Originally posted by kelltym88
Would leaving the OC around 1:00 be too late to miss the traffic?

 

[jflis]

FlisKits has just pre-announced our newest model rocket kit and the Anniversary kit for the National Sport Launch 2005

The Espresso

40 of these unique kits have been sent out to the folks at NSL to help celebrate this exciting event. Additionally, FlisKits has sent several other kits to help their raffle drawings.

You can find out more about the Espresso by clicking here.

Good luck this weekend folks! Remember LOTS of pictures!

jim

 

[wwattles]

Originally posted by shreadvector
I will probably stop a bunch of times along the way since I like to do that to check out the areas I'm driving through. I have not driven east on I8, so I'm curious if there is anything to see along the way.

If you're going along 8 and you feel so inclined, you may want to stop by the air museum at Gillespie Field. Not a huge collection, but where else can you get your picture taken next to a real Atlas II missile? They've got one on display out in front of the museum. It was static fired for test purposes before being retired to museum duty. Here's how to get there.

WW

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Originally posted by shreadvector
I will probably stop a bunch of times along the way since I like to do that to check out the areas I'm driving through. I have not driven east on I8, so I'm curious if there is anything to see along the way.

The coolest thing to visit along I8 is the Desert View Tower and "Mystery Caves"! It's located at the edge of the high desert, overlooking the Imperial Valley. When you get out to the high desert you'll come to the Jacumba off ramp. There are two gas stations there, the town itself is mostly out of view from the freeway.

The next exit is the Inkopah Road exit. Get off there, go under the freeway, and follow the road to the Tower.

The Tower was built of stone back in the 30's and is five stories high. The "mystery caves" are among the boulders nearby, and include whimsical carvings that were done about the same time the tower was built.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

Originally posted by wwattles
If you're going along 8 and you feel so inclined, you may want to stop by the air museum at Gillespie Field. Not a huge collection, but where else can you get your picture taken next to a real Atlas II missile? They've got one on display out in front of the museum. It was static fired for test purposes before being retired to museum duty. Here's how to get there.

Last weekend they had an airshow there. I stopped by just to tour the B-17. Saw it fly too, but only from a distance prior to my arrival.

They had lots of other neat stuff at the airshow, dating from WWII to Korea and Vietnam eras.