LUNAR'clips

Volume 2, Number 2 -- February, 1995

Newsletter of the Livermore Unit of the National Association of Rocketry

A busy spring for LUNAR, by Lynn Kissel
Making your own igniters?
Video rocket demonstration
Enter the NAR Regional Competition, by Larry Baskett
December Launch Report, by Warren Massey
Club Tee Shirts Soon Available, by Jack Hagerty
LUNAR Dust
LUNAR Hotline
LUNAR makes the NAR standings
New Launch Equipment
Educational Sourcebook
January Meeting Elections
In the limelight
AERO-PAC 1995 schedule

comments

Make your mark

A busy spring for LUNAR

by Lynn Kissel, LUNAR #009

As you will note from the information in this newsletter, we have a full calendar of activities planned for LUNAR this spring. One of the most important scheduled event is our hosting of a NAR Regional Competition in April. (See the subsequent article by Larry Baskett.) This event will be great fun, and we should work hard to assure that our club is well represented in the competition. Equally important, we will need the efforts of all LUNAR members to staff the large number of volunteer positions needed to host an event of this magnitude. The prestige of our club is on the line! We will be circulating sign-up sheets at future meetings and launches. You need to be on that list one or more places! Be there or be square!

This may be your last issue unless you renew your membership! (See the subsequent article and the LUNAR membership application included with this newsletter.) After this mailing, which is being sent to all 1994 members of record, we will be trimming our mailing list to only 1995 members to contain our expenses.

Membership Renewal

The membership renewal forms normally go out in January so that you can renew for the year. At the December board meeting it was decided to postpone this for a month until the dues increase could be voted on. Since that passed (see January meeting notes in LUNAR Dust section) we can now send them out so in this issue you will find a LUNAR membership application with the new dues structure. The only change is that adult dues are raised to $15 per year. All other categories, including the "Family Plan" remain the same. While this doesn't quite cover the cost increase by LARPD for use of the launch field, we feel that the balance can be covered by the donations from Kiwanis.

Please send your renewal notice in as soon as possible so that we can start issuing new membership cards. They will be a different color this year so we can keep track of things.

February 16 meeting may spark your interest...

Making your own igniters?

At the regular club meeting on Thursday, February 16, Warren Massey will lead a discussion of alternate ignition techniques and demonstrate techniques for making your own igniters. He promises to bring visual aids to kindle your curiosity. Warren writes...

For igniting composite motors, Aerotech igniters are the device most commonly used, but they are less reliable than is desirable and are totally unsuitable for ignition of clusters of motors or ignition of upper-stage motors in multistage rockets. More suitable commercial replacements for the Aerotech Copperheads are available but are difficult to purchase if you don't have a B.A.T.F. explosives license and an approved magazine for storage. The options available to the rocketeer are more limited than they were two years ago but there are still some good ones available.

Other important matters to be discussed at the meeting include continuing preparations for our April launch, which features an NAR Regional Competition. (See the article by Larry Baskett later in this newsletter.) February is also listed as a build meeting.

March 16 meeting to have live TV broadcast...

Video rocket demonstration

At the regular club meeting on Thursday, March 16, Lynn Kissel will demonstrate his ATV (amateur television) payload and ground support equipment. The payload consists of a miniature B&W CCD television camera and a UHF (ultra high frequency) ATV transmitter operating at 439.25 MHz with output to an omnidirectional antenna. The ground support equipment includes a highly directional antenna, a down converter (which converts the UHF ATV signal to commercial VHF TV channel 3), a battery operated color television and a 8 mm video tape recorder.

At the March meeting we will be finalizing our plans for the April NAR Regional Competition. (See the following article by Larry Baskett.)

Prove your mettle

Enter the NAR Regional Competition

by Larry Baskett, LUNAR #151

On Sunday, April 23, LUNAR will be hosting a NAR Sanctioned Regional Competition with four contest events. Contests are a whole lot of fun for everyone involved, partly because you can take on other rocketry enthusiasts and see how your construction and flying skills measure up. To even out the competition, there are three age divisions: A Division, age 13 and under; B Division, age 14 to 18; and C Division, age 19 and older. Your division is determined by your age as of July 1, 1994. If there are not enough contestants in an event, Divisions A and B or B and C will be combined. You do need to be a NAR member to compete, so mail off those membership applications now if you have not already done so (the Sport Rocketry subscription definitely makes it worth your while!).

Now, so that you can start preparing for the contest, here are the descriptions of the events. Keep in mind that a rocket built specifically for the competition will usually outperform a sport rocket. Do not let this deter you, however, because if you do not enter the contest, your chances of winning are zero! Your name and/or NAR number needs to be written or painted somewhere on the exterior of your contest rocket(s) for identification purposes. For a more in-depth description of the rules, refer to the NAR Sporting Code (the "Pink Book").

Class 0 (1/2A motor) Parachute Duration

This is a fun event for anyone. The principle is simple: put a big parachute in a small rocket and keep it up there for as long as possible. The rocket with the longest time in the air from the moment of liftoff wins. The rocket must come down in one piece (no nose cones-on-a-parachute drifting off into oblivion). An easy way to enter this category would be to replace the streamer in a mini-motor kit (such as the Estes Gnome) with a thin plastic parachute. A good motor choice is the Estes 1/2A3-4T.

"Swift" (B motor) Boost Glider Duration

A challenging event, boost glider duration combines rocketry with model airplane flight. The gliding portion of the model is timed from first movement to landing; the winner is the contestant with the longest flight time. Heavy rocket gliders like the Estes Tomcat will qualify, but their flight times will not be very competitive. The Quest Flat Cat would be an excellent kit choice for this event. The Estes B4-2 is a typical motor. Note that if your rocket ejects the motor casing when it converts into a glider, the casing must have a streamer attached to be considered "NAR legal."

Class 3 (C motor) Altitude

Conceptually even more basic than parachute duration, the winning entry of this event is simply the rocket that achieves the highest altitude. The rocket may be powered by a single motor (such as an Estes C6-7), or it may be staged, with the total impulse of the motors adding up to a C (such as a model using a B6-0 to B4-6 combination). Trackers will follow your rocket's flight using the club's new theodolites, devices that measure the azimuth and elevation of the rocket's apogee to find an accurate altitude measurement. There will be trackers to follow your rocket; if you are not familiar with this terminology, don't worry about it. Many kits would do well in this competition (such as the Estes Yankee or Wizard). This is an event where careful streamlining truly pays off.

"Pigeon" (D motor) Egg Lofting Altitude

This event is as enjoyable as it is exciting. In eggloft altitude, the winner is the competitor that can boost a raw USDA Large hen's egg to the highest altitude (again determined by the theodolites) and recover the egg unbroken. Sorry, but you can't try to catch your rocket! Eggloft can verge on the comical, especially when an ill- fated entry augers in and white-and-yellow goo flies in every direction. The egg must be entirely enclosed in a payload compartment, commercial egg capsule, plastic Easter egg, etc. Padding is definitely recommended, though nothing can be glued or taped to the egg. The wise will also wrap the egg in a plastic baggie to make cleanup simpler in the event of a crackup. A light model is certainly desirable, but a kit like the Estes Omloid will do reasonably well with an Aerotech D21-4T or a comparable motor (check your rocket's structural integrity; this motor has a little more kick than a C5-3!).

Some final notes

If you would like to go for the truly competitive, an excellent source of low-cost contest kits and parts is Qualified Competition Rockets (address: 7021 Forest View Drive, Springfield, VA 22150). Send a self-addressed, stamped envelope for a catalog. Don't delay to start building your contest entries, since they should be flight- tested before you enter the competition.

Remember, the true purpose of this contest is to have fun. The more contestants, the better, so come and prove your rocketry mettle!

December Launch Report

by Warren Massey, LUNAR #007

Normally I steer clear of launch reports but this is an exception. LUNAR had an exceptional day for its December launch and I guess part of the reason is our expectations were so low to begin with. The weather in the Bay Area hadn't been very conducive to flying rockets for the previous two months and we really were expecting no better. Many of the members were forecasting rain for launch day, I was expecting pea-soup fog and everyone just knew it was going to be colder than the dickens. Boy were we all surprised! It was an absolutely gorgeous day, warm and sunny (lots of layers of clothes got shed) and only a very occasion light breeze.

The turnout of people was light, I would guess that no more than 25 members and possibly another 25 spectators floated through during our 8:30 a.m.. to 12:30 p.m. launch window. We collectively did manage to get off 81 launches and they seem to be a bit more successful than usual; i.e. no CATOs and few parachute separations.

The flights broke down something like this:

     1/2A or A  15
     B           4
     C          29 (including a C-to-B 2-stage)
     D          13 (including: D/C/C 3-stage, D/D/E 3-
                    stage, 7-D cluster)
     E           2
     F          11 (including: F50 Silver Steak (hey, the 
                    ground WAS soggy))
     G           5
     H           2 (NCR Phantom 4000 & Public 
                    Missiles Nike-Apache)

One of the more memorable moments was when we racked up Estes Tomcats on pads 1, 3 & 5 and then launched them as a group. On the way up, the three of them formed a nearly perfect fleur-de-lis! If the Blue Angles flew Tomcats, this is what it would have looked like. Of course once they extended their wings they exhibited all the grace and flying ability of giant land tortoises. But we really expected no less.

All-in-all a very good day.

(photo by Larry Baskett, scanning by Warren Massey, image processing by Lynn Kissel)

Be the first on your block!

Club Tee Shirts Soon Available

by Jack Hagerty, LUNAR Vice President

(Order forms on the back of the LUNAR membership application.)
Our first shot at getting some club T-shirts came shortly after approving the club logo in mid-1993. The small number of shirts we could buy plus the set-up charge for silk screenings meant that the shirts were quite pricey, about $15 each. We never sold enough to make the minimum order so the project was shelved.

I've been looking into the situation again and discovered a company down in Newport Beach that makes logo T-shirts and hats using a thermal transfer process rather than the more traditional silk screen. The transfers are made directly from our artwork using a color photocopier meaning that 1) there is no setup charge for making screens, and 2) there is no minimum order since the exact same labor is involved for making one as making 100. Also, you have the advantage of the flexibility of the color photocopier to do tricks like enlarging or reducing the image (i.e. all different size logos from one piece of artwork), reversing the image, adjusting the color, etc.

The prices are quite reasonable and the club plans to only charge enough to cover our costs. (See the order form on the back of the LUNAR membership application.)

When I presented the above information at the January meeting, all agreed that it was a good idea to go ahead. Steve Boucke went so far as to suggest that a shirt be included with every new membership (and the dues raised to compensate) but that would have constituted a dues increase which requires 30 days notification of the membership followed by a vote. Still, Steve is right in that a unifying club symbol, such as a shirt or hat, helps build a sense of community within the club.

Since there's no minimum order, I'm going to be ordering at least one shirt for myself (once I get the artwork in decent shape) as a test item. If any of you want to join me, give me a call at 455-1143 (that's my business line with an answering machine) and let me know the size and number of shirts plus the options (large or small logo, front or back placement, all cotton or blend shirt, pocket, etc.). I'd also like to get a hat, but we need a minimum order for that.

Remember, the prices above are subject to change. Also, since we've never ordered anything from this company, I have no idea as to the quality of the images. If you want to wait, I'll bring the shirt to meetings and launches for examination.

bits and pieces...

LUNAR Dust

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LUNAR Hotline

Thanks to Warren Massey, LUNAR has a new hotline set up to give members the latest information. A call to 443-8705 will get you the latest information on upcoming club events, meetings and, on launch days where the weather looks questionable, the scoop on whether or not we're flying that day. You can also leave messages if you'd like. (You must press "1" before the end of the announcement to leave a message.)

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LUNAR makes the NAR standings

The latest issue of the "NAR Contest News" (a newsletter for those who compete in sanctioned contests) contains the year-end summary for 1994. For the year, LUNAR placed 26th out of 28 NAR sections that participated in contests. While that sounds pretty bad, you must remember that we only held one contest last year, and that only four of the participants were NAR members (the only ones that count towards the national total). Also contributing was Jack Hagerty's entry in the Scale competition at NARAM 36 in Houston. The total number of points gathered by our section was 951. For comparison, the top rated section, "Launch Crue", had 74,272!

Among individuals, Jack placed 93rd out of 187 with 448 points, Eric Kleinschmidt placed 116th with 260 points, Lynn Kissel placed 169th with 36 points and Chet Geyer placed 182nd with 13 points. If you're keeping track, the missing 194 points went to Lou Dick, who had them mistakenly credited to LUNAR rather than BAYNAR after our contest. For comparison, the top national point getter, Kevin Kuczek, got 14,119 points!

Please see Larry Baskett's article elsewhere for information on our upcoming contest in April. Let's do better this year!

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New Launch Equipment

Since the beginning, LUNAR has been making do with a "temporary" launch panel that was assembled by Prez Mark Weiss for the original demo launch in September, 1992. While it was upgraded significantly shortly after by Warren Massey, we've been waiting for the opportunity to replace it with a much more substantial and "professional" panel. Warren developed a design for such a panel and related pad equipment that would not only be more robust, but would allow expansion into the high power area, now that our field has been rated for "H" motors.

Last December, Kiwanis approved $800 for LUNAR to use in it's operations for 1995. The board has decided to use the bulk of this on upgrading our control equipment. Warren is putting together the final design specification and will report on it at the February meeting.

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Educational Sourcebook

At the January Meeting, the board voted to purchase a copy of Tony Wanye's new book "Teaching Science Through Model Rocketry." The book costs $40 (plus shipping) but is nearly 400 pages long and contains lesson plans that are designed to be photocopied as student handouts. Lessons in the book are geared for students from grades 5 through 12.

The plan is to use the book as the basis for starting up our Educational Committee again. With other pressing club matters, and lack of free time by Committee chair Jack Hagerty, what should be the club's main focus has been inactive for nearly a year now.

Jack says that he can't be both VP and head of the Ed. Comm. and urgently requests a volunteer to take over one job or the other. He can be reached at 455-1143 (business phone with answering machine) or 455-1746 (home).

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January Meeting Elections

Club elections were held in January. Here are the results of the items voted on.

Officers - The slate of officers as presented was elected unanimously. For 1995 the club will be run by

     January 22         Board Meeting (at Pius' house)
     February 26        Board and Membership Meeting (at 
                          Castle Hobbies)
     April 30           Board Meeting (at Pius' house)
     May 20             Hayburner 3 Launch (sponsored by 
                          Vaughn Brothers Rocketry in Paso Robles)
     June 4             Board and Membership Meeting (at 
                          Castle Hobbies)
     June 17-19         AERO-Roc 1 Launch
     July 23            Board and Membership Meeting (at 
                          Castle Hobbies)
     August 10-13       LDRS XIV Launch
     August 14          FireBALLS 005 Launch
     September 10       Board and Membership Meeting (at 
                          Castle Hobbies)