The Range Head

by Jack Hagerty, LUNAR #002

NEW RSO PROCEDURES

Due to the scheduling problems, I delayed the official start of our new High Power procedures for a month. This gave us another month to try out the New RSO procedures for High Power that Dave Redell drafted. To summarize briefly, starting this month (May) if you want to fly "F," "G" or "H" impulse class models (and this includes any cluster/staged using smaller motors if the total on-board impulse goes over 40 Nt-s), you have to go through the new procedures. These aren't really that hard, but are much more thorough than the "fin and 'chute" check given to the smaller models. If your rocket is not from a proven kit, you have to point out the location of the Center of Pressure to the RSO, and if it's your own design, show your calculations.

Outside of the rocket itself, there are a couple of differences. The flight card fee is $1 for the big models (this is to help pay off the new High Power pads and cables which ran to several hundred dollars just for materials) and the flight cards themselves are on colored stock to differentiate them from the $0.25 low power ones. They're currently green, but may not always stay that way depending on what colors are available when we run out. After the RSO approves your model, you'll be assigned a High Power pad; you don't have to wait in line a second line for pad assignment. It's the LCO's job to integrate the two sets of pads' launch sequence.

Oh yes, for your range job "salary" you have your choice of one high power or four low power flight cards per job. The "Gold Card" system is still in effect, but only for jobs that aid the current day's launch, i.e., every job but equipment take-down. The idea is that you are being rewarded that day for helping out that day.

NIGHT LAUNCH

Just another reminder that our first evening/night launch will be next month. That's one of the dates that got moved, so it's now Sunday, June 22. Start time will be 7 PM. This will give those of you who don't care to launch in the dark a couple of hours to fly first. We'll run it until everyone runs out of rockets or we get kicked out (probably between 10 or 11).

TRAILER

Last March LUNAR finally realized one of our longest standing projects, namely we bought an equipment trailer. This is strictly for storage (i.e., we won't be building a "command post" in it) and is essentially a formal version of Warren Massey's pickup (which we've been, uh, temporarily borrowing for the past four years!). There's still a ways to go before it's ready for use but once it is, it should greatly simplify the setup and take-down of our equipment each month. Right now it's in the care of Mark Weiss but we have permission to ultimately store it at our site once a place has been prepared.

NAR MEMBERS

I want to thank everyone who responded to my plea for setting the NAR straight on just who's who in our membership. Thanks to those NAR members among you who wrote, phoned and e-mailed me with your NAR numbers, I was able to send to NAR a roster with 40 names on it! Good job, everyone.

NARAM AND YOU

Speaking of the NAR, the Annual Meet is coming up very quickly. It's the last week of July and is being held in Tucson, AZ this year. I'd like to put in a LUNAR presence at the event, if only for raising our profile with the national. So far the only folks who have expressed an interest in attending are Larry Shenosky (who wants to bring his whole family), the Basketts (Ron and Larry) and myself. With our new trailer, it would be relatively simple to get everyone's equipment there, even if you want to fly out. All we need is one driver with a trailer hitch.

Time is getting very short. I'm personally starting to panic over getting my "Myst" rocket finished (especially since I haven't started it yet!) but I don't mind co-ordinating this. Please let me know by phone, mail, fax, e-mail or even in person if you're interested.

Information date: May 17, 1997 lk