Announcing a competition for all LUNAR members: the C3 or Chip Can Challenge
How high can you fly a rocket made from a Pringle's brand (or similar) chip canister?
The competition will be open from February's launch, through the end of 2025 Snow Ranch flying season.
There are three classes:
Sport: Rockets flying a single 24mm motor (black powder and composite)
Super Sport: Rockets flying a single 29mm motors(black powder and composite)
Unlimited : Any single NAR and California Fire Marshal approved motor as long as it safely fits in a qualifying rocket (see Definitions)
Why?
ARC is high stakes and stressful. This competition has a simple goal, altitude, and what we hope is a fun design constraint, making a rocket out of a can of potato chips.
Rules
See the Definitions section below for terms in italics.
To qualify, a team must successfully fly one or more successful flights of a qualifying model or high power rocket during the Winter to Spring 2025 Season at Snow Ranch in one of three classes: Sport, Super Sport, or Unlimited.
All flights must be announced to the competition coordinator and witnessed by a LUNAR officer, or competition committee member.
Rockets must carry an approved altimeter and the altimeter and post-flight apogee reading witnessed by a competition committee member or LUNAR officer. This will be recorded in a semi-public spreadsheet online along with the team name. For the purposes of recording, all measurements will be in meters.
A team may fly two qualification flight attempts per day at Snow Ranch, each flight attempt will be recorded in the spreadsheet, successful or not.
If a flight ends with the rocket flying in an unstable, or unsafe manner; a motor failure, or recovery failure, that flight is disqualified and counts against the two qualification flight attempt limit.
A rocket which is damaged during the first qualifying flight attempt of the day may be repaired, and can fly again if the RSO and competition committee approve.
Between launch sessions at Snow Ranch a team may replace their rocket with another one in the same class.
At the end of the 2025 Snow Ranch flying season, the top two altitudes for each team in each class will be averaged and the team with the highest average in each class awarded a prize.
All flights must be flown at Snow Ranch.
All flights are subject to LUNAR and NAR rules and must be below the 4,572 meter ceiling (15,000 feet.)
Questions about these rules should go to the competition committee. Disputes over the rules will be settled by the LUNAR board of directors, whose decision is final.
Members of the competition committee and LUNAR board of directors are ineligible to compete.
Prizes
The Gene Wolfe Memorial Crisp: for the winners of the Sport class
The Crisp of the New Sun: for the winners of the Super Sport class
The Crisp of the Autarch: for the winners of the Unlimited class
The prize names reference the late Gene Wolfe, a SF&F writer and engineer, who worked on technology enabling the manufacturing and packaging of Pringle's branch potato chips, and his novels.
As of this writing the particulars of each prize have not been determined.
Definitions
Approved altimeter: one of the altimeters listed in the U.S. Model Rocket Sporting Code, or a commercial, off the shelf (COTS) dual deployment altimeter.
Competition committee: Emma Humphries and volunteers
Qualifying model or high power rocket: A single stage, single motor rocket whose airframe is constructed from one (1) potato chip canister (Pringle's brand or similar, full or snack size) Rocket must conform to NAR safety rules for either high power or model rockets depending on the motor flown. The canister can be modified with slots for fins, and holes for rail guides. The upper rolled paper part of the cannister which the lid seals against, and the lower metal endcap can be removed. Tailcones are allowed but must be no more than 1.5 the diameter of the airframe. The rocket must be built by the team.
Successful flight: Rocket is stable, deploys recovery device, and is recovered in a flyable condition. All rockets must be inspected by the RSO before flight as per LUNAR flight rules.
Team: One or more LUNAR members in good standing. LUNAR members under the age of 18 must fly under the supervision and sponsorship of an adult LUNAR member. Teams may have members of all ages.
Top two altitudes: The mathematical average of the 1st and 2nd highest altitudes of a teams successful qualifying flights. In the case of a team with one qualifying flight, that flight's altitude will be used.