What
is NAR competition and why are we doing it?
The Latest
News...updated
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012
May 15th, 2012-->
(Posted by Pat Struthers)
Dave Moser has received NAR approval for the contest events at the June 16th "June Swoon" meet; this is a friendly reminder to get your helicopter rocket done if you haven't yet, baaahahahaha... (mine is still a figment of my imagination, so.....).
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In other news...
The TCR competition committee met Monday night (as a subcommittee of TCR proper) and settled on a tentative plan for the rest of the summer. Plans are still not final, but a brief summary is below; I hope that Darrell Smith, Dave Moser and/or Sherrill Fink will straighten me out if I get any of this wrong...
------------------------
June 16th (June Swoon): NAR-sanctioned Local meet, events as already announced. Download an event announcement here:
http://wyrdchao.net/BMR/files/JuneSwoon12_EA.pdf
July 14th (no name yet? Brain fart there..): Practice for August events at TCR and OPROC.
August 10-12th (Shooting Stars - Perseid Metero Shower!): NAR-sanctioned Open meet, Dave Moser as Contest Director. Detailed schedule TBA. Proposed events:
---- "D" Egg Loft Duration
---- "B" Streamer Duration
---- Open Spot Landing
---- "A" Helicopter Duration
I will be updating my web site soon, with detailed schedules and an event announcement for the August events at TCR and at OPROC in Discovery Bay. Stay tuned here for the latest news.
Lastly....we are interested in what events people would like to try (or re-try) in the fall (September 1 to November 1). Please let us know here, or contact one of us by email:
Pat --- patstr@uci.net
Dave M -- moserdr@aol.com
April 30th, 2012-->
The "June Swoon"
event announcement is now available for download.
We are also interested in hearing back from the NW competition community on what kinds of events to schedule for the August 3rd-5th TCR launch date, "Hotter than H***"....
April 28th, 2012-->
There are a few changes of schedule for the next couple of months; due to the short notice of the
TCR May launch on May 12th, the sanctioned events will be postponed to June 16th at the Sod Farm in Pasco; TCR will still be hosting the event, however. This will also leave plenty of time for practice sessions (essential for
Helicopter Duration!) at the May 12th TCR sport launch, as well as at Missile Mayhem and Blue Mountain Blast in Dayton.
An event announcement for the June events will be posted here in a few days as well, so stay tuned!
April 24th, 2012-->
The 'Spring/Sod Fling'
results are IN! The glider flights and the Classic Model event were real crowd pleasers, but Drag Race was also hotly contested.
The
club points totals have been updated, and the
regional NAR points as well.
Lastly...we are tentatively holding a NAR Local meet at the Sod Farm (thanks Derek!) on Saturday, May 12th. Sport flyers are also welcome to attend; we will have a full-time LCO and the usual mix of mid- and high-power pads as well as contest-specific stuff. The events will be the same as for our earlier announced slate for BMR's Missile Mayhem launch; due to concerns about disruption of operations in Dayton the 'contest committee' thought it best to take advantage of TCR's hospitality instead. Check this space often for the latest news; an event announcement will be posted on this site and also sent out by email later this week.
April 19th, 2012-->
All;
Due to field conditions at Dayton, BMR will not be hosting Spring Fling this
weekend; the launch has been officially canceled as of this morning (Wed the
18th)...BUT!!
Tri-Cities Rocket Club (brand-spanking new NAR section #736) has graciously
offered to host sport flying in Pasco, WA on Saturday the 21st and Sunday
the 22nd,
and they have also given us the go-ahead to conduct our contest
events there. (Hooray!)
Only change in schedule will be the later start time on Saturday; I will be
onsite by 8:30 AM to set up the range, but sport and contest flying will
start at 10AM, and we will go until 6PM and slop over to Sunday if needed.
I will bringing up a 4' launch tower and some extra GSE; we should have 20
model pads and several mid- and high-power pads (3/16" and 1/4" rods, 4'
rail, 8' rail).
There is a state chess tournament in the area on Saturday, but the
motel/hotel situation is expected to loosed up by Saturday evening. There
are also limited RV accommodations at the launch site. The BMR forum has
some details about the latter.
Driving directions and launch event announcement are here, courtesy of TCR, Derek McGuckin and the BMR forum.
See y'all this weekend!
- Pat Struthers
April 17th, 2012-->
There are a few minor schedule changes for the Spring Fling contest events,
but all three events will essentially proceed as planned.
1. I have delegated Dave Moser to be de facto Contest Director for the
Spring Fling events; range duties (LCO, RSO, etc.) preclude me from taking
an active part in the competition this weekend, although I will help in any
way I can if sport flying activity is slow.
2. Registration for all events except Boost Glider Duration will have to be
completed by 2PM on Saturday. BGD entrants will have a couple extra hours
to register and fly on Saturday.
3. Drag Race rules in the Pink Book will require us to run that event on
Saturday afternoon, after we know how many people are entered in it, so
there will be no flights for this event on Friday, or before registration is
completed at 2PM. The rules for this event also may require more than one
flight by the entrants
4. All events may have to be completed Sunday morning if adverse weather
Saturday precludes completing them; otherwise the contest will be officially
over at 5PM, with results and ribbon award to follow.
5. Classic Model judges will be: Glenn Fink, Sherrill Fink, Barbara Moser.
I will fill in as an alternate, if necessary.
6. Classic Model official flights will commence shortly after 1PM on
Saturday, weather and range traffic permitting.
A few last clarifications about Classic Model as well:
1. Don't forget the documentation packet, this is required for entry. If
the entry is a new kit, bring the instructions and display card, along with
a catalog picture ( http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/rockets.html has all of
the Estes and Centuri catalogs) or some other way to prove to the judges
that the model is a 'classic'.
2. Remember as well that the model must be available for judging and
viewing from 10AM to 1PM. We will announce the location of the viewing area
during the flyers meeting on Saturday.
3. You CAN bring more than one model for this event, if you are worried
about the flight portion of the event due to weather. You will have to make
the decision about which model to enter before the entry deadline at 10AM on
Saturday, however.
4. You ARE allowed (optionally) catch your model when it descends from its
official flight, with some penalty in the flight points. Please let the LCO
and judges know if you are interested in doing so.
If you are going to enter an event, please verify that you have a
registration card for the contest as early as possible. Also consider
volunteering to help at the contest table, at LCO and RSO for sport flying,
to time other entrants' flights, assisting the Classic Model judges, and
calling the points for the heats in the Drag Race.
Lastly, I want to thank ALL of the people who have expressed interest in
these events, particularly those that will be traveling a long distance to
enter them (and to fly at Dayton for fun, too!). The enthusiasm for the
Classic Model event, in particular, is very encouraging; at my last count we
have five confirmed entries, and 2-3 more tentative.
April 4th, 2012-->
At long last, I've finished updating the site to be less
'BMR-specific' ; this is to reflect my commitment to bring
NAR model rocket competition to the entire Pacific Northwest rocketry community. PLEASE
mail me if you have an competition related news in Oregon, Washington, or Idaho; I would be glad to include it here.
I've finally finished posting the results from
Leprechaun's Leap , the March 11th meet in Redmond, Wa, and for the BMR/TCR 'Mud Roc/Sod Roc' on March 24th. Thanks to Ken Kester of
WAC for hosting us in Redmond, and Dave Moser for getting me the Mud Roc results.
April 3rd, 2012-->
BMR's Spring Fling
event announcement and judging guide are available in PDF form (follow the link). Please stay tuned for weather and field condition updates! Go to BMR's website for directions to the Whetstone launch site and lodging and travel information.
March 27th, 2012-->
Due scheduling problems, Pat Struthers will NOT be hosting competition events at the SPARC April 14th launch...look for these events to be held in mid-May or mid-June.
The results from
Leprechaun's Leap, the March 11st meet in Redmond, Wa, and for BMR's
Mud Rock are in, and will be posted
here in a few days. The
club point totals for WAC, BMR, and TCR will also be updated accordingly. A new page the point total of NW regional NAR competitors is
here.
BMR's Spring Fling contest schedule is official, and you can download an event announcement for that event in a few days as well; click in the "EA" column for that event in a few days to obtain it.
February 13th, 2012-->
The
South Morrow 4H Rocket Club will be hosting an "E" Egglofting Altitude practice event on Saturday, March 3rd (weather permitting), in anticipation of the March 17th event at 'Mud Roc' in Dayton. If you are planning on participation in the Batelle build night (Richland Public Library, 5:30PM February 25th) we will be kit-bashing the Quest Courier for this event, so be sure to show up if you want a head start!
We have also posted some tentative events on the
schedule page for SPARC's April 14th launch: D Super-Roc Altitude and Set Altitude 290 meters. The first event is intended to finally allow some of us who had built rockets for the Rolling Thunder 2011 event to FINALLY use them (weather shut us down then).
The challenge of Set Altitude event will be to come as close to 290 meters (950 feet), measured by altimeter. Any type of A->G powered rocket may enter. PLEASE help us select a third event for this meet so that our first competition in Spokane will have something for everyone!
February 12th, 2012-->
Some typos and broken links have been fixed on the schedule page; Pat Struthers will also be soliciting SPARC and regional contest enthusiasts for event ideas in anticipation of SPARC's April 14th club launch in Spokane. PLEASE contact Pat via patstr@uci.net if you have particular preferences or questions.
February 11th, 2012-->
The event announcements for "Leprechaun's Leap" and "Mud Roc" (as web pages and in downloadable.pdf form) are available from links on the
schedule page. There are some minor changes (that will be come major) on the schedule page as well.
February 9th, 2012-->
I have (finally) posted the
results of the TCR January 28th practice event, 50 second Set Duration. The TCR club points standings have also been started for the 2012 contest year. Check them out
here.
January 27th, 2012-->
Dave Moser has compiled the results of the December 31st, "A" Streamer Duration practice event hosted by Tri-Cities Rocket Club, and the results of the Jan 28th 'Set Duration, 50 sec.' event will be posted Monday, January 30th.
BMR will be hosting Set Duration and "B" Streamer Duration (among other things) at the "MudRoc" launch event on March 17th. Dave Moser has also changed that contest from a "Section" to a "Local" meet, so that BMR can accomodate the new TCR members that will be competing there. This event is also the first BMR 'club' event since October of 2011.
Both the March 11th WAC event in Redmond and the March 17th event at Dayton are now officially sanctioned, so any NAR members that participate in these events will earn NAR national points!
January 24th, 2012-->
The dates for 'Pasture Blaster', a 3-day launch on the last weekend of August, have been officially set! Pat Struthers will be running the events below on Saturday, August 25th.
| Date |
Location |
Type |
Contest Director |
Event Name |
Rules Link |
Event Wt. |
8/24-26/2012
'Pasture Blaster' |
OPROC
Discovery Bay | Local | Pat Struthers |
Parachute Spot Landing
"B" Altitude w/Altimeter |
PSL
ALT |
4
11 |
In other news, the newly formed NAR section, the Tri-Cities Rocket Club in Pasco, WA, will be hosting a 'practice' contest event on Saturday, January 28th. The event is 'Set Duration, 50 seconds', and Dave Moser will be acting as contest director. Driving directions for the 'Samuel Brown Rd.' launch site are here. Contact Dave Moser for more information; Pat Struthers will post the results for this event, as well as the Dec 31st, 2011 "A" Streamer Duration practice event, Real Soon Now.
Lastly, nobody was too enthusiastic about a MicroMaxx event at the 'Leprechaun's Leap' WAC event on Sunday, March 11th; the new event will be "1/2A" Streamer Duration, Multiround. Thanks to all of those who commented immediately! Sanction paperwork for this event will be posted this week, and an event annoucement will follow.
January 11th, 2012-->
If preparations proceed, Pat Struthers will be acting as Contest Director for some competition events during Washington Aerospace Club's "Leprechaun's Leap" March 11th launch day at the new 60 Acres site. Make sure you look at the schedule for the latest list of planned events, and please mail or call Pat Struthers like so:
patstr@uci.net 541-626-3096
...if you wish to see a particular event. We may also get other competition events going with WAC at one of the later spring launches in Mansfield.
Pat Struthers may also introduce some contest events to the Spokane Area Rocket Club (SPARC) launch schedule, perhaps starting with the Saturday, April 14th meet.
October 31st, 2011-->
Dave Moser was elected as the new BMR Contest Chaiman at the BMR online meeting on October 22nd; Pat Struthers will continue to as 'communications' director, and he will act as occasional Contest Director for contest events at BMR in 2012.
Dave will soon announce a tentative event schedule for next year. Pat Struthers will have a Schedule page done here in a few weeks. Stay tuned to this channel for information coming soon!
October 2nd, 2011 -->
BMR
'Roctoberfest' Contest Results
Precision Set Duration, 45 Seconds
Official Results
The event was 'Set Duration, 45 seconds'; we allowed one official flight
for score, but allowed test flights beforehand. Official score is the
percentage difference (to the nearest tenth of %) from 45 seconds of the
duration of the official flight, rounded to the nearest second.
This event worked well; the wind was constant from the WSW at about 10-15
mph, all day. All the contest flights were done by noon, although we left
the contest open for a few extra hours for late entrants.
We had a total of five entrants, all in the adult "C" division; everybody
did at least one test flight before going for score.
Division "C" Set Duration, 45 Seconds
| Place |
Name |
Rocket |
Motor and Recovery |
Avg. Time |
% diff. |
Points |
| 1st |
David Moser |
Estes Alpha |
B6-4 with parachute |
48 secs |
6.7% |
80 pts |
| 2nd |
Eli Culpepper |
scratch |
C6-3 with streamer |
49 secs |
8.9% |
48 pts |
| 3rd |
Barbara Moser |
Estes Athena |
B6-4 with parachute |
40 secs |
11.1% |
32 pts |
| 4th |
Derek McGuckin |
Super Toober? |
C6-5 with parachute |
52 secs |
15.6% |
16 pts |
| (flight points) |
Pat Struthers |
scratch 13 skin II |
A3-4T with streamer |
37 secs |
17.8% |
8 pts |
This is the first event of the 2012 'club' season, so these are also the
official standings for the club points race; Dave Moser is off to a good
start to defend his title from last year!
Eli Culpepper deserves a big welcome for driving all the way from
Bellingham WA to fly with us! Nice to see you, Eli, and we will try to get
a lot more events going in the coming year for you.
Thanks to everyone for participating and watching; Tim Quigg LCO'd the
flights and all the entrants helped time, recover, and check-in rockets
after the flights. Adrian Clement also helped us time.
Comprehensive results for past BMR contest events are here...
Sept. 24, 2011 -->
BMR
'Roctoberfest' Contest (Saturday, October 1st)
45
Second Set Duration
The challenge: Put up any rocket
for as close to exactly 45 seconds as possible. Any number of test
flights are allowed, but only one official flight for score. This is
our last BMR launch event before the 2012 flying season, and it is
also the FIRST event of the club 2011-12 contest year.
NOTE: This event will NOT have a NAR sanction, however; our
first sanctioned event will be later this year or in the spring of 2012.
You can still earn points toward the BMR 2012 championship, though.
To download event registration form
CB-1-70, go here: http://www.nar.org/pdf/cb-1-70.pdf
This document actually includes two
copies of the form, on two pages, intended to be the front and back
of the form; PLEASE bring both sides if you are going to fill it out
beforehand. If you are not a NAR member, don't worry; just
leave the NAR specific areas blank.
If you have entered a previous BMR
event, ignore the above! We will have an entry card filled out
for you based on your previous information.
Saturday, October 1st schedule:
8AM - 11AM: Event announcement
and registration
11AM - 3PM: Set Duration (Pink
Book Section 39.2.2)
rules link->
http://nar.org/pinkbook/39_PRD.html
The Rules
ALL competition events must comply with
both the word and the intent of the NAR
Model Rocket Safety Code; all entries will be RSO'd with this in
mind, regardless of impulse level, to make sure they qualify for the
event. If you are going to volunteer as RSO or LCO, note that this
regime is a bit more strict than BMR's usual Range
Rules. Needless to say, all BMR Range Rules must be complied with
as well. All official contest flights must be inspected by a contest
RSO at check-in, and must also be returned to the check-in table
after each flight to verify motor retention.
NAR has three age classes for
competition events: A (7-13 years), B (14-18), C (Adult). In order
for an event to be 'official', there must be at least two entrants;
e.g. if only one 'A' class flyer enters the event, he/she will not be
able to earn official points for that event. At the discretion of the
Contest Director, however, age classes may be 'combined' if there are
insufficient entries.
All events will award 1st
through 4th
place; an entrant with at least one official flight will also be
eligible for 'flight points'. An awards ceremony will be held
Saturday afternoon (time permitting) to present 1st
through 4th
place ribbons to the winners in each event, as well as news on club
point standings.
45 second Set Duration Rules, Tips
and Tricks:
Open to any single stage model
rocket, 1/8A through G impulse.
Any number of test flights (time
permitting) will be allowed before entering.
All entrants are allowed one
official flight. The rocket must be returned to the RSO table with
the motor retained in the rocket.
Flights will be scored by dividing
the time from first movement to landing by 45 seconds, multiplying
the remainder by 100 to determine the % difference, rounded to the
nearest 0.1%. The lowest score determines the winner.
If the entrant is unable to make
an official flight due to timer malfunction or catostrophic failure,
a second rocket can be substituted to make an official flight.
An Estes Alpha (or similar rocket) with
the stock chute flying a B6-4 motor is an excellent start for this
event. You can reduce your flight time by adding weight: clay to the
nose cone or taping small bolts to the shock cord. To
increase the time in the air use a larger motor or a larger
parachute.
If you have ANY questions about BMR or NAR competition flying, contact one of us at the links below or, even better, join the Blue Mountain Rocketeers Forum.
The competition discussion area is here.
The BMR Competition Committee
Dave Moser (Chairman) ----- moserdr@aol.com
Pat Struthers ----- patstr@uci.net 541-626-3096
Allison Fink ----- wtmcassandra@gmail.com (BMR Secretary)
Bernard Cawley ----- abcawley@earthlink.net
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