2pm – Sunny 57° - 3mph NE wind
4pm – Sunny 59° - 2mph ENE wind
6pm – Sunny 56° - 2mph ENE wind
8pm – Clear 48° - 0mph ESE wind
10pm – Clear 44° - 0mph SSE wind
from weather underground
SLRA’s Annual “Spooktacular Night Launch” weather forecast
The Weekend forecast is looking great for this Saturday’s Spooktacular Night launch at Buder Park. After thunderstorms till early hours on Friday morning then it’s all clear and sunny for Saturday. Set will start around 4:00PM. Launching will be 4:30 till 10:00pm.
Forecast for Saturday’s Buder Park launch according to weather underground
2pm – Sunny 59° - 3mph E wind
4pm – Sunny 60° - 3mph ESE wind
6pm – Sunny 56° - 2mph E wind
8pm – Clear 47° - 1mph SE wind
10pm – Clear 44° - 1mph SE wind
22 September 2026 SLRA Meeting Minutes
Attendees (22): Doug Probst, Dave Pape, Molly Meckfessel, Emma Meckfessel, Chuck Meckfessel, Sydney Rice, Jason Garbus, Oliver Garbus, Don Hanson, John Sullivan, Jessica Fox, Chris Franklin, Chris Lagemann, Larry Hileman, Dennis Tuchalski, Bruce Meier, Henry Wright, Joe Avins, Rob Benton, John Hilker, John O’Neill, John Buckley
Sunset Hills Bandana’s BBQ (11750 Gravois Rd, Saint Louis, MO 63127)
Called to order at 7:00 p.m.
New Attendees: Bruce Meier from Illinois, been in and out of the hobby since the 70s. No certifications yet, but plans on pursuing them.
Achievements and Contributions:
- Don’s birthday
- Dennis T got his L1 at Airfest
- Oliver G got his TMP L1 with his Shapeshifter on an I257
Meeting Minutes Approved for September 22nd meeting.
Treasury Status:
- Current Balance: $2606.09
- Deposits: none
- Expenses: none
SLRA Membership Total:
- 73 Members (70 Senior, 3 Junior)
- Reminder: associate SLRA with your NAR and Tripoli profiles!
Launch Reports:
- Airfest in Argonia, KS - lots of SLRA members volunteered. Jason G did 7-8 cert flights. Lots of issues with Featherweight trackers. Minie Magg drag race (John H, Oliver G, Chuck M, Molly M) will be featured in Nadine’s calendar for next year. John H has photos from Airfest.
Upcoming Launches:
- September 26th Buder Park Launch.
- October 3rd Buder Park Launch and October Fly.
- October 17th Spooktacular Launch.
- Midwest Power in Quad Cities, IL November 7-9.
- October 24th tentative Elsberry Launch.
- November 14th Elsberry Launch.
- November 28th Elsberry Launch.
- December 12th Elsberry Launch.
Old Business:
- Chris L has reached out to Buder about the grass and it has been resolved.
New Business:
- Club meeting location discussion will happen at the next meeting (Oct. 27) to determine if we want to stay at Bandana’s or move elsewhere. Bring suggestions!
Meeting Adjourned 7:21 p.m.
Raffle Items: Estes SpaceShipOne kit won by Dennis T
New High Power Launch dates
These dates are tentative and subject to change with the following day (Sunday as a possible backup date) and more dates to be added for 2027.
October 24th - if cops are all in
November 14th
November 28th
December 12th
As always these dates are pending land owner approval, weather conditions, and other pre-requisites. The Sunday (following day) may be a backup date if possible.
Range setup will begin at 9:00am and we can start flying rockets as soon as setup is done – so the more people that come early to help, the sooner we can start!
This will be a Tripoli launch held under Tripoli Research rules, so experimental motors are allowed for Tripoli members with the proper certification (although the RSO of course has the final say). We will have 1/8″, 3/16″ and 1/4″ launch rods along with 1010 and 1515 rails. If you are launching a rocket weighing more than about 25 pounds and need our “monster” launch pad, you must let us know ahead of time, as we may not bring it if it’s not needed.
Our FAA waiver permits flights up to 7,000 feet MSL (approximately 6,250 feet AGL) with call-in windows to 15,000 MSL (14,250 AGL). If you are planning a flight over 10,000 feet AGL, please bring simulation results to show to the RSO, to avoid any risk of violating that waiver altitude. (We have a great relationship with the FAA and want to keep it that way!)
For non current SLRA members, there will be a daily launch fee: $10 for high-power fliers or $5 for Model rocket flyers.
As always check the website for current updates on status of all launches.
Please email admin@stlouisrocketry.com or SLRA Prefect jason.garbus@outlook.com if you have any questions.
Update for the Oct 3, 2026 event
Update for the Oct 3, 2026 event
Club’s equipment will start setting up at our normal time of 08:30 with SLRA sport launching to follow.
The October Fly competition will start around 12:00 noon. These competitors will most likely use their personal launch equipment.
October Fly may also continue on for Sunday the 4th. Check with John B. for more October Fly info. (SLRA equipment and sport launch will only be for Saturday at this time of posting)
Weather forecast for Saturday:
7am – Sunny 51° - 3mph N E
9am – Mostly Sunny 54° - 5mph ENE
11am – Sunny 65° - 6mph ENE
1pm – Sunny 72° - 7mph ENE
3pm – Partly Cloudy 75° - 6mph ENE
5pm – Partly Cloudy 74° - 5mph ENE
We are “GO” for 9/26/26 Buder Park launch.
The forecast is basically the same from yesterday’s post with no rain in the evening. We will start setting up at 08:30 to have around 09:00 start time.
Weather forecast for 9/26/2026 launch
Still watching the weather for this weekend – small showers in the 7pm hours on Saturday but the forecast is constantly changing for the weekend. At this point I’m still planning on Saturday with having Sunday as a backup.
Forecast for Saturday’s Buder Park launch according to weather underground
5am – Cloudy 62° - 2mph E
7am – Cloudy 61° - 2mph E
9am – Cloudy 63° - 3mph E
11am – Cloudy 66° - 4mph ESE
1pm – Cloudy 68° - 4mph ESE
3pm – Cloudy 70° - 4mph E
5pm – Cloudy 69° - 4mph E
7pm - Showers .01inch
Forecast for Sunday –
7am Cloudy 59° - 2mph E
9am Cloudy 63° - 3mph E
11am Cloudy 67° - 4mph ESE
1pm Cloudy 70° - 4mph ESE
3pm Cloudy 73° - 3mph ENE
25 August 2026 SLRA Meeting Minutes
Attendees (23): Don Hanson, Molly Meckfessel, Chuck Meckfessel, Emma Meckfessel, Sydney Rice, Rob Benton, John Hilker, Jason Garbus, Oliver Garbus, Chris Lagemann, Dennis Tuchalski, Doug Probst, Charles Barnett, Larry Hileman, John Sullivan, Tim Gannon, Joseph Avins, John Buckley, Joe Bryant, Shawn Faulkingham, Evelyn Nutt, Michael Thomas, Chris Franklin, and Dan Cella.
Sunset Hills Bandana’s BBQ (11750 Gravois Rd, Saint Louis, MO 63127)
Called to order at 7:00 p.m.
New Attendees: Evelyn Nutt from California, who did rocketry before moving to the area. Currently has her L2.
Achievements and Contributions:
- Doug Probst finished his Intimidator for his L3 certification.
Meeting minutes for August 25th, 2026 meeting approved.
Treasury status
- Current Balance: $2606.09
- Deposits: $62.58 from PayPal
- Expenses: $100 for past IRS filing, paid with the income from the raffle.
SLRA Membership Total:
- 69 Members (66 Senior, 3 Junior)
- Reminder: associate SLRA with your NAR and Tripoli profiles!
Launch Reports:
- August 8th Buder Park Launch - 50 flights, Boy Scouts came out to fly with us.
- August 22nd Buder Park Launch - 39 flights. Scott Nokes launched a 3-motor cluster Phoenix. The grass was very tall, which made it difficult to recover rockets.
Upcoming Launches:
- September 26th Buder Park Launch.
- October 3rd Buder Park Launch.
- October 17th Spooktacular Launch.
- Airfest in Argonia, KS September 4-7.
- Midwest Power in Quad Cities, IL November 7-9.
- Elsberry Launches tentatively starting in October or November. Remember to have NAR and Tripoli cards ready to go for when launching starts.
- First weekend of October - John Buckley will be having a dart friendly launch.
Old Business:
- Review of Club Election results:
- President: Chris Franklin
- Vice President: Doug Probst
- Treasurer: Dan Cella
- Secretary: Molly Meckfessel
- Board Members: Charles Barnett, Chuck Meckfessel, John Buckley
- WashU - haven’t heard any news from them.
New Business:
- Buder Park issue for Spooktacular event has been resolved.
- Jason Garbus has revamped club ID badges.
Meeting Adjourned 7:33 p.m.
Raffle Items: John Sullivan won Estes Protostar. John Buckley won a mystery box. Shawn Fulkingham won a launch controller. Charles Barnett got a pack of B6-4s.
Sept 22, 2026 SLRA General Meeting Announcement
The Next SLRA Meeting/Build Session is next Tuesday, Sept 22nd, 2026, at the Sunset Hills Bandana’s BBQ (11750 Gravois Rd, St. Louis, MO 63127) Coordinates 38.53096/-90.38616.
6:00 - 7:00 PM – Rocket Talk Social Hour/Dinner/Build Session
7:00 - ?:?? PM – SLRA Meeting
Post Meeting – More Rocket Talk and Build Session until 9:00 pm
The meeting location is in the basement of the restaurant. You’ll need to enter from the back of the restaurant. We have lots of room to spread-out. There are lots of tables for enabling us to have a coincident Build Session.
If you have a rocket project you’re working on, bring it to the meeting. Be sure to bring a table cover (newspaper/poster board) and cutting board to prevent damage to tabletops.
This is also a great opportunity to bring rocketry-related questions to ask seasoned Low to High Power Rocketeers who will be in attendance. Interested in Competition rocketry, those questions can be answered as well.
Schaefer’s Hobby is nearby as well. They’re open till 6:00 pm.
If you’re a member of SLRA and are registered on the website, you can view minutes of previous meetings from our website’s Meeting Minutes Page, the unresolved discussions from our previous meeting will be the basis of our “Old Business” discussion at Tuesday’s meeting.
August 25, 2026 SLRA Meeting Announcement
The Next SLRA Meeting/Build Session is next Tuesday, August 25th, 2026, at the Sunset Hills Bandana’s BBQ (11750 Gravois Rd, St. Louis, MO 63127).
6:00 - 7:00 PM – Rocket Talk Social Hour/Dinner/Build Session
7:00 - ?:?? PM – SLRA Meeting
Post Meeting – More Rocket Talk and Build Session until 9:00 pm
The meeting location is in the basement of the restaurant. There is a back parking lot that has an entrance to get straight into the basement. There is plenty of room to spread out, so feel free to bring your rocket projects to display or work on. Be sure to bring a table cover (newspaper/poster board) and/or cutting board to prevent damage to the tabletops.
This is also a great opportunity to bring any rocketry-related questions you may have, whether it be about low power, high power, or competition rocketry.
Schaefer’s Hobby is nearby as well. They’re open till 6:00 pm.
If you’re a member of SLRA and are registered on the website, you can view the meeting minutes for our last meeting. A paper copy will also be present at the meeting on Tuesday.
See you then, and happy rocketeering!
Secretary Molly Meckfessel