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.

The Next SLRA Meeting/Build Session is next Tuesday, August 25^th, 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

Attendees: (24) Charles Barnett, Doug Probst, Dan Cella, Chuck Meckfessel, Molly Meckfessel, Emma Meckfessel, Jason Garbus, Oliver Garbus, John Sullivan, Larry Hileman, John O’Neill, Don Hanson,Rob Benton, Henry Wright, Dennis Turgalski, Chris Lagemann, Joe Avins, Dave Pape, Scott Nokes, Tanya Nokes, David Corbin, Markos Duey, Joe Bryant, John Buckley

Sunset Hills Bandana’s BBQ; 11750 Gravois Rd, Saint Louis, MO 63127

Called to order at 7:00 p.m.

New Attendees:  None

Achievements and Contributions:

• John Buckley – attained last place trophy at NARAM.
• 3 fly it/take it rockets nearing completion.

23 June 2026 SLRA Meeting Minutes approved.

Treasury Status

• Current Balance $2,646.26
• Deposits: $158.32 from PayPal
• Expenses: $100 for park launch
• Don Hanson purchased new trailer locks, for which reimbursement will be needed.

SLRA Memberships Total: 68 members (65 Senior, 3 Junior)

Launch Reports:

• Community college launch – 12 build it/fly it models were built and flown.
• NARAM – John Buckley recently attended/completed.

Upcoming Launches

• Elsberry HP Launches – Fall/Winter 2026/2027.  Tentatively October/November, 2026 timeframe.
• Buder Park – August 8, 2026.  Note that several scouts will likely be attending.
• Mo-Kan (South Greenfield, MO)  http://tripolimokan.org  They generally launch the third Saturday of every month during the flying season.  Time: 12:00 CST-17:00 CST
• Central Illinois Aerospace – http://www.ciarocketry.org  Contact Greg Smith, Director of Operations, at 217-820-1678, or via email to operations@ciarocketry.org  Directions to their launch sites can be found on their website under the ‘Reconnaissance’ link. 
• Quad Cities rocket Club (Note: near Wildman Rocketry) https://qcrc.clubexpress.com  Email: Info@QCRC.us  Note they will be holding a mini Midwest Power weekend of May 23-24, 2026.
• Goat Ranch – Springfield, MO – 3^rd Saturday of the month
• Kloudbusters, Argonia, Kansas.  Check their website for details on future launches:  https://kloudbusters.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=325948&module_id=566855 Note that they will be holding AIRFest September 4-7, 2026. Check email for registration.  Need NAR/TRA membership card or image to fly at launches.

Old Business

• Doug Probst checked into costs associated with Club Express.  Will shelve discussion on this move to new website until next year due to costs involved.
• GSLMA disbanding, with funds to be distributed to member organizations.  The last meeting was cancelled.  No status change as yet.
• Let Jason Garbus know if you are interested in pursuing a level 3 certification.  There is some new paperwork involved with the process.  Best to start early!
• John Buckley noted that all NAR members should log onto the new NAR website and check their profile to be sure they are associated with the St. Louis Rocketry Association (Section #551).  This needs to be done manually by each user. 
• It has been noted that we will have to hold to a ‘no membership card-no flight’ rule at our NAR/TRA launches.  However, a digitally downloaded membership card will be sufficient to allow a person to fly. Elsberry launch fees: Free for club members; $10 for high power, $5 for low power.
• Chris Franklin noted that the club would always like help with setup/teardown at the Elsberry launches. 
• John O’Neill asked if there was any interest in the NAR Range Safety Officer training course.  Check out the NAR website for details. 
• For the night launch in October, official club reservations with St. Louis County Parks will be pursued.  Fee of $100.  Doug Probst has been handling the reservation.
• John O’Neill noted that the NAR has made available a guide for mentors.  This was forwarded to the club treasurer along with the club charter certificate and is available if anyone would like a copy.
• Locks on trailers aren’t the original combination locks.  Mike Walsh might have the keys to them. 
• The subject of paying a stipend to member(s) who haul the club trailers to launches was brought up and given a favorable review.  Further details to be discussed at upcoming meetings.
• Wash U. and Chaminade rocket teams still looking for mentors if interested.
• Any candidate alternate launch sites?  No new ones at this time.  John O’Neill may perform a search via airplane flight.  Possible use of RC airplane field near Eureka, MO?  Area near Riverport?  No progress on this item at this time.
• Following a recent launch, Doug Probst fixed a broken part on club trailer hitch.  Club would be responsible for reimbursing his expenses related to the repair.
• Jason Garbus asks that members associate their accounts to Facebook to facilitate mailings/housekeeping. (clarification?).  Also, make sure SLRA is selected on your Tripoli Rocketry Association member profile, so that your Tripoli voting ballot will be handled correctly.

New Business  

• Buder Park issues with reservation for upcoming October night launch have resurfaced.  Secretary will contact Chuck Neff at NAR to ask what, if any documents were exchanged between NAR and St. Louis County Parks Department during the conference call they had back in Fall, 2025.  (Subsequent to the meeting, Chuck was contacted and to his recollection a slightly updated certificate of insurance was what was likely given to St. Louis County Parks.) The latest
• SLRA election results. Congratulations to all officers!:
  • • President: Chris Franklin
• • Vice-President: Doug Probst
• • Treasurer: Dan Cella
• • Secretary: Molly Meckfessel
  • Board Member: Charles Barnett

•  Is the club logo image file available somewhere, possibly as an .svg file to use to make a decal?  Contact Dave Pape. 
• Henry Wright has been mentoring the SLU team recently. 
• No news on potential alternate launch sites.
• Doug Probst has been checking the club’s email accounts on a daily basis.

Adjourned 7:18 p.m.

Raffle items: Dave Pape – Estes Skydart 2