The announcement we were hoping not to make...due to field conditions in Elsberry, the launch scheduled for tomorrow is cancelled.

We have one more weekend scheduled for an attempt at a high-power launch - April 7th / 8th. We'll hope for better weather then.

One important item I forgot to include in the launch announcement. If you will be attending the launch and are planning to fly anything larger than an I motor, please email admin@stlouisrocketry.com as soon as possible so we can make sure to have the launch equipment you need. If we do not need a lot of equipment, we may not take the trailer up to Elsberry for this launch.

Thanks,
Dan Crank

Weather permitting, there will be a high-power launch held at our field in Elsberry, MO on Sunday, March 18. We apologize for the late notice, but we had some logistical issues to work out as well as an uncertain and ever-changing weather forecast.

Launch fees for this launch are $10 for high power and $5 for model rocket fliers. Our FAA waiver at Elsberry allows us to fly to 6000 feet MSL (5500 feet AGL) with windows available on demand during the day of the launch to 15000 MSL (14500 feet AGL).

Setup will start at approximately 9:00 am, and launches will start at approximately 10:00 am. There is not a fixed end time. Please consider arriving early to help with setup or staying to help clean up afterwards, if you can.

Directions to launch site: from I-70, take MO state highway 79 approximately 30 miles north to the intersection of state highway JJ, just before reaching the town of Elsberry. Turn right, proceed across the railroad tracks and continue straight onto the dirt road into the field. You will cross a small bridge and pass a lagoon on your left; from this point you should be able to see the launch site.

High power launches are held under the Tripoli Research Safety Code. Flyers who are NAR members but not Tripoli members may still fly high-power with certified commercial motors. Flyers who are not members of either organization may bring model rockets to be flown by a club member on your behalf, under the same conditions as at our Buder Park launches. Email admin@stlouisrocketry.com if you have questions about these policies and we will help you out.

SLRA is having our regular monthly meeting on Tuesday evening, February 27th, at our regular meeting location:

Fallon's Bar & Grill
9200 Olive Blvd. #116
Olivette, Missouri, 63132

The room will be available at 6:00 PM and  the business meeting will start at about 7:00PM.

If you're a member of SLRA and are registered on the website, you can view minutes of previous meetings here: Meeting Minutes Page, The meeting minutes will be the basis of our "old business" discussion.

The standard agenda for all meetings is as follows:

1. Treasury Status.

2. Recognition of Achievements

3. Recognition of Contributions

4. Members expenses.

5. Old Business - please review minutes for last month's meeting for topics

6. New Business

Online and paper membership forms with payments received by mail to be processed by treasurer and president.

Please email admin@stlouisrocketry.com if you have new business for the meeting.

Due to bad weather this week, we have elected to cancel the February high-power launch. Even though the weather Sunday might be acceptable, the fields will all be very muddy due to this week's rain and rocket recovery would be extremely difficult.

Our next high power launch is tentatively scheduled for the weekend of March 17th / 18th. One date or the other will be chosen based on the weather forecast, and an announcement will be made to this mailing list.

Dan Crank
Secretary, St. Louis Rocketry Association

At last night's meeting we sat down with a calendar and worked out a launch schedule for this year! All of the events are now shown on the calendar on the SLRA website, so please bookmark that for your reference.

First off, here are our planning dates for high power launches this year. All of the usual disclaimers apply (field availability depends on weather and whether crops are currently planted in the fields) so these dates are somewhat tentative. You will also notice that this is a list of weekends - each high-power launch will still be a one-day event, but the day will be selected once we have a reasonable weather forecast, about a week ahead of time. This way, we hope to avoid confusion if we have a situation like we did last month, when we scheduled for Sunday and then changed it at the last minute based on the weather forecast. Finally: there are no locations attached to these dates yet. We will decide which field we're going to based on whether crops are going to be out, and we don't usually know that this far ahead of time. However, we're thinking that any spring launches will probably be in Elsberry because the winter wheat won't be out in Addieville.

2018 High power planning dates:
February 24 / 25
March 17 / 18
April 7 / 8
October 20 / 21
November 17 / 18
December 1 / 2

Next up are the Buder Park model rocket launch dates. These are pretty much set unless we have a scheduling conflict with the park. Same as last year, the model rocket launch will be on the weekend following the monthly meeting, and will alternate between Saturday and Sunday. However, since our meeting are now near the end of the month, this sometimes pushes the launch date into the next month (e.g., the "June" launch is actually scheduled for July 1).

2018 Model rocket launch dates:
Saturday, March 31 (the day before Easter)
Sunday, April 29
Saturday, May 26 (Memorial Day weekend)
Sunday, July 1
Saturday, July 28
Sunday, September 2 (Labor Day weekend)
Saturday, September 29

Finally, there will be a two-day event at the Teeniemunde field near Springfield, MO - "Heavy Metal III". This event is scheduled for May 19th and 20th. We'll have more details on that event coming soon.

If you have any questions, please email admin@stlouisrocketry.com, and we hope to see you at the field!

SLRA is having our regular monthly meeting on Tuesday evening, January 23rd, at our regular meeting location:

Fallon's Bar & Grill
9200 Olive Blvd. #116
Olivette, Missouri, 63132

The room will be available at 6:30 PM and  the business meeting will start at about 7:00PM.

If you're a member of SLRA and are registered on the website, you can view minutes of previous meetings here: Meeting Minutes Page, The meeting minutes will be the basis of our "old business" discussion.

The standard agenda for all meetings is as follows:

1. Treasury Status.

2. Recognition of Achievements

3. Recognition of Contributions

4. Members expenses.

5. Old Business - please review minutes for last month's meeting for topics

6. New Business

Online and paper membership forms with payments received by mail to be processed by treasurer and president.

Please email admin@stlouisrocketry.com if you have new business for the meeting.

Happy new year, everyone!

I've done a little work on the website, which included updating our membership forms for 2018. If you would like to join or renew your existing membership, you can find all the information at http://dmortproductions.com/stlrocketry by clicking on the "Join SLRA" menu.

SLRA Membership is $25.00 per calendar year, which not only supports the club but also entitles you to fly for free at our model rocket launches (normally $3) and with reduced or waived launch fees at our high-power launches. (High-power launch fees are set per launch and can depend on whether the club incurs additional expense to hold the launch, such as for restroom facilities; typically the fee is $10.)

We do not charge extra for family memberships - one individual membership covers everyone in the immediate family. (Similarly, launch fees for kids are free if a parent or guardian has paid.)

You'll have noticed that it's a bit cold out, so we're not planning any launches for a bit - don't feel like you have to rush. I'll send out another dues reminder before our first launch. Please email me at admin@stlouisrocketry.com if you have any questions.

Dan Crank
Secretary, St. Louis Rocketry Association