We're passing this along from the Columbia Rocket Club:

The Columbia Rocket Club is calling a High Power Rocket Launch for this upcoming Saturday December the 9th from  12 noon to 5pm. We may shut down early if all rockets have been flown. We have 10,000ft AGL and a large recovery area. Anyone flying L or larger contact me in advance. Infrastructure will allow rod to 1/2 inch and 1010/1015 rail.
If it rains Friday night the field could be wet but it has been pretty dry and there is only a 50% chance of rain for Friday and very little change Saturday. Sunday will be too cold so this could be our last chance for 2023 to launch.

Mark Grant

Directions: We begin our instructions at the 151/22 intersection in Centralia, Missouri (I take Route B up from Columbia. B becomes 124 which becomes 151 as you cross 22.) At the intersection you head North. You come to a curve that turns you 90 degrees to the left (you are now heading West). Not much further and you see EE which you take right (you are headed North again). In 4-5 miles you see 124 where you take right (you are headed East). We will be on the side of the road about 1/2 mile down this road. Stay on the road. No driving in the field.

Day of the launch only I am on my cell 573-881-0122. Email me the rest of the time (markgrant@socket.net). Texting is fine if my phone is on.

Unfortunately, our bad streak of weather luck continues. The high-power launch in Elsberry today is cancelled due to a Red Weather Alert - high winds and dry conditions make it a fire hazard. We will post here if we are able to reschedule. The next regularly scheduled high-power launch will be December 16.

After a long dry spell (or, more accurately, lack of a dry spell) we have an opportunity to launch high power rockets this Saturday in Elsberry, MO and the weather forecast is looking good.

Range setup will start around 9:00am. If at all possible, please arrive between 9:00 and 10:00 to help with setup - the more people we have, the easier it is on everyone and the sooner we can start flying! Our waiver will be open from 10:00 am to 4:30 pm. The range may or may not remain open until 4:30 pm, depending on how many people attend and how many rockets we want to fly.

Our waiver altitude is 6,500 feet AGL, with call-in windows to 14,500 feet AGL. For those unfamiliar, this means that you can fly up to 6,500 feet at any time the range is open, but if your rocket will go higher than that (or if it's going to be close to 6,500, or if you're not sure), please speak with the launch control officer, who will call FAA TRACON (air traffic control for the area around Lambert Airport) and clear the window when you're ready to launch.

Although we do not expect any rain this week, it's always a good idea to be prepared to walk in mud, which means boots and possibly a spare pair of shoes. Even though it'll be cool, don't forget sunscreen and something to drink. There will be neither food concessions nor restroom facilities at this site, but it is a very short drive into town for those needs. There is also no rocketry supply / motor vendor at our launches.

Launch fees will be $0 for Low-Power and Mid-Power Rockets (up to G motors) if you're a paid SLRA member, and $3 if not; and $10 for High-Power Rockets (H to M motors).

We plan to have various sizes of launch pads set up, from 1/8" model rocket rods up to 1515 rails.

As always, please be courteous to our hosts and respectful of their property, including driving slowly on all farm roads. Find a place to park along the side of the road, but do not drive into any field.

Location and directions to field:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.1616154,-90.7682789,2917m/data=!3m1!1e3

Take MO-79 to Highway JJ, the first intersection south of the town of Elsberry. From this point, we should have signs up to guide you - but head east onto Old Missouri 79 (if you were coming north from the St. Louis area, this is a right turn). Once across the train tracks, Old 79 turns again to head back south, but you won't - keep straight onto the dirt road that leads across a wooden bridge and into the field.

Only one word describes last Saturday’s SLRA Buder Park Sport Launch event….Wow!!!  The weather was perfect with low wind conditions, clear blue sky, and temps in the mid to upper 80s.

We had a couple of records broken for the 2023 Buder Park Launch season; the most rocketeers in attendance, at 32, launching a total of 117 rockets.  It was really gratifying to see all the families in attendance enjoying launching rockets together. Ten of the thirty-two rocketeers were Junior SLRA members.

Event Highlights: 
- SLRA members Greg Roorda and Darrell Weber made their first appearance at a 2023 SLRA Buder Park launch.  Darrell brought a bunch built and un-built rockets for donation to SLRA’s Take-it/Fly-it program.  His donations were put in the hands of youth in attendance and were sent skyward/homeward. Hopefully these rockets will to be seen again at future SLRA Launch events. 

- Three members of the Washington University Rocketry Club were in attendance as well: Maeve Lomax, Lilly Fisher, and Alexa Wienoff.   They were all given a rocket from Darrell’s donation collection. Darrell assisted them in prepping their rockets for launch, filling out Flight Cards, and placing the rockets on the Launch Rack for their inaugural liftoff.

- The third and fourth SLRA Junior NAR membership awards were presented to Victoria and Dakota Drake. Congratulation to the both of them for receiving this well-deserved recognition!!

- Dakota and Victoria Drake;s Dad, Doug, flew his first mid-power rocket, the LOC Precision Mini Magg.  The first flight was a bit underpowered (D12-5), reaching an altitude of approximately 30’.  With the help of a larger engine (F24-7), the second launch was a huge success. Congrats Doug

A BIG Shout-out goes to:

- Dave Pape and Doug Probst for getting all the launch equipment to and from Buder Park and as always did an outstanding job of orchestrating set-up. 

- Chris Lagemann for assisting with set-up and take-down

- Charles Barnett for being the Launch Control Officer for most of the launches.  Thanks Charles!!!

- Darrell Weber and Peter Seddon for taking some great pics at the event, showing attendees having a great time and lots of rockets ascending skyward.

What an amazing day!!!!  Thanks to everyone in attendance for making this such a great event!!!

Happy Rocketeering!!

Secretary Dave

Link for Downloading Photos

Link to Glen Aren's photo from Video Camera mounted on his Ventris Rocket, taken above the Launch Field, near apogee, at 1500'

Link for Downloading Flight Cards