Lots of rain and wind tomorrow will make it impossible to fly. The rain will also prevent us from flying on Sunday 11/16. Our next possible date will be November 23 or November 24.
SLRA Elsberry Launch for November 16 Is Cancelled
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Notes from Tuesdays (11/12/2013) General Membership Meeting
We had 13 members and 2 guests in attendance.
Achievements: Congratulations to Dan Crank who achieved his Tripoli level 1 certification at the October 26th Elsberry launch on a 5 lbs fiberglass Shapeshifter and an H120 motor. He has also passed his level 2 written exam and plans to attempt the certification at our next launch using the same rocket.
John Buckley reported on the October Fly contest on October 26/27. Saturday was very windy, but Sunday proved to be a perfect day. There were a total of 11 competitors and the results will be posted on the web site.
We discussed the high power launch on Saturday October 26 and discussed the how we schedule and assess interest. As previously announced on the web site, we now have an RSVP form to help schedule launches and will try to schedule more Sunday launches for those who can't make our normal Saturday dates. The weather for this weekend may not be good so we are considering a rescheduled Sunday launch on November 24th. We have already received several RSVP forms (thanks) and that is helping with scheduling over the next two weeks. We also plan to have another launch in December.
Craig Klimczak attended the monthly GSLMA meeting. They were happy to see the rocket flights during their Extravaganza and want to encourage our continued participation in their events. They are interested in rescheduling the Boy Scout launch next year and we're looking at different options for scheduling the event. Craig also reported that Buder Park flying permits obtained in the rest of 2013 will be honored for 2014 also. Those who fly at Buder park are encouraged to obtain a flying permit and NAR or Tripoli membership can be used (as well as AMA membership) for the insurance requirement. The form for the permit is at this link. Craig also asked the membership to consider participating in the First Robotics competitions as volunteers (as reported in a separate post).
David Kovar gave a status on the Challenger Center 10th anniversary event on Saturday November 16th and asked for volunteers to help. He has also posted the information on the web site. He will also be procuring prizes for the event as a SLRA member's expense. There was another meeting held at the Science Center for the May 2014 event and there will be a volunteers dinner held Wednesday night with Gene Kranz on May 14th.
Ken Gianino reported that we have obtained our incorporation documentation from the state of Missouri. We are now incorporated and we will have to prepare an annual report in August 2014.
The nomination process for 2014 SLRA officers will start in December. Members can nominate themselves or other members for the following offices: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and Equipment Officer. The election will be held at the January meeting.
Thanks to everyone who attended the meeting.
FIRST Robotics Volunteers Needed
Subject: FIRST Robotics Volunteers Needed
Greetings All:
I am writing to solicit your help in making a difference in the future of our region and our economy. As many of you know, I am involved in the regional FIRST Robotics’ (http://www.usfirst.org/ ) efforts to stimulate our youth to get interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Through robotics, we believe that we can make science, technology, engineering and math fun and exciting. By hosting competitions and celebrations, FIRST aspires to achieve its goal outlined in its acronym “For Inspiration and Recognition in Science and Technology.” You can help us achieve this goal by becoming a volunteer at any number of our competitions.
Over the last five years, FIRST has expanded exponentially in our region leading to a demand for more competitions and tournaments. This demand is outstripping our ability to staff and run these events. If you are interested in helping us meet this demand, you can help by visiting our local website http://stlfirst.org/ and signing up to be a volunteer. I am involved in the FTC program of FIRST.
If you are interested, please visit this link to sign up and become a part of something that I think is truly amazing for our youth and community. Sign up for FTC program events can be found at http://stlfirst.org/GetInvolved/EventVolunteers/FTCVolunteers/tabid/255/Default.aspx. Click Here
Thanks,
Craig
=========================================
J. Craig Klimczak, D.V.M., M.S.
Vice Chancellor for Technology and Educational Support Services
St. Louis Community College
300 South Broadway
St. Louis, MO 63102
Elsberry Launch Status, New Sunday Launches, and the RSVP Process
The high power portion of our launch on October 26th almost packed up early because it wasn't clear who was coming and what time they were coming. The wind was somewhat high and the fliers who attended didn't arrive until a few hours after the official start. After our Tuesday Nov 12 2013 meeting, the group decided to add an RSVP process so that those wishing to fly at our launches can communicate when they would like to fly or dates that don't work. A form has been created that allows anyone to notify the organizers that they can or can't attend, and projects they wish to fly. You'll be required to submit the form in the following circumstances: plan to fly research motors, plan to fly in a waiver window (above 5500 feet AGL), plan to attempt certification for NAR or Tripoli, need to take the Tripoli level 2 written test. You're highly encourage to fill the form out if your planning to fly any kind of rocket so that we don't pack up a launch early or cancel due to light attendance. You'll be able to enter the days you can attend/can't attend and the approximate time you'll be arriving. The information you enter on the form will appear in a shared spreadsheet among the officers of SLRA and not visible to other individuals. Please note - there are no guarantees that we can accommodate all requests. This is a new way to gauge interest, maximize our resources, and foster communication between the fliers and the launch organizers/schedulers.
The form is available at this link. The form is also available from the "About Us" menu item. You can submit multiple forms if your plans change and we encourage you to do so. All entries are time tagged as to their time of entry.
The group has also decided to accommodate Sunday launches at times - alternating between our three week scheduled launches. We will start planning Sunday launches based on RSVP input, weather concerns, and with the goal of alternating between planned Saturday and Sunday launches.
The weather does not look good for the weekend of November 16/17th but these launches have not been canceled yet. Please fill out the RSVP if you were counting on flying this weekend since there were only a few members who expressed interest in flying at these launches. Final determination will be made Thursday night.
Challenger Learning Center 10 Year Anniversary this Saturday – Volunteers Still Needed
This Saturday November 16th, from 10 am – 5 pm, the St. Louis Challenger Learning Center (CLC) will be celebrating it’s 10-year anniversary. CLC Director Tasmyn Scarl Front has invited us to participate by putting on a static display and paper helicopter building session/duration competition. Model rocket kits and club t-shirts will be given out to the top finishers. Let me know if you would be interested in helping out, it should be lots of fun! CLC will be providing lunch for the volunteers. My contact information is: email-kovardad@gmail.com phone – (314) 296-3171
Please email or phone me if you would like to help out. Let me know if you need any further information.
The Challenger Learning Center is located out by Lambert Airport at 205 Brotherton Lane
St. Louis, MO 63135
For more information on CLC, go to http://www.clcstlouis.org/
Happy Rocketeering!
Dave Kovar
Tuesday November 12, 2013 General Membership Meeting Announcement
Next Meeting: SLRA is having our regular monthly meeting on Tuesday
evening, November 12th, at our new meeting location: Google Map Link
Bandana's Bbq Sunset Hills
11750 Gravois Road
Sunset Hills, Missouri, 63127
We are continuing to meet at Bandana’s BBQ Sunset Hills. Lets us know what you think about meeting at this location. Even though Bandana’s Sunset Hills doesn’t have a minimum food purchase, we are encouraging members to purchase something to support the use of the room. We have the room from 6:30 to 9:00 and we’ll need to leave promptly since 9 pm is the closing time.
The room will be availabe at 6:30 PM and the business meeting will start at about 7:00PM. We'll need to be out of the room by 9:00 PM (closing).
If you're a member of SLRA, the meeting minutes from the October meeting will be available here: Meeting Minutes Page,
Topics for discussion at the November 2013 Meeting (partial list - filled as items come up).
1. Treasury Status.
From Oct 26th launch:
Mark Grant club membership (I have no paperwork): $10.
Greg Rusbarsky membership (with form) check received $20.00
Launch fees: $15 - cash
$9.41 after fees ($10) Paypal
Merchandise sales (1 hat): $20
Total: $55.
1 Membership received $10
2. Recognition of Achievements
3. Members expenses.
4. Review launches - October 26th high power, October Fly Contest
5. Upcoming Elsberry launch status November 16th - new survey form for fliers
6. Upcoming Challenger Learning Center event - Nov 16th.
7. Successful club incorporation - work on bylaws
8. Upcoming elections for club officers
On line and paper membership forms with payments received by mail to be processed by treasurer and president.
Please comment on this post or email me at heyno@heino.com if you have anything to add, or questions or comments.
Heino Pull
SLRA Secretary
Information on November 16th Challenger Learning Center 10 Year Anniversary Event -Volunteers Needed
On Saturday November 16th, from 10 am – 6 pm, the St. Louis Challenger Learning Center (CLC) will be celebrating it’s 10-year anniversary. CLC Director Tasmyn Scarl Front has invited us to participate by putting on a static display and hands-on activity. My thought for the activity is a paper helicopter building session/flight duration competition. I will be providing rocket kits to give away for the competition prizes. Let me know if you would be interested in helping out. it should be lots of fun! My contact information is: email-kovardad@gmail.com phone – (314) 296-3171
The Challenger Learning Center is located out by Lambert Airport at 205 Brotherton Lane
St. Louis, MO 63135
For more information on CLC, go to http://www.clcstlouis.org/
Happy Rocketeering!
Dave Kovar
Additional info from Dave:
Here is the text of an email that I received today from Tasmyn Front (Director of the Challenger Learning Center)
Thank you all for agreeing to be a part of our November 16th Celebration Day event. As a reminder, the event will last from 10 am – 5 pm. We are suggesting that people plan on arriving here at 9 am so you can get set up.
We will be having many of the activities take place in the high school next door, including our portable planetarium, rocket workshops and all of our participating organizations. FYI–There is a chance that the high school (McCluer South-Berkeley) will have a playoff game that day, in which case the parking lot will most likely get very full. We have made arrangements for overflow parking at the church (Our Lady of Guadalupe) as well as the Schnucks located just West of Brotherton with a shuttle to pick people up at those locations.
I am attaching a flyer, which is also available here: http://www.clcstlouis.org/10-year-anniversary to the anniversary events, and if you can help spread the word about it we would be very appreciative.
We will plan on having a table and 2 chairs for each of you (besides the MySci, the flight simulator trailer from the AMA, and the Science Center’s EVie).
We will provide lunch for all of you, so if you could please confirm how many people will be here for each organization, that would be helpful.
In addition, if you could please email me a cell phone number that we can get a hold of you on the day of that would be helpful as well. My cell phone number is (314) 541-6036.
If you have any questions or need additional information, please let me know.
I look forward to seeing you all here on the 16th.
Please email me at apollo45th@gmail.com if you would like to help out. You can also call me at (575) 312-2893. SLRA will be putting on a static rocket display and paper helicopter building session during this event.
Happy Rocketeering!
Dave Kovar
Details for Saturday Oct 26 High Power Launch At Elsberry
I just heard from Dan Welling that the launch is go. The official launch time is 10:00 am to 4:30 PM. In the past members have met for breakfast at 8:30 a.m. in Elsberry, but right now (9:30 PM Friday) I have not heard of any plans to meet before the high power setup. Dan will be bringing the equipment and that will determine the time of the setup, but I don’t know his exact plans. I’ll update this post if I here differently. I plan to arrive at Elsberry between 9:00 and 9:30 a.m. If you need to contact the launch site, email heyno@heino.com and I'll reply with my cell phone number.
Launch fees for this launch is $10 for high power and $5 for model rocket fliers. All fliers must be either an NAR or Tripoli member for insurance purposes. Membership cards will be verified at the RSO table during flier registration. In addition, all high power fliers must also be members of the St. Louis Rocketry Association. Membership can be obtained at the launch site and will cost $10 until the end of 2013. Model rocket fliers do not have to become members. Spectators are always welcome and must remain in the spectator areas. Walk on fliers who are not members will not be able to fly model rockets unless they have contacted a member of SLRA prior to the launch.
Only level 1 NAR or Tripoli members will be allowed in the launch preparation area. All other fliers must be escorted in the launch prep area or to the actual launch pads by a SLRA member.
Dates and locations of all launches are as accurate as we can foresee, however, the launch information on this page is subject to change. Please confirm the launch status of any given launch on the front page of the SLRA web-site before leaving for the launch site. All “High Power” launches are held at our Elsberry, Missouri launch site. “Class 1″ rockets (including “model rockets”) are always welcome at our “High Power” launches at Elsberry if you are a member of Tripoli or NAR or are under 18 years old. Those over 18 who are not members of Tripoli or NAR and have not made prearrangements with SLRA will not be able to fly at this launch. Spectators (non fliers) are always welcome at all of SLRA’s launches.
We have a waiver at Elsberry that is good to 6000 MSL with windows available on demand during the day of the launch to 15000 MSL.
Directions to the launch site are at this link:
High Power Launch at Elsberry is Go For Saturday, October 26th.
Dan has talked to the land owner and the last crop is out. Weather also looks good. Even though the launch is currently go, be sure to check the web site before leaving for the launch site to check the last minute status.
October Fly is Go at Elsberry!!
OK folks we are go for the launch. The beans and corn have all been picked, and the weather forecast looks fantastic. Possible shirt sleeve weather at the end of October!
So here is the plan for the weekend.
I plan to be in Elsberry around 6:30AM at Our Place restaurant for breakfast. If you get there early we can handle registration at the restaurant rather than on the field.
Contest registration fee is $7 per competition unit.
At 8AM we will head over to the field (5 minutes) and begin setting up. I hope to begin flying by 9AM.
Contest range hours will be 9AM until it gets too dark to fly on Saturday, and approximately 8AM until 3PM on SUnday, when contest flights will cease.
If you don't know how to get to the field see the SLRA website at www,stlouisrocketry.org where you can find directions.
As a reminder here are the contest events:
A HD
A BG
B ELD
C SD
A PD
Predicted duration