Author: davew6dps

Two incidents, one potentially serious, occurred at the July 20 ROC launch due to flyers improperly assembling Aerotech Reload Adapter System hardware.

In the more serious incident, a rocket was launched with an improperly assembled motor. The rocket took a very long time to come up to pressure, and during this time sat smoldering on the pad. It then did pressurize and had a far less than adequate flight profile. After the flight it was determined that the RAS was assembled incorrectly, causing the fight problems and causing damage to the hardware.

The motor had been assembled with the spacer at the bottom of the motor against the nozzle. The spacer(s) should always be installed between the floating forward closure and the matching forward closure ring. The spacer is not designed or constructed to withstand the heat of combustion, and should never be in or as part of the motor combustion chamber.

In a second incident, an inexperienced flyer had incorrectly assembled a motor, receive incorrect advice resulting in reassembling the motor in a different wrong configuration, before finally getting the correct information and completing a successful Level 1 certification flight with the motor correctly assembled.

Incorrect assembly can cause unsafe flight profiles that may result in injury. In one incident today the incorrect assembly only resulted in hardware damage, and the second was recognized and corrected before flight.

Equally, perhaps more important, when giving advice on how to use rocketry hardware it is essential that the advice be based on following the manufacturer’s instructions.

Cesaroni hardware using spacers must also be assembled following the manufacturer’s instruction. Only the correct combination of spacers may be used, and the spacer(s) must be forward in the casing, ahead of the reload.

There are links below to the Aerotech instructions. The RAS is a great hardware system and increase the versatility of motor casings, but must be used correctly and safely!

Aerotech Instructions Page:
http://aerotech-rocketry.com/resources.aspx?id=4

29mm RAS Instructions
http://aerotech-rocketry.com/uploads/0b7924f1-f870-4bf1-ad1b-330609b44a63_29mm_reload_adapter_inst.pdf

38mm RAS Instructions
http://aerotech-rocketry.com/uploads/900941fb-4429-42b3-b686-abff01c8f083_38mm_reload_adapter_anchor_inst.pdf

54mm RAS Instructions
http://aerotech-rocketry.com/uploads/d80b9080-9f79-4012-93d1-696ae0787765_54mm_reload_adapter_inst.pdf

75mm RAS Instructions
http://aerotech-rocketry.com/uploads/229b9c98-d70d-46c0-b4fd-7e74ff4d98aa_75mm_reload_adapter_inst.pdf

Remember that we will be launching this Saturday, July 20, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing.

We expect to open the rang and begin flying at 7AM and continue to 1PM, weather permitting!

We expect Discount Rocketry, for all you low power needs, but no high power vendors.

Temperatures are expected to be about 95°F, with very low humidity and high UV index. Please bring plenty of water and prepare for summer on a desert lakebed.

It’s been a tough year for flying! Much like our east-coast friends, we spent the fall, winter, and spring building rockets instead of flying them due to unstable weather. As a way of saying “Thanks” to all of our Executive Members, ROC is providing FREE Executive Memberships for 2020 to all of our existing Executive Members.

It’s simple, if you are a current, paid Executive Member at the end of this year, December 31st, 2019, then you’ll automatically get 2020 for free! That’s $60 you can spend on rocket gear, motors, or whatever you want!

Detailed Rules:
1. If you paid for a 2019 Membership already, including those that paid in the last three months of 2018, you will automatically be renewed for 2020. There’s nothing to do. To check your current membership status, log-in at: https://roc.wildapricot.org/ or ask at registration.

2. If you join as an Executive member ($60) between now and December 31, 2019, you will receive all of 2020 for free. Join here: https://roc.wildapricot.org/

3. Family membership policy remains unaffected.
4. Non-member fees remain unaffected.
5. Pre-registered Youth Group fees remain unaffected.

After checking the expected weather, we will be starting an hour early tomorrow, Saturday.

The waiver will open and flights will begin at 7AM.

The weather for NSL 2019 is expected to be warm and beautiful. The high temperatures should be in the mid 80s and the lows in the high 50s.

Humidity will likely be between 20% and 30%. Low humidity can cause very rapid dehydration, so bring plenty of water. Sports drinks are also very useful. Energy drinks and caffeine in general can increase your rate of dehydration!

The UV Index will be VERY HIGH, likely 10 out of 10 most of the day. Please remember a hat appropriate clothes for the sun (exposed skin can increase your chances of sunburn). Sun block is essential.

Be sure to monitor your children for dehydration and sun exposure. Smaller bodies can be affected much more quickly! Anyone who is not acclimated to the desert southwest needs to be cautious! These conditions can be life-threatening. A bit of prevention is fairly easy and much better than being hospitalized with heat illness (or worse!).

We expect fairly calm conditions in the mornings, so if you have something your really want to fly, plan to fly early in the day when conditions are normally better.