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NEW MEXICO
LINKS:

FLARE - Las Cruces

Albuquerque Rocket Society

NM Museum of Space History

White Sands Missile Range Museum

CELEBRATION OF FLIGHT

 REGIONAL SPORT LAUNCH 

Sponsored by the Spaceport Model Rocket Association,
American Legion Post #34, and The New Mexico Museum of Space History
November 18 - 19, 2006

Everyone is invited! We are once again sponsoring a November regional sport launch.  Join us in celebrating the 101th anniversary of powered flight with a weekend sport launch at Veterans Memorial Park just west of Alamogordo. There are no scheduled long lines, bad weather, grumpy people, or malfunctions. Check the Alamogordo Website for hotel and visitor information.  Let others know too.  Don’t forget to bring and launch your Centennial Challenge duration contest rocket!

       Saturday and Sunday range setup and registration starts around 8:00 a.m. and the range will open for launching by 8:30 a.m. and close around 4:00 p.m.  Saturday and probably around 2:00 p.m. on Sunday.  The specific time on Sunday depends on how many certified motors still need to be launched.

For more information contact Contest Director Jim Basler at jbasler@zianet.com or (505) 521-4822 or visit The FLARE Website

If you are not familiar with National Association of Rocketry sanctioned competition check out the NAR's webpages on Competition Rockety and the  United States Model Rocket Sporting Code "Pink Book"

       We'll make reservations in town for a 5:00 p.m. dinner Saturday. (We will have to secure the launch site equipment before we can go eat.) It’s a time to socialize, swap stories and techniques, and watch some of your videos from the day. We'll take a count around noon Saturday so let us know if you’ll be arriving late.

There will be a night launch Saturday evening from 7:00 p.m. until everyone is finished launching. If it’s a long dinner, we’ll start launching later.

It may be cold, it may be windy, and it may be wet; plan your accouterments accordingly. If you haven't been to the site, ask someone in your club who has launched here. If you’re not sure check our website or call.

Our 12 vdc relay launch equipment and MR, LMR, and HPR launch pads are available for launches out to 500’, e.g. Ms and complex Ls.  If you have a rocket weighing over 25 pounds, require additional distance to the launcher, hybrid support, etc., you’ll need to bring your own equipment.

There are 16 RV spaces available at no charge to event participants. Each spot is about 75’ long with water and 30 amp electrical hookups. Participants may also dry-camp at the rangehead Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights for free. There are porta-potties and a water spigot at the rangehead. 

Now for the persistent items:

• The range fee is $10 per person or family per day or $15 for two or more days. Kids launch A to C motors for free.   Pre-registration is available on our website.

• All activities must comply with NAR safety codes. This includes no alcohol while the range is open. Decisions by the Event Coordinators, RSO, LCO, Safety Monitor, and Contest Director are final, unless they jointly decide otherwise.  Motors must be currently certified by NAR.

• Due to housing encroachment our maximum allowable altitudes are not based on our FAA waiver or our available windows for higher altitudes. Our allowable altitudes are based on NFPA and NAR allowable distances to occupied buildings. This is a dynamic situation as mobile homes are added and removed periodically.

• The pads in the immediate launch area are authorized to 4,600’ AGL. The pad managers will get you to the correct pad.

• There’s an away cell for N motors, to the East, for up to 7,000’ AGL and there’s an away cell to the NE for any size motor for 10,500’ AGL.

• Saturday night-launch requirements: The LCO must be able to see each rocket through all phases of flight. Which means placing a bright light on board your rocket or put one inside an unpainted fiberglass or white plastic nosecone.  Try it at home before the launch for best results. There’s no motor size limit, just a self-imposed altitude restriction of 3,000’ AGL, although we might allow a higher flight if you have a bright enough light.

The Centennial Challenge duration contest has become a staple at our events. We’ll have some great prizes, so join us in the competition this year!  The event is open to rockets greater than 100 inches in total length and the total power of the motor(s) is to not exceed 100 Newton-Seconds. The rocket must be at least 100" in height when leaving the launch rod, rail, or tower. Total installed motors cannot exceed 100 NS. Motors may be clustered or staged, but recovered sustainer must be 100". Timing starts at lift-off and continues until the first piece of the 100" section lands or is no longer visible. The rocket must be flown and recovered in flyable condition.  When flown, timers will time the duration of the flight and annotate the time on the flight card.  When the rocket is recovered, the flyer will bring it back to Safety Check-in to verify recovery.  The longest flight duration will be the winner in "under 18" and "18 and over" age groups.