Bob Space

[TRANSFERRED FROM LJ -- THANK YOU, MARK TURNAGE, FOR THE GOOGLE MAPS LINKS]

After much perusal of maps, the two best options for rocket flying on public lands are:

Hungry Valley == 39.70 N, 119.78 W

This is where the Reno Radio Control Association flies. It’s reasonably flat, plenty of room. But it’s well out of the way, and services are NOT nearby. Large Model Rocket flights would require us notifying the Spanish Springs Airport manager as well as the FAA station in Reno.

Casey Ranch == 39.31 N, 119.82 W

This ranch was slated for home developments, but deal after deal fell through, and eventually the land was acquired by the BLM. The land to the east of the freeway is mostly flat, with off-road tracks and rivulets running down to the lake. It’s very easy to get to, and there are bathroom facilities across the freeway and down to Bowers Mansion State Park. But … this valley is notoriously windy, all the time. (In fact, hang gliders use this area to land in.) That might cut into our flying time.

I’d much rather find some private land. With a bathroom. And a pony.

[TRANSFERRED FROM LJ]

On Sunday, Casey and I built 4 rockets. Monday morning I put the finishing assembly touches on a fifth. We were ready and jazzed to go out to the school. We loaded up the family (Renee’ came along, ’cause I wanted someone else to take pictures and I needed an adult to handle the stopwatch for a timed flight) and trundled out to the school.
Conditions were utterly perfect: still, cool air, blue sky with just a touch of high clouds, not basking warm, but warm enough in the sun if wearing pants and a jacket. I worked my way through the Model Rocket Safety Code with everyone, emphasizing everything as it came up — I assembled the launch pad for that step, and placed it out in the track, I loaded batteries into the launch controller and strung it out for that step, and so on. Then we broke out the instructions for the Astra III that I use as my standard “weather-tester” and loaded it with wadding, dusted the ‘chute with baby powder, put an igniter in the motor, and loaded the motor into the rocket. Over to the launch pad, hook it up, go back, put the safety key in the controller …

… and nothing. No light. Checked the connections. Good. Still no light. Shorted the clips together. Still no light. Either the batteries are bad or the wiring is bad.

So I hustled home for other batteries. On the way, I got the brainwave that I could co-opt the MicroMAXX controller from Casey’s Christmas gifts as another back-up. After a few minutes scavenging, I discovered that controller is actually hard-wired to its pad. (I also discovered the pad itself has been broken and has parts missing. And it’s never been used.) So much for plan C. I fetched the batteries and headed back to the site to see if plan B would save me.

It didn’t. Controller was still dead. Remarkably inert for having sat in a closet unused for two years or more. But that’s the end of the story: no launch controller, no launches. We packed everything back up and went home. I poked at the dead controller for a little bit, decided I didn’t want to try to crack it open to fix it, and … almost threw it out. Just in time, I remembered to trim the igniter clips and 12 inches of connected wire off the apparatus, to be converted into a clip whip for future cluster launches. Then the Electron Beam Controller went into the trash bin.

So, to shopping. Quest Launch Controller? Don’t like 9V clips. Quest Advanced Launch Controller? Doesn’t exist yet, and if it follows the lead of the Estes E controller, it’ll just be a standard Quest controller with 30-foot launch leads. AeroTech Initiator? Don’t want to pay $60 and then have to assemble it myself. Pratt Hobbies GO Box? Yeah, tempting, but I don’t really have the external battery solution worked out yet. (I can’t park the car anywhere near the launcher, and I don’t have the portable rechargeable battery done yet. Hmm. I wonder if I still have my analog multimeter.)

I’d already had my eye on the Estes Tandem-X Launch Set, to get Casey a 24″+ rocket with plastic fins for her NARTREK assignment. In picking that launch set, I get her the Amazon rocket, a replacement Electron Beam Controller (ugh), and an extra Porta-Pad II. That’s a decent bargain, or at least an efficient order. I’ll need to get a new tool box for them, to be labeled “LAUNCH” (to go along with the RANGE and BUILD boxes. There’s likely to be a FINISH box sometime, too).

And after looking over the remains of the MicroMAXX debacle spread across Casey’s room, I decided I really really still wanted these in the household. They are so cute, and yet so functional! So I ordered a Flight Set for them — all 10 rockets, specialized controller, pad, 50(!) engines and igniters. I might need a separate box for that stuff, too.

[TRANSFERRED FROM LJ]

Actually, even just 9 acres would do.
Getting Organized

Meanwhile, I bought my vehicle record keeping system today. I thought about creating an XML library that I could print a design sheet and individual flight logs from, but the process of creating software for that would have been too much for me. Reflecting in the shower this morning, I realized it’s just a database problem and something like FileMaker would probably do the deed, and spare me the interface creation issue. But I can’t afford Filemaker, or even its personal-use clone Bento.

So. In the material solutions, I thought dual-clasp file folders might work. Clip the design sheet onto the left side, and the flight records onto the right. But then I didn’t have good storage space for notes, direction sheets, etc. And the only way to have them inexpensive was to buy in volumes I probably wouldn’t need.

Then I thought about a three-ring binder, with dividers separating rockets, and a storage pocket in each section for the scattered stuff. I like binders, but they take up space and if I wanted to look at one rocket, i had to pull them all down.

After more thought, today I settled on three-prong pocket portfolios. Pockets inside the covers for stray stuff, prongs for the design sheet and flight records. I bought a half-dozen for Casey in yellow, and another half-dozen for me in blue. And they’re merely forty-five cents each at the local evil discount store, about the same price as clasp folders in bulk but more colorful and functional. This feels like a win.

Getting Trained

I finished my required child abuse recognition and reporting self-study this week, and I’ve been studying hard in the 4-H 101 starting a club book. I’ve also been poking at the 4-H curriculum service and found … nothing yet on rocketry. I’m not too surprised; the 4-H/NAR partnership is less than a year old. But there’s no rocketry curriculum on the service’s publication schedule for this year. So it looks like I’m on my own. I have plenty of curriculum materials from many sources, but they’re geared for the classroom, not for 4-H’s experiential learning model. Anyway, I have the outlines of what can be taught when, but I need to factor in hands-on-ness and so forth. I have the sneaking feeling I’m going to end up contributing to the national curriculum.

Getting Ahead Of Myself

I refined the club logo this week. And then just for sheer bloody-mindedness, I reworked the standard NAR flight card into a club flight card that works as a flyer’s range checklist and has more post-flight info space. It’s not as thorough as the Apogee Flight Record, but I think it’ll suit the audience/users better.

And I also worked on the preliminary draft of the club constitution and charter. This is REALLY getting ahead of myself, since everything I’ve already written has to be approved by the club members. But it looks nice, and makes sense, and doesn’t set too many strict rules.

[TRANSFERRED FROM LJ]

I really, really wish I was wealthy enough to afford a nice flat square 30 acre parcel someplace that I could use for a rocketry range. Of course, if I had that money, I’d probably build a starbase in one corner, too.

In the meantime, flying from Lou Mendive Middle School looks like a no-go. The district charges fees to rent the classrooms, and the athletic field is cross-booked to the City of Sparks Parks/Rec department — no good for club-scale events, though we might be able to get some solo flying in there. The same general problem holds for any sufficiently large, flat place in town: I can’t rely on it being a safe range at all times, and I can’t afford places where I can guarantee that.

We have a new “in” with the county parks department and will be able to fly in the Regional Parks … given notice and planning. This says to me that we save those for special events: demonstration launches and competitions.

The last resort is BLM public land in Hungry Valley. Could probably work, and might make a nice “hands-on” project to clear scrub for a launch ops area. But no potties is a real issue.

More news as it emerges.