We remember one of the key founding members of Estes Rockets.  Gleda Estes passed away earlier this year while we were out of production.  We chose to dedicate an episode to her memory by listening to a re-enacting of the early years of Estes Rockets that she and husband Vern performed at NSL 2018.

Welcome to our first "Rocket Friends episode of the new show format. This type of show was formerly called "Workshop Talk".

In this episode we are joined with Bill and Rachel Daigle and they catch us up on their hobby adventures.  Also in this episode:

• CG's flight computer project ticks along, and he talks about how that is shaping up.
• Gheem is grilled by all of us on what it's like to have his High School rocket team accepted into the NASA Student Launch competition this year.

Enjoy!

The team talk about Narcon 2023, and we review this year’s calendar of big launch events so far…

In the first episode of Season 9, we talk to Joe Pfeiffer of the Open rocket team, diving a bit deeper into the program’s features, and some use case items for advanced and High power rocketry.

The full Rocketry Show team assemble to drop the latest news updates from the hobby

AeroTech/Quest News

AeroTech RMS K750ST-PS Rocket Motor Reload Kit New Product Information Release 7/11/22

AeroTech/Quest is pleased to announce the Tripoli certification and immediate availability of our new RMS Reloadable Motor System K750ST-PS rocket motor reload kit, AeroTech’s 2nd rocket motor reload kit designed to use the single-grain RMS-75/1280 hardware.

Perfect for heavy rockets launched from small fields, the K750ST-PS delivers 1,298.7 N-Sec (292.0 lb.- Sec.) of total impulse with a 1.74 burn time and an all-up weight in motor hardware of 4.29 lb. (1,945.9 g). It’s also a great booster for two-stage rockets, and features AeroTech’s aerospace-grade Super Thunder (ST) propellant formulation with a burn rate midway between Blue Thunder and Warp-9 propellant types. The K750ST-PS generates a peak thrust of 835.7 N (187.9 lb.) with an average thrust of 746.6 N (167.9 lb.). Super Thunder propellant displays a bright blue flame with prominent Mach diamonds and little smoke. 

Although the K750ST-PS produces tracking smoke, it is a “plugged” motor that does not include an ejection charge and requires the utilization of an electronically-activated recovery system.

• Diameter: 75mm (2.95”)
• Length: 266.7mm (10.5”)
• Propellant: Super Thunder
• Total Impulse: 1,298.7 N-Sec. (292.4 lb.-Sec.) Burn Time: 1.7 Seconds
• Peak Thrust: 835.7 N (187.9 lb.) Delay Time: Plugged
• Propellant Weight: 595 g (1.3 lb.) Loaded Weight: 1,947.5 g (4.3 lb.)

California State Fire Marshal classification and approval has been granted for the K750ST-PS RMS Reload Kit. It ships with a standard FirstFire Initiator, has a suggested retail price of $157.99 each and may be purchased by consumers 18 years of age or older with a minimum Level 2 NAR or TRA Certification, or by educational institutions, government agencies and licensed commercial entities.

They are discontinuing several 24mm reloads as well as their 18mm and 32mm Glider motors typically used for gliders.  

Here is the list of discontinued motors: 

• 33400 C3.4T-P 18mm RMS-R/C (3-pak)
• 33400-12 C3.4T-P 18mm RMS R/C (12-pak)
• 40700 D7-RCT 24mm RMS R/C (3-Pak)
• 42300 D2.3T-P 18mm RMS R/C (3-Pak)
• 42300-12 D2.3T-P 18mm RMS R/C (12-Pak)
• 51103 E11-3J 24mm RMS (3-Pak)
• 51200 E12-RCJ 24mm R/C (3-Pak)
• 61203 F12-3J 24mm RMS (3-Pak)
• 91321 RMS-32/60-100 R/C Motor
• 91613 F13-RCT 32mm R/C (2-Pak)
• 91616 F16-RCJ 32mm R/C (2-Pak)
• 91712 G12-RCT 32mm R/C (2-Pak)

Though it is being discontinued for general retail, Gary Rosenfield notes that the D2.3T will be produced for international competition use as needed.

The NAR Contest Board is pleased to announce the NRC events for the 2022-2023 Contest Year:

• A Altitude
• A Payload
• A Boost/Glide Duration
• A Streamer Duration
• B Eggloft Duration
• 1/4A Parachute Duration

These events have been selected by the NAR Contest Board and the NARAM Contest Director per Sporting Code rule 13.1.3.  The 2022-2023 Contest Year starts on July 23, 2022 and ends on the last day of NARAM.  NRC flying ends June 30, 2023.

Dan Wolf

NAR Contest Board Chair

The 2021-2022 RCP process concluded as of June 15, 2022 and the results of the ballot are as follows.  Appendix “D” in the sporting code states that proposals must receive a 51% yes vote in order for the proposal to become a part of the sporting code. The proposals that did pass become a part of the sporting code that will be revised and effective as of July 23rd 2022 for the new contest year, but have no bearing on NARAM-63.  A total of 90 ballots were received. Some voters abstained from voting on all of the proposals. The results and the detailed verbiage on each proposal will be on the NAR webpage under Contest Flying / Rules Revision Process   NAR Rules Revison

RCP 2021 #001: Allow any kind of streamer attachment in streamer duration events.

Passes: Yes: 80 / No: 7

RCP 2021 # 002: Revise R&D Scoring

Passes: Yes: 48 / No: 34

RCP 2021 # 003: Change judging of Craftsmanship events to a “blind judging” format.

Fails: Yes: 37 / No: 49

RCP 2021 # 004: Removal of Rule 30.9.2; Returns – NARAM.

Passes: Yes: 51 / No: 32

RCP 2021 # 005: Require altimeters for tracking

Passes: Yes: 68 / No: 22

RCP 2021 # 006: Add Sport Scale (Sport, Peanut, Giant), Concept Sport Scale, Classic Model as an additional NRC event.

Fails: Yes: 26 /No: 57

RCP 2021 # 008: Add Dual Eggloft Altitude in engine classes C and D to the list of NRC events.

Passes: Yes: 47 /No: 41

RCP 2021 # 009: Include D Eggloft Altitude as an NRC Event

Fails: Yes: 42 / No: 44

RCP 2021 # 010: Include B engine class Helicopter Duration as an NRC event.

Passes: Yes: 45 /No: 42 

RCP 2021 # 011: Include B engine class Streamer Duration as an NRC event

Passes: Yes: 49 / No: 36

RCP 2021 # 012: Clarify the required documentation for mission points for Scale and Sport Scale events.

Passes: Yes: 74 / No: 10

 RCP 2021 # 013: Change Rule 8.2 Conduct by changing the word may to shall reinforce that it is the CD has the duty to punish egregious bad behavior by disqualification.

Fails: Yes: 37 / No: 48

RCP 2021 # 014: Align Rule 51.13.1 Mission: 200 points to Rule 50.10.6 Mission Points for Sports Scale NRC

Fails:  Yes: 34 / No: 47

RCP 2021 # 015: Newly approved contest altimeters need to be available for sale the entire 30 days before contest use can start.

Fails: Yes: 41 / No: 43

RCP 2021 # 016: Implement a Standardized Method and Procedure for Recording Air Temperature at NARAM.

Passes: Yes: 49 / No: 39

RCP 2021 # 017: Eliminate the requirement to exceed a current record by 1% in order to establish a new record.

Passes: Yes: 67 / No: 22

Joe Barnard Sticks powered landing using standard solid propellant motors!

Other news items discussed:

• LDRS 40
• Gary Rosenfield and Joe Barnard L3 Successful Certs
• LOC Skinwalker and Dude Perfect Videos
• ULA Student Launch last weekend
• Super Orbital Transport release by Estes
• Argonia Cup rules for 2023!

Items in this news podcast:

SMT Designs releases all of their rocketry designs to public domain

Steve Thatcher: "With my upcoming LDRS 40 trip and TRA Tech session there on "3D Printed Modular Avionics Bays", I wanted to make an announcement, so here it is..."

Steve Thatcher says “I am in the process of releasing all of my rocketry designs to the public domain under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International”

You can read the licensing in detail at
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

You can find the designs on http://www.tinkercad.com/ by simply doing a "People" search for "SteveThatcher".  

Once you find the profile, click it to view the parts.

Steve has also tagged the parts with “SMTDESIGNS”, “AVBAY”, and “ROCKETRY”, but you will get more "hits" that way of other non-related parts.

My intent in doing this is to propagate the footprint standard I created for devices and batteries over the last years, so the rocketry community could benefit.

Thatcher says “I would also like to see my designs come to a greater use by making them available for no cost to those that have the required equipment.”

Steve asks that the footprints for carriers and platforms remain unchanged.  Thatcher says”I recognize the need to change things when necessary, but changing footprints negates the universal benefit they provide.  Take the time to look at my entire library of parts to get a system view of why things were done.”

Steve will be available to answer questions through SMT Designs, and the SMT Designs facebook page.
_______________________________

Tripoli News

During the LDRS 40 Member's Banquet it was announced that that the Tripoli Wisconsin Association, Tripoli Green Bay, and Tripoli Chicago will be hosting LDRS 41 at the Richard Bong Recreation Area located in Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

The event is planned to take place July 6, 7, 8 and 9, 2023.  

More details and information will be coming soon.

_______________________________

New Unified TRA Safety Code
 
https://www.tripoli.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=795696&module_id=520420

Tripoli Rocketry Association unveiled its new “unified” safety code on May1 of this year.

President Bob Brown notes that:
Under this safety code, there are no longer Commercial launches or Research launches, just Tripoli launches.  There are some changes to the current safety code, such as a common safe distance table, a safety code for both model rockets as well as radio-controlled boosted gliders as well as other changes.  
Tripoli asks all members to please take the time to read the document in its entirety.  

Mr. Brown notes that “While your first reaction will probably be there seem to be a lot more rules under this new document, in fact, almost nothing more restrictive has been adopted it’s just compiled into one document now.”

TRA notes that they owe a huge thank you to Steve Shannon, “who undertook the daunting task of compiling the information from the original four documents and writing (in plain English, not legalese) a document we can all understand and follow”.
____________________________________

Reminder on NARAM 63

NARAM-63 will be July 16-22, 2022. Sport flying begins on Saturday, July 16, and will run through the following Friday, July 22. 

The US Team Flyoffs/North Coast Cup flying will begin Saturday, July 16, and run through Monday, July 18.  
NARAM competition flying begins on Monday, July 18, and runs through Friday, July 22. 
Friday evening, July 15, will include a sport flyers briefing as well as a US Team Flyoffs/North Coast Cup briefing and model check in.

Where is NARAM-63?

Springfield, Missouri, located in the southwestern part of the state, is this year’s host city. The Oasis Hotel is the official hotel of NARAM-63, and will host nearly all of the evening activities. The flying field is located west of Springfield.
Sport Range
Tripoli Mo-Kan will be running the sport range along with support from SLRA.  Launch pads with 1010 and 1515 rails will be available as well as 1/8″, 3/16″, 1/4”, 3/8”, and 1/2″ rods. Rockets with up to M motor class can be accommodated with an FAA waiver to 6,000 feet. Come and sport fly for the weekend or stay for the whole week.

Contest Range

Saturday through Monday will feature the US Team Flyoffs/North Coast Cup. NARAM competition starts Monday morning with Chad Ring serving as the NARAM Contest Director.
NARAM at Night
In addition to sport and contest flying each day, join us for the traditional NARAM evening events throughout the week including the Manufacturers Forum, Cannon Fund Rocketry Memorabilia Auction, NAR Town Hall Meeting, FREE Ice Cream Social, Beer Lofting, and other events culminating with the Awards Banquet on Friday evening.

______________________________________________

Reminder: NAR Board of Trustees voting window is open

« Board of Trustee Voting

You can vote in-person at NARAM during the Town Hall meeting, online, or by mail-in ballot. You can only vote once!
The Town Hall Meeting will be held Monday, July 18, 2022.
To vote online, please go to the NAR.ORG site, check in under Member Resources.

Mail-in ballots are in The Model Rocketeer, which was mailed with the May/June, 2022 issue of Sport Rocketry magazine.
Under the NAR Bylaws, Senior and Leader members who joined the NAR at least one year prior to July 18, 2022 (NAR number 112135 or lower) are eligible to vote. For voting purposes, a Leader member is defined as one who has reached his/her 16th birthday as of July 18, 2022.

This Year’s Board member candidates
(New Candidate) Don Carson - Macon , NC
(Current Board Member) Becky Green - San Rafael, CA
(Current board member)  Lynn Thomas, Indianapolis, IN

Bios are available on the NAR.Org site voting page.

_________________________

2022 NASA Student Launch results
 
Each year, NASA challenges middle school, high school, college, and university students from across the United States to design, build and launch a high-powered amateur rocket, fly it to an altitude between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, and make a successful landing.

Middle and high school teams could choose to attempt the college/university division challenge or develop their own science or engineering experiment.

Teams in the college/university division tackled a new task that mirrors NASA’s missions like the Mars Curiosity Rover. 
Teams had to design a payload capable of autonomously locating where their rocket landed by identifying the rocket’s grid position on an aerial image of the launch site while transmitting the data back to their ground station. 

This had to be accomplished without the use of GPS. The requirement simulates a challenge faced by NASA’s mission managers – communicating with spacecraft and payloads on distant plan mmmm etary bodies, where use of GPS is not an option.
 
Sixty teams from 22 states including Puerto Rico took part in this year’s competition, with 27 teams launching April 23 near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Teams that did not travel were allowed to conduct their final test flights at a home launch field.

For the second year in a row, The University of North Carolina at Charlotte won the launch division, while Tarleton State University in Stephenville, Texas, won first place in the design division of NASA’s 2022 Student Launch rocketry competition.

The University of North Carolina at Charlotte will receive $5,000 for first place in the launch division, and Tarleton State University will receive $2,500 for first place in the design division.

The top five teams in the launch division are:

University of North Carolina at Charlotte
University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana
Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
University of Florida, Gainesville
Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
The top two teams in the design division are:
Tarleton State University, Stephenville, Texas
New York University
 
______________________________________
 
American Rocketry Contest (TARC) 
https://rocketcontest.org/result/2022/
 
1) Newport High School - Team 2 from Bellevue, WA  (22-1326)   $20,000
 (Flight 1)  2  (Flight 2) 11 Total Score = 13
2) Newport High School - Team 1 from Bellevue, WA (22-1804)   $15,000
 (Flight 1) 2 (Flight 2) 12 Total Score 14
3) All Saints Episcopal School from Haslet, TX (22-1126) $12,500
 (Flight 1) 6.12 (Flight 2) 11 Total Score = 17.12
4) Spring Grove Area Intermediate School - Team 2 from Spring Grove, PA (22-1534)  $10,000
 (Flight 1) 13 (Flight 2) 6.8 Total Score = 19.8
5) Coleman High School from Coleman, TX (22-1645)  $7,500
 (Flight 1) 10.12 (Flight 2) 10  Total Score = 20.12
6) Creekview High School - Team 3, from Canton, GA $3,500
 (Flight 1) 17.2 (Flight 2) 7 Total Score = 24.2 
7) Camas High School from Camas, WA (22-1495)  $2.500
 (Flight 1) 9, (Flight 2) 16.16 Total Score = 25.16
8) Young Engineers in Action from Hawaiian Gardens, CA (22-1500) $2,500
 (Flight 1) 19.64, (Flight 2) 10, Total Score = 29.64
9) Thomas Jefferson High School - Team 9 from Alexandria, VA (22-1764) $2,500
 (Flight 1) 7 (Flight 2) 26.8, Total Score = 33.8
10)  Tharptown High School from Russellville, AL
 (Flight 1) 1 (Flight 2) 34.12, Total Score = 35.12
 
Each school or organization for teams 1-5 also receives $1,000. Each school or organization for teams 6-10 also receives $500.

Conway Stevens answers your questions from Episode 115.

CG gets pulled in big time, and you'll find out why when you listen!

Enjoy!

Join our guests, Bill and Rachel Daigle, who are known as father and daughter rocketeers from our neighbors up North in New Brunswick CA!

Bill talks to us about his tenure as an officer of the Canadian Rocketry Association and his career as a hobby rocketeer! He even has graced the cover of Sport Rocketry.

Rachel tells us about how she was involved in the hobby at a young age and the joys of flying with Bill.

Bill and Rachel talk about their individual projects and shed some insight into their largest scratch built upscales.

We talk to them about their road to CAR Level 4 in High Powered Rocketry.

It’s an episode full of fun and appreciation and we are happy to share this with you!

Gary Rosenfield joins us to update us on some of the latest going on at Aerotech as well as:

 - Tips and tricks for selecting an appropriate motor for your high power certifcations.

 - What he is up to for Hampster Dance 2022.

 - Gary's project of digitizing a bunch of old super-8 footage of some historic & interesting high power launches from the early days of HPR.

All this along with some interesting rocket talk!

What's it like to send your hobby rocket to near space?  Our guest, Kip Daugirdas explains.  

Kip is a Level 3 rocketeer, and he'll share his experiences and share some inside tips on the topic.

He can be found on Twitter: @kipdaugirdas

If you wish to follow Kip's Youtube channel, you can find it here:
https://www.youtube.com/@kdaugi

chapAppDescHappy Holidays, and Welcome to the latest episode of The Rocketry Show for the week of December 19, 2021! This time around, we close out the year catching up on your voice and emails, and what we have been up to, and what's next for our shows. One of our listeners mentions wanting to hear from John Beans and Joe Barnard.  We talked to both of them in previous episodes.  If you want to check them out too, then here are the links to the latest ones. Latest John Beans Episode ( Episode 30): Latest Joe Barnard episode (Episode 103): We also answer yoiur questions, like how to repair damaged fins on fiberglass rockets, how to get rid of the "fuzzies" caused by painter's tape peeling away the glassine surface from cardboard rocket airframes and more!

chapAppDescWelcome to Episode 114 of The Rocketry Show! In this Episode, we'll be talking about The Hot Nozzle Summer 2021 event! Jenna Kay Foertsch joins us from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where she works, to talk about it!

On July 23rd of this year at the FAR launch site in the desert of California, Tim Dodd, AKA The everyday Astronaut, stomped his foot down on an air powered rocket to kick off an event that has taken the rocketry community by viral storm.  

Photo: Tim Dodd kicking off the event Credit: Matt of HNS

The event known as "Hot Nozzle Summer" started out as a joke on Twitter by a number of young rocketry enthusiasts earlier in the Spring, but very quickly grew into a movement spearheaded by an energetic group resulting in a major launch that took place over the weekend of July 23-26.  The goals of this group are stated on their website…

"Hot Nozzle Summer is a movement within the amateur rocket community that seeks to break down the barriers that exist within the hobby and make it more accessible to new people, regardless of skill or training in rocketry or engineering. This movement celebrates all aspects of rocketry whether its getting a Level 1 high powered certification through NAR or Tripoli, or just shooting model rockets in the backyard with your kids this summer. You do not have to come to the live event to participate in the movement."

Primarily a social media phenomenon, the group’s dedicated leaders pulled off an event that saw many rockets fly many of which were from people new to the hobby, or flying to achieve a higher certification level.  Jenna Kay, one of the main organizers of the event joins The Rocketry Show to discuss how the event came to be, what challenges were overcome to pull it off, and what the future might hold for what has essentially become a movement to bring people into the hobby that has not been seen before.

Welcome to Season 7, Episode 113!

In this episode:

Jesse joins us with his interviews & wrap-up reporting of NSL 2021 and LDRS.

He managed to get some interviews from NSL as well!

Gheem was on vacation during this production, and CG talks about what to expect the next few weeks while The Rocketry Show is in “summertime rocket season” mode.

Dave Barber

Jason Turicick

Stanton Ewert

Joe Hill joins the crew as we discus our rocketry projects, high power, rocketry music, and more!

Xyla has a degree in Engineering, an aircraft pilot, and loves partaking in any craft that involves building things.

Gheem ran across her while looking at Joe Barnard's latest adventures at F.A.R (Friends of Amateur Rocketry) in the deserts out west which sparked a new hashtag on the Twitterverse, #HotNozzleSummer.

Xyla was one of the names popping up, and she decided to get her level 2 certification at FAR with a very interesting rocket called "Fifi".

We talk about this build, and her broad background in robotics, rocketry, boats, and craftwork that led to this project.
Her Youtube video of the Fifi build and launch can be seen here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKqrQUHYgrM 

The Oklahoma State University rocket team “The Space Cowboys” join us to talk about their first place placement in the Argonia Cup contest. They talk about their rocket, the payload, and some of their greatest challenges in making it all happen.

Also Bob Brown joins us to talk about The Argonia Cup, The Argonia Kansas rocket club Kloudbusters, and Airfest

The Rocketry show wins an award! We talk about that as well!

Matt Steele has been busy, and Northcoast Rocketry has new kits and more as a result!

Matt joins us to discuss.

We also dive into the mailbag to answer your questions, including a really good question from one of you on the LEUP regulations.

Enjoy!

Steve Taylor, President of ESRA the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association (ESRA) joins us to talk all things Spaceport America Cup.

The IREC event has been going on for over 20 years now, and there is a lot to learn about it!

Tyler Palmer joins us to cover a wide range of topics and interests.   

We all found this session to be fun and informative!

Enjoy!

Loading new motors into Open Rocket tutorial:

https://youtu.be/dsppUGQULJA

Jesse posing with his The Rocketry Show mug.  Patrons of the rocketry show can up their membership level for three months to get this cool piece of swag.   Other items are available at Tee shirts and other items are also available at http://shirts.therocketryshow.com

Gheem's project:

Jesse's Project:

Welcome to Episode 105 of The Rocketry Show!

This time around, we are joined by Tim Van Milligan of Apogee Components!  Tim hangs with us to talk about some new projects from Apogee, including some insights into the direction of RockSim!

We also find time to talk rocket shop too!

In Episode 104, we are joined by Toby Vanderbeek in our second workshop show in the new format!

We talk rockets, and a little about what toby has done with his work on rocketry with his  Vander Burn-rocketry project, including the Vander-burn Estes Goblin fin upgrades. Listen to the episode to find out why you might want those!

The gang talk about their favorite motors, rocket adventures, and CG gives a glimpse into his 2021 flight computer tests, and more!

Joe Barnard joins us to fill us in on his continuing adventures in thrust vector rocketry, including his latest twist: Landing under rocket thrust -- not parachutes!

You can dig deeper into his adventures by visiting his site, BPS.space.

Also:
-Jesse talks about his home paint booth, and the gang talk about what they are up to.

- Listener feedback from the last couple of episodes

- We talk briefly on the sale of Mach1 Rocketry

In this episode, the University of Akron Akronauts high power rocket team traveled to theFriends of Amateur Rocketry (FAR) site for a two staged High Power rocket launch attempt. Unfortunately, they had issues with their second stage, and the flight did not go as planned. They share with us what they learned as of when we recorded this episode.

The Rocketry show team rip into the virtual mailbag to review your emails.
One of the items discussed during our mailbag segment is the website called the “Rocketry Calculator”.
You can find it at https://rocketrycalculator.com/rocketry-calculator

We also remind our audience about the Rocketry Show tee-shirts! You can find them here:

https://shirts.therocketryshow.com

The Rocketry Show gang try a slightly new format for the workshop shows.  We are now inviting fellow rocketeers to the workshop to teach us some of their tips and tricks, and to just talk rockets.

Our first guest is Andrew Kleinhenz, friend to both CG and Gheem, Andrew taught us many of the tricks we have built our rocketry tricks around.   He with us, answers these questions sent to us from listeners of the show!

Shear Pin Questions:

• How do you figure out how many pins you need?
• Any issues with the LOC-high power type cardboard tubing and small size 2-56 or 4-40 plastic screws for shear pins?
• Do you use any reinforcement on the cardboard airframe and components?
• What size do you recommend? Mid Power, to High Power
  • Cardboard and Fiber Glass recommendations for shear pins
• Where to place them? 
• Any math equations or an online calculator?
• Do you test those with ejection charges first?

Marco Polo Tracker

• What actually is that type of tracker?
• Approximate cost?
• Where do you buy it?
• Difficulty of use?
• What is the range of the unit?  (How far away can your rocket be from you and still get data)?
• Advantages of this and disadvantages vs others on the market

Gheem and Andrew on igniters.

• We had some folks today launching some upgraded BT-55 Goblins today… they used those igniters that came with the package…
• What would the Rocketry show gang have used?

The entire Rocketry Show team gather for Episode 100 to look back on some of their fond memories, and talk about their projects, and more!

We are pleased to have Cris Erving, founder of Eggtimer Rocketry  with us on this episode!

We discus the Eggtimer products, and also give lots of tips and tricks to help you figure out how to solder one together!

Some pointers:

1. ) If you’re a beginner, use a 20 watt soldering pencil for best results.  This one from Weller is a nice one:

Fancy temperature controlled irons are nice, but not if you are a soldering newbie!  the wrong temperature settings will either not work well, or can destroy the electronic components you are trying to solder.

2.) Practice soldering things together first.  Cris says go ahead, and use the eggtimer kit for practice.  If that thought makes you nervous, then get one of these surface mount soldering practice kits.

IMPORTANT:  We’d suggest reading your excellent Eggtimer Rocketry kit manual all the way through to get a feel for what you are practicing for!!

3.) To ensure success, use as little solder as possible!  The bigger the blob, the more likely it will flow to another pin, and short out your connections!

4.) Do not overheat.  Some parts can be damaged by having the soldering tip touching them for longer than 30 seconds.  In fact, this is a nice simple video that is pretty good:

Good luck!!

Welcome to episode 98 (TRS-6.98) of the rocketry show!

John Thompson joins us to talk about the NAR Level 2 certification changes that are in effect as of November 2020

The NAR and the Board of Trustees have been working diligently to support the update of the NAR level 2 testing.  It has not been updated since 2012 and quite a lot has changed for the better in the ever-expanding hobby.
- The new 2020 Level 2 Written Exam Study Guide will be available for download from the High-Power Rocketry page on the NAR website starting October 1, 2020.
- The 2020 Level 2 Written Exam Packets for Sections and Certification Teams will be available starting October 15, 2020. Information on obtaining the new packets will be made available before that date.
- The new 2020 Level 2 Written Exam use will start on November 1, 2020.
- Due to the new exam format, a new HPR Certification Application will also be available for download from the High-Power Rocketry page on the NAR website. The new application will also be included with the new exam packets.
- The 2012 & 2017 versions of the Level 2 Written Exam will be valid/accepted if taken on or before October 31, 2020. After that, only the 2020 version will be valid/accepted.
- A member failing the HPR Level 2 exam may now retake another version immediately. If the member fails a second exam, the member must wait a minimum of seven (7) days to attempt the exam again.
- The Level 2 written exam administrator/proctor must now be minimum Level 1 certified.

Who can give certifications?

1. The certification team consists of two individuals who are a minimum of 18 years old and are members in good standing of the NAR. The certification team members must be unrelated to the applicant. Members of Tripoli, unless they are also members of the NAR, cannot participate on a certification team.
2. At least one of the team members must be already certified to a level equal to the certification level being attempted, e.g., a team member must be certified at Level 1 to judge another individual’s Level 1 certification attempt.
3. Level 1 certifications may be administered by a single NAR Level 2 certified individual; the two certified individuals requirement is waived in this case.
4. Certification attempts must be witnessed in person by the certification team. Video recordings of a certification flight are not acceptable.

We also take a couple Listener Questions
- What should I do to prepare for a Level 1 certification attempt?
- What attributes should a field or piece of property have for rocketry considerations?
CG Fills us in on the results of his DEMO-3 flight

Gheem finds a neat product that helped him with his rattle can paint project

The rocketry Show celebrates 6 years of service

Some hints on the upcoming Episode #100

A bit delayed, but here we are!

In this episode, we do a quick review of NARCON 2024, and we give a look behind the curtain to tell you what has been going on...

In this episode, CG talks about how his electronics developments have come along  Specifically, what he learned from the first test flight of Mr. Bean (DEMO-1 mission), and the successful

second launch of Mr. Bean (DEMO-2), where his code & flight computer successfully controlled a flight event!  His journey to his Level 2 certification is under way!  Read the details here.

 CD and Gheem @ “Mission Control”

Jesse’s Level 3 project starts to take shape! 

He gives us some details, though he’s a bit secretive on the details right now!

 Another view of Jesse’s L3 Rocket  Jesse’s tube glassing work on his L3 rocket project

Welcome to episode 6.96!

We are joined by the University of Akron's "Akronauts" rocketry team!

We were joined by the following team members:

Team President - Emily Armbrust
Chief Engineer - Blake Bowser
Former Team President - Mattew Stanko
Treasurer - Olivia Renkel
Former Chief Engineer - Mattew Reppa
Project Manager - Jon Davis

The team formed in 2014, and have been involved in a number of national STEM focused rocket competitions, including NASA Student Launch(USLI), and Spaceport America Cup

They give a fun and detailed overview of what their team is all about, and a couple of their recent competition projects.

You can visit their website for more information at https://akronauts.org/

Here is a listing of the Overall Winners and Awards in the 2020 NASA Student Launch competition:

Overall Winner: Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee
2nd Place: University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina
3rd Place: University of Alabama in Huntsville, Huntsville, Alabama
4th Place: University of Akron, Akron, Ohio
5th Place: North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
6th Place: University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana
7th Place: Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama
8th Place: Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon
9th Place: Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana
10th Place: University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio

Welcome to Episode 6.95!

Gary Rosenfield joins us to talk about new high power rocket offerings from Aerotech, and to talk to us about high power rocketry as well.

He talks about Hamster Dance competition that he has been into lately, and if you're looking for more information on that event, you can look here:
http://www.rimworld.com/tripoligerlach/hamsterdance/about.html

And at their new Facebook Group called Hamster Dance Flyers here:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/690838108136308

After the interview, Jesse and CG talk about their projects.
CG gives more information he has found in his post-test flight of his rocket electronics system, and talks about a spinoff project!

Jesse has evolved his tube glassing techniques, and talks about them, and much more!

Welcome to episode 94 of The Rocketry Show

We’ve been on a roll with great guest interviews lately. The team take a quick break from that this episode to focus more on the results of a few rocketry projects they’ve been working on!

Jesse has been ‘fiberglassing’ a new kit, and building more rockets, but more importantly, recently launched his LOC Precision “Big Nuke”. He tells us all about those, and more!

Jesse’s Big Nuke launch

Gheem has been building a beautiful X-15 kit, and he catches us up on where he is on that, as well as a few more projects.

Gheem's X-15 rocket kit!

On July 25, 2020, CG finally got to test his Radio Telemetry system. 

Launch of CG’s Mr. Bean rocket carrying his radio telemetry system.

Because of all of the “Covid 19 delays, this test ended up being a “full up” test, which means about 5 tests (each would normally have been their own launch)  all happening on one launch.

He’ll share how that went!

We also pull some of your emails from the Mailbag that we didn’t have time to get to on earlier episodes!

Matt Steele joins the show to kick start the first of at least a couple episodes on staging techniques for Model Rockets.

Mr. Steele is a longtime rocketeer, owner of North Coast Rocketry, and is a Professional Rocket Scientist!

We first define ground rules you can follow to ensure the best probability for success. Rules adapted from professional Rocket Engineering Sciences. We think this will help hobby rocketeers a lot. The methods Matt Steele discusses can be applied any new rocketry project or technique.

After laying the ground rules, we jump into the first part of this episode on multi-stage rocketry.

Part two will appear in a few weeks after we have a chance to gather your e-mail questions on the subject.

Later in the show, we share our first peak into new beta firmware being tested for the Flight Sketch altimeter.

Thanks to listener Phil Parslow for suggesting the topic of multiple rocket stage launches!!

Scott Binder joins us to to talk about things at FusionRocket.Biz, and -more importantly- hangs with The Rocketry Show team to talk model rocket stories, and fun memories.

🙂

Later, CG, Gheem, and Jesse talk shop on the projects they are working on!

Enjoy!

Welcome to Episode 91!

Dave Barber and Jason Turicik  join us to talk rockets, and about the latest going on at LOC Precision, a sponsor of the show!

Also, CG talks about the latest with his telemetry project as the first test launch nears!

Pushing the boundaries for student STEM programs, ARLISS is a unique rocketry program where members of the Level 3 High Power Rocket community team up with scientists worldwide along with several student organizations to allow them to design "soda can sized" payloads to launch to near space.  These payloads are typically small electronic instrumentation packages designed to carry out whatever scientific experiments the students wish to perform!

Ken Biba has been involved with the group for many years, and he joins us to discus ARLISS activities and more!

In this episode: CG and Tripoli Northern Ohio http://northernohiotra.com Prefect Chris Pearson discus high power rocketry safety tips to use during prepartion phases before launch. This advice encompasses all of the recent Tripoli recommendations as well.

We get some interesting thoughts & design modifications from a listener on CG's centrifuge tube ejection charges.

CG and Gheem take their first peak at Rocksim 10! https://www.apogeerockets.com/RockSim/RockSim9_Features

As you move into high power rocketry, one of the first things you will deal with will relate to dual deployment & the electronics around it.

We talk about it, and pass along some general advice along with our personal experiences.

Also in this episode:

• The crew discus the Tripoli clarifications around remote electronic switches.
• CG discusses the state of his flight computer / telemetry project
• Gheem finds a very interesting avionics system that has him totally geeked.
• The team discus their favorite (hard wired) power (arming) switches for their flight electronics.
• Jesse discusses his AV bay construction techniques.

Links for this episode:

Jesse talks about this video as a great primer on building avionics bays

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIzJiT4R9tc&feature=youtu.be

On this episode, our guest is Vance Martin, an amateur radio operator who goes under the callsign N3VEM.

Martin became involved in rocketry as a kid in the typical way; seeing model rockets at the local hobby shop, and discovering the hobby with a friend. 

As he moved into middle and high school, he discovered mid and high power rocketry through  online rocketry communities. 

While in college he built a PML 1/4 Scale Patriot rocket to use for his Level One, but was unable to find a nearby club to certify, so his L1 rocket sat collecting dust over the years.   

After college, Vance discovered ham radio, and earned his amateur radio callsign N3VEM, and built  a portable station in his vehicle so that he could play radio while being out and on the road for work. 

As seems to be a pre-requisite for Ham Radio, Vance also became a software and hardware 'tinkerer', so for him, building radio-related projects turned out to be a lot of fun, and is still what he calls his 'primary hobby.'

Vance became a Born-Again-Rocketeer about a year ago, when his two older kids found the Patriot rocket stashed in the corner of the family storage room.  They asked 'What is this!?!'  "...and just like that" says Vance " we started building up a fleet of little Estes kits." 

Vance decided that it would be fun to combine the two hobbies, and start tinkering with radio and electronic payloads for their rockets. "I knew that 'off the shelf' stuff was available, but being a tinkerer, I wanted to build my own." he recalls.  

He continues. "I wanted to target mid-power sized rockets with my projects, since I still live in the same town, and still don't have easy access to a club with a high-power launch site."

Vance enjoys his hobbies, and is having fun, saying "I'm still very much a rocketry noob, but I'm having a blast dabbling around with building the rockets, and hacking around at hardware and software for the rockets' payloads."

Vance's website is :

 https://n3vem.com/blog/RadioRocketV2/

We unveil our new show, The Model Rocket Show. A show that focuses exclusively on Model Rocketry - Specifically, rockets that fly on G impulse motors and smaller. The show is hosted by Daniel, The Rocket N00b.

In this episode, CG and Daniel, the rocket N00b make a major announcement.

Steven Skinner of Mach1Rocketry.Com stops by with some announcements of his own, and talks rocket shop with the team!

In this episode, CG catches everyone up on his projects, introduces or Amazon store where you can easily buy Rocketry Show Tee-Shirts.

We then move to the main topic, and that is all about techniques to fiberglass coat your cardboard airframes to add strength, and provide a wonderful surface to apply your paint & designs.

In this episode, we'll be talking 3D Printing for Rocketry with our special guest, Jeff Kodyz.

Also in this episode,  CG talks about his health scare that took place between the last episode and this one, and the n00b reviews some listener feedback.