Chapter 22. Rocket Clubs and Contests
Model rocketry is a surprisingly social activity. Whether it’s a couple of friends headed down to the park to fly rockets together, a school class, or a huge national gathering like NARAM, rocket scientists of all ages gather together all the time to share ideas, to share equipment, to share the joy of success, and to learn from each other’s failures. Here are a few of the organizations and larger meets you can consider getting involved with as you explore rocketry.
National Association of Rocketry (NAR)
The oldest and largest organization of model rocket scientists is the National Association of Rocketry, better known as NAR. Founded in 1957, NAR has promoted model rocketry pretty much since its inception. This was the same year Orville Carlisle sent a sample of his prepackaged model rocket motor to Harry Stine, a safety officer at the White Sands Missile Range who was looking for a safe way to introduce people to rocketry. Orville’s patent on the model rocket would not be granted until the following year. Harry Stine went on to write The Handbook of Model Rocketry; he was a cofounder of NAR and one of the founders of the first model rocket company.
Since that time, NAR has sponsored over 50 national meets, established accepted rules for model rocket contests, and promoted safe rocketry through the NAR Safety Codes.
NAR membership includes a subscription to Sport Rocketry magazine, a print publication with six issues each year; a book showing the basics of model rocketry; access to NAR technical reports; and $2,000,000 rocket flight liability insurance. Personally, I think anyone involved in rocketry should be a member of NAR, TRA, or both. You can join NAR via the website.
The Pink Book
One of the cool things NAR has done is to standardize the rules for rocket contests. These rules are used for setting national records for all sorts of events, as well as to guide NAR clubs in setting up their own contests. The rules are in the Pink Book, which you can find at http://www.nar.org/pinkbook.
Rocket contests give you a way to test your own skills and knowledge of rocket science. You are pitting yourself and your rockets against the skills and rockets of others. This can take the form of anything from a friendly meeting in the park to see who can keep their rocket in the air the longest, to an attempt to set a new record for the highest altitude on a C motor.
Here is a sample of some of the categories covered in the 2014 edition of the Pink Book. This gives you an idea of the huge variety of events you might find at a contest:
- Altitude
- The goal of the altitude contest is to gain the highest altitude possible on a given size motor. There are 12 different altitude events for motors with a total impulse ranging from 1/8A to G. Other categories exist for cluster rockets, for achieving a specific altitude, or for combinations of altitude and rocket length.
- Payload
- The payload competition is similar to the altitude competition, but this time the rocket must carry a payload as high into the air as possible. Once again, there are several subcategories based on motor size. There are also three different payloads. One payload is a cylinder of sand about 19 millimeters in diameter and 60–80 mm long, weighing no less than 28 grams. This represents carrying the approximate dimensions of an instrument package. My favorite, though, is the egg loft competition, where each rocket must carry a raw grade A egg, weighing 60±3 grams and no larger than 45 mm in diameter. There is also a variant where the rocket carries two eggs.
- Duration
- There are several events where the goal is to keep a rocket in the air as long as possible. These are divided up by recovery method, including parachute, streamer, helicopter, and three kinds of gliders. Other categories include keeping an egg (or two) aloft, or keeping a rocket aloft for a specific amount of time.
- Craftsmanship
- Building a model rocket is an exacting hobby. Building a model rocket that looks like a real rocket, like the Saturn V that carried American astronauts to the Moon, or the Shenzhou 5 that carried the first Chinese astronaut into space, is even more exacting. Or imagine building a flying replica of the Millennium Falcon from Star Wars. These are the sorts of rockets built for the various craftsmanship competitions. Some of the subcategories are scale, sport scale (where the rocket looks like the original, but is not measured for precision), plastic model conversion, and concept scale (a model of a rocket that never really flew; either fictional, like the Millennium Falcon, or real, like the Boeing X-20 Dyna Soar).
- Miscellaneous
- There are four other competition categories: spot landing, the drag race, radio-controlled gliders, and research & development. Past entries to the research & development category have appeared in this book, both for calculating the center of pressure and for calculating drag.
National Association of Rocketry Annual Meet (NARAM)
NARAM is an annual weeklong gathering of rocket scientists sponsored by NAR. It’s held in a different location each year. There isn’t enough time for all of the competitions in the Pink Book, even in a whole week, but you’ll find several of them. There are lots of rocket vendors there, too. Many people go each year to visit their rocketing friends at the event.
To give you an idea of the scale of NARAM, the 56th annual event, scheduled for July 2014 in Pueblo, Colorado, has 7,000 acres of flying space with two separate flying fields, one for sport launches and one for competitions!
Find out more about NARAM at http://naram.org.
National Sport Launch
NAR sponsors a national sport launch each year, and sponsors a number of smaller sport launches through local member clubs. These sport launches are a great place to meet people with an interest in rocketry. You will be amazed how far they push the hobby!
Visit the NAR website for a list of upcoming launches, including the National Sport Launch and gatherings by NAR member clubs.
World Space Modelling Championships (WSMC)
Competitions and records go beyond the borders of the United States. These competitions are currently held in even years, usually in Europe. NAR organizes the United States team; you can find out more at http://www.nar.org/internats.
Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA)
TRA has been around since 1964, but really came into its own only recently. While both NAR and TRA cover all sizes of model rockets, from those flying with tiny 1/8 A motors all the way up to massive O motors, they do specialize a bit. NAR does a lot more with low-power rockets, like the ones in this book. TRA, on the other hand, concentrates on high-power rocketry. TRA was also instrumental in getting high-power rocketry approved in the United States.
As an illustration of this division, the national records kept by NAR stretch back for years, but stop with the G motor. TRA, on the other hand, maintains a list of TRA records, but the lowest total impulse currently covered is the F motor. TRA also changes its rules as technology changes. The oldest record following the rules that are current as of 2014 was set in 2004.
You can join TRA by filling out the membership form on the organization’s website. Membership includes access to TRA’s private web forum, and $1,000,000 insurance at any TRA-sanctioned launch—essentially, any launch that follows the TRA safety code. See the TRA website for details.
Another difference between NAR and TRA is that TRA sponsors research launches. These launches recognize that in the field of high-power rocketry, there are many advanced rocket scientists who have the skills and facilities to go beyond commercially tested devices. Research launches allow people to build and test their own motors. This does not mean anything goes, though—there are still strict safety requirements. Flying at research launches is also limited to TRA members with a high-power level 2 certification. You can find more information about research launches at the TRA website.
You might see references to commercial launches on the TRA website as well. These aren’t paid launches, just non-research launches (i.e., launches conducted with approved commercial motors and launch techniques). This term is simply a way of distinguishing research launches from non-research launches.
It’s fair to ask which organization you should belong to, if either. You should definitely join one or the other. While you will find people who will strongly encourage you to join whichever organization is their favorite, I would recommend joining NAR if your primary interest is low-power rocketry, and TRA if you are reading this book as a first step toward high-power rocketry.
As for me, I’m a member of both. My high-power certifications are through TRA, but the organizations have a reciprocity agreement, so those certifications can be transferred to NAR.
Large and Dangerous Rocket Ships (LDRS)
The big annual meeting for TRA is LDRS. The location changes from year to year, and the website changes for each yearly event. Find out about the next LDRS by doing a web search for “TRA LDRS.”
This is a very well known event that has been featured on the Science Channel. One of their better-known categories is called Odd Rockets, where people try to make odd things fly. Past entries have included flying outhouses and flying pigs! Search the Web for “LDRS Science Channel” for some fun video clips.
LDRS has some days for commercial launches and some for research launches. Check the schedule in advance if you plan to attend and want to fly.
Badd Ass Load Lifting Suckers (BALLS)
TRA has a second regularly scheduled national event called BALLS.
BALLS is always a research launch. It’s held every year in Black Rock, Nevada. This is where the really big rockets fly! All high-power launches require an FAA clearance. Launches at the local club I belong to have clearances to 9,000 feet, 15,000 feet, or 25,000 feet, depending on which launch site we are using and how high people want to fly. We’re pretty lucky to get clearances like that. The clearance for BALLS 23 in September 2014 is 491,000 feet! That’s literally flying into space, which is usually defined as 100 km high, or about 328,084 feet.
It’s fair to ask why BALLS has such a high altitude limit. After all, the current TRA altitude record for an O motor, the largest allowed high-power rocket motor, is 30,168 feet—a record set by Gerald Meux Jr. at BALLS 22 in 2013. Some rockets combine several large motors to achieve a total impulse greater than O, though. There are also a few individuals and groups who have the knowledge and facilities to build and test motors. Since BALLS is a research launch, it gives them a venue to test their new designs.
You must be a TRA member with at least a level 2 certification to fly at BALLS, and your rocket must use a K or larger motor. Find out more by searching the Web for “BALLS TRA.”
Black Rock, Nevada is a favorite launch site for high-altitude launches year-round. It’s where the Civilian Space Exploration Team (CSXT), led by Ky Michaelson, launched the first amateur rocket into space. Their GoFast rocket was built by about 25 people. Parts arrived from six different states, and were assembled at the launch site. At 11:12 A.M. on May 17, 2004, the rocket started its flight to 72 miles, or 116 kilometers high.
Local Clubs
Local clubs range from informal gatherings to clubs that are sponsored by TRA or NAR. The club I currently belong to is the Albuquerque Rocket Society (ARS). I’ll tell you a little about our club to give you an idea of what you can expect from a well-run local rocket club.
ARS has about 50 members, and one way or another we meet about two dozen times a year. The big events are the launches. Once a month we meet in an open area, a few miles from any structure or regularly traveled road, for a launch. Non-club members are welcome at these launches, although they are limited to flying low-power and mid-power rockets. The club handles obtaining FAA clearances and provides launch facilities. The club owns a trailer packed full of equipment for these launches, including low-power and high-power launchers, a PA system, and a weather station. We typically set up eight low-power pads and three high-power pads. Two of the high-power pads are set up 100 feet from the LCO table, so they can handle rockets with a total impulse up to 1,280 N-s (J class). The third pad is set up at 200 feet for K motors and complex launches. On occasion, you might see a pad set up at 300 feet or 500 feet for even larger rockets, but since we only get FAA clearance to 9,000 or 15,000 feet, depending on need, it’s unusual to see those pads set up for the regular launches.
The club will always have a designated LCO and RSO at these launches. There is almost always someone there who can handle certification launches for both NAR and TRA.
I’ve seen all sorts of rockets flown at this event, from stomp rockets to L motors. Most months you’ll see a couple of nervous people working on a level 1 or level 2 high-power certification, or occasionally a level 3 certification. We’ve hosted Cub Scouts working on merit badges, curious locals, and high-school rocket scientists working on the TARC competition. You will see everything from A to K motors on a typical day in the summer.
The club also meets most months for a business meeting. Well, really it’s to get together and eat, share photos, bring in our latest project, ask questions of more experienced rocket scientists, see demonstrations of new construction techniques, and take level 2 exams…you get the idea. But we do conduct some business, too.
Several times a year we collect at a ranch near the Very Large Array, west of Socorro, New Mexico. This is a fairly isolated spot, so we’re able to get a clearance to 25,000 feet. While you will almost always find a low-power pad or two set up, these ranch launches tend to concentrate on the larger motors. This is where you will find K and L motors, as well as a few composite motors.
These launches are occasionally followed by a second day designated as a TRA research launch.
Your local club will be different, of course. It might be a smaller club just getting started, or a huge organization. However it is set up, though, your local club is a fantastic place to meet other model rocket scientists. You’ll learn quite a lot, and hopefully mentor a few newer rocketeers, too. I highly recommend joining your local rocket club.
Canadian Association of Rocketry (CAR)
Don’t feel left out if you live a bit north of the United States! The Canadian Association of Rocketry is an organization of Canadian model rocket scientists. Like NAR and TRA, CAR has a safety code and certification procedures for high-power rocketry, maintains Canadian records, publishes a magazine, and organizes national launches. See the CAR website to learn more.
Team America Rocketry Challenge (TARC)
While there are lots of model rocket competitions, one deserves special mention. The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) has sponsored an annual contest for high-school students for over 10 years. The Team America Rocketry Challenge uses model rocketry to promote science, technology, engineering, and math education, better known these days by the acronym STEM. The rules change a bit from year to year to keep things fresh.
The rules for the 2013 contest were pretty typical. The goal was to lift two raw eggs to a height of 825 feet, with a total flight time of between 48 and 50 seconds. There were various restrictions on motor size, parachute configuration, and the overall weight of the rocket.
Each rocketry team was made up of 3 to 10 students in grades 7 to 12. Teams could be sponsored and financed by an organization. Each team had an adult sponsor and mentors, often from local rocket clubs. The club I belong to has provided mentors for TARC many times.
The competition starts in September. By the end of March, all qualifying flights must be completed, and the results submitted to the AIA.
The top 100 qualifiers are invited to the final fly-off, held in May near Washington, DC. The top 10 finishers split prizes that include $60,000 in scholarships.
One of the neat things about TARC is that it’s not just about building the rocket. The way the contest is set up encourages the teams to experience engineering the way it’s done in the real world. Sure, this includes a lot of science, math, and engineering, as you would expect, but participants also learn proposal writing (to get grants from sponsors), budgeting, project planning, and team management skills.
See the TARC website for complete rules and entry information.
| School year | Winner |
2013–14 | Creekview High School (Team 1), Canton, GA |
2012–13 | Georgetown 4H, Georgetown, TX |
2011–12 | Madison West High School (Team 1), Madison, WI |
2010–11 | Rockwall-Heath High School (Team 1), Heath, TX |
2009–10 | Penn Manor High School (Team 1), Millersville, PA |
2008–09 | Madison West High School (Team 3), Madison, WI |
2007–08 | Enloe High School (Team 2), Raleigh, NC |
2006–07 | Newark Memorial High School, Newark, CA |
2005–06 | Statesville Christian School, Statesville, NC |
2004–05 | Dakota County 4-H Federation, Farmington, MN |
2003–04 | Penn Manor High School, Millersville, PA |
2002–03 | Boonsboro High School, Boonsboro, MD |