Farm Closed For The Season

Unfortunately, the farm is closed until the fall. With all the limitations at the field right now, it makes it pretty much impossible to have a launch.

Good news is we have the SCIPower launch in Orangeburg coming up quickly.

More good news, November will be here before you know it!

More from Doc...  I just wanted to add some links to area clubs if you're looking for other places to fly...

Northern Virginia Association of Rocketry

South East Virginia Rocketry Association

Central Virginia Tripoli #25

Orangeburg, SC

Southern Area Rocketry in GA (SoAR)

As well as Sci-Power in Orangeburg, SEVRA in VA is having Beach Blast over the 4th of July holidays as well. More info is HERE

dr

NOT 14/15th, 21st & 22nd, my bad...

Well I'm not sure how we got this far into the seson and everyone (including me) missed that I had the date wrong in the schedule, and it's really supposed to be the 21st & 22nd.

That said, Ralph has spoken with Kip Tuesday night and the crop situation sounds like it's fairly dire, with only a small portion of the space usable, and that's right up near the house.

We're going to try and decide if it's worth doing an LP launch, given the small area we'd have to work with.

Please stay tuned...

dr

June 14th-15th

We're not sure about this weekend's proposed launch due to the crop situation... we're trying to get an update from Ralph & Kip.

Thanks, keep an eye out for an update.

dr

Short notice, but May 31st launch in VA

This, from former ROCC member Bob Schomer:

"Hi Ralph, Mike, Giovanni and Chuck,

 I am not as plugged in to the VA/NC rocketry community as I would like to be and I would like to invite you to a launch this coming weekend.  Originally this was planned as a 2 day Tripoli Commercial launch, but I'm not sure we have the numbers to justify a two day launch, but I am willing to do that if it make a difference to fliers coming from farther away.

 Our launch site is a good size with waivers to 9,000 AGL.  I would strongly recommend dual deployment for anything over 4K and need to have the right conditions for anything over about 6k.  Wildman VA Kevin Dunn will be there on Saturday and preorders are encouraged.  The field is decent, with hills and a fair amount of flat ground with a good size clearing of about 3,000 by 4,000 feet with only about 5% trees and then about 30-60% trees further out.  There is the New river to the south about 4,000 feet away from our main launch site.

 If anyone has any questions about our launch site or our launch you can refer them to our website (nrvr.org) or send them my email address.  Our hopes are to have monthly launches throughout the year.  We are also looking at a potential site that's almost 1 mile by 3/4 mile with no trees and is flat as a pool table near Wytheville VA, but that won't happen for a while still.

Thanks

 Bob Schoner

TRA #143, New River Valley Rocketry "

So, if you're icthin' to fly and want a pleasant drive up into VA, then head on up!  dr

April launch spectacular... report

Or is it the spectacular April launch spectacular report... I can't say, but here it is. We may have lost the May launch due to the wheat crops, but to tide you over for a bit here's Roy's report on the April launch festivities, and boy, it was a doozy! dr

Click to read more ...

May Launch Cancelled

Just got an update from Ralph/Kip, grain is heading out, meaning we can't fly till it is done. So it's possible we might be able to launch in June. Please keep checking back for updates.

John

ISS HD Earth View up and running on Ustream

OK, imagine that you're NASA, and every time you want to put a camera into space you have to get it custom made at a cost of hundreds of thousands of dollars. Yet today, off-the-shelf HD cameras are available that might do the job for just hundreds, or maybe thousands of dollars, orders of magnitude cheaper. 

That's what the new HD Earth Viewing experiment, delivered to the ISS just a few weeks ago on the last Dragon supply mission, aims to test. Can a consumer off-the-shelf (COTS) camera survive and thrive against the harshness of the space environment. There's 4 cameras, from manufacturers like Panasonic, Sony, and Hitachi, enclosed in a box with a camera facing in all 4 directions. There's some more details on NASA's site HERE, a great info graphic HERE, and more info HERE on Universe Today.

You can watch it live, 24-7, on Ustream at this LINK.

It's also a great way to unwind by the way, and you really get a sense of just how fast traveling at 18,000 mph really is. 

dr

April 26th & 27th Thanks

What a weekend! We had one of the best weekends in a long while for rocketry, a camp-out, a night launch, a swap and shop (kind of, I hope that went as well as I think it did)...  just, well, WOW. Let me be the first to say thanks to all the folks that pitched in and made it happen and also came out to enjoy it.

Doc R.

April 27th update

Hey folks...  what a GREAT DAY we had on Saturday!! Absolutely beautiful flying conditions and a really good, albeit windy at about 1000', night launch.

Here's the bit you need to know... Sunday looks to be another georgeous day, and it may, if the wheat keeps shooting up like it is, be the last full-field day for a while. The wheat is about a foot to 18" tall through most of what we call the north fields, and it's already tough to find things in it, and I'm talking some fairly big rockets.

So come on out and FLY darn it!!    Doc R.

April 26th & 27th - Launch - Swamp Meet - Night Launch - Campout

When: April 26 & 27, 2014

Where:   The Williams Farm. See Web Site for directions if you are new.

Set up Time:  9:45 am - We need Volunteers! 

Launch ends:   Approximately around 6:00 PM so we have some light to close up.      

Remember that this is a working farm, so dress accordingly, sturdy shoes and suggest you dress in layers so you can take layers off and on as the temperature changes.

LCO/RSO Rules

1. The RSO will be required to be Level 2 minimum, ROCC member, and a NAR/Tripoli member. The same person can volunteer to RSO/LCO in a given time slot, as long as they meet the RSO requirements.

2. The LCO will be required to be Level 1 minimum, ROCC member, and a NAR/Tripoli member.

3. Rockets that will be required to be inspected by the RSO:
   a. Any rocket flying on an E motor or above.
   b. Any rocket using more than one motor, either clustered or multi stage.
   c. Any rocket weighing more than 1 pound.

4. Groups that come out to launch will have a Level 2 member assigned to them to make sure all rules are being followed.

Duty signups sheet will be at the front table for RSO/LCO. If you’re a Level 2, we need you to volunteer!!!!

Events:

Swamp Meet - bring stuff to sell that you no longer need!

Saturday Night Launch, including high power. See rules on this site for the night launch. http://www.rocketrycarolina.org/contest-info/

Saturday Night Campout!

* Ken will be onsite for both days! 

ADDITIONAL, RE Night launch:

I have set the NOTAM to close at 5:00 PM on Saturday, so that we can all get a break for dinner and set up for the night launch. The night NOTAM opens at 8 PM and goes till 9:30.

Remember to follow the guidelines set forth in the night launch pdf, which you can download from the contest rules link in the sidebar.

Basic guidelines, all flights are to be I impulse or below, the rocket must be illuminated at all times while in flight and we strongly suggest a back-up lighting system.

There will be a dual check-in system for RSO. All rockets must be preflighted during the day Saturday, and you will receive a special flight card. On going to the pad, you will need to bring that flight card with the first approval to the RSO table to be checked in before you go to the pads. Your flight will be approved for a rocket & engine combo that will be checked for the 1,500' wavier complience.

I will have a table set up for the night flights during Saturdays flight day and we can answer any last minute questions. Feel free to shoot me an email if you have a big concern and I'll try and get you an answer by the end of the day Friday.

Thanks, Doc R.