The newsletters were mailed out today; I don't think I have up to date mailing addresses for all members so if you don't get one in the mail by Tuesday, email me with your address & I will send you a copy.

FSA-TWP’s annual Regional High-Power Launch is set to go! If you only make it to one launch this year, this is the one you don’t want to miss. On-site vendors will include Magnum Rockets Hobbies & More Inc. , Aerospace Speciality Products , NEW HORIZONS HOBBIES and Rocketry Zone. Pre-registration will continue through Jan 22. Contact Bruce Kilby (bkilby@bellsouth.net, 561-844-5988) for pre-registration information. Flight fee is $20 which covers both days and includes three raffle tickets.

A planning meeting & club officer elections will be held at Rick Boyette’s house on Saturday, January 17 from noon til 3 pm., with burgers & hotdogs & beer all around! Please e-mail Rick at RoketRik@aol.com for details & directions if you’re planning to attend.

For those of you that have wondered what NAR contest flying is all about, here’s your chance to find out! Take a break from high-power flying and test your skills at the Florida WinterNats Regional Contest

Four duration events will be held: 1/2A Helicopter (1/2A HD), B Eggloft (B ELD), A Boost-Glide (A B/G) and B Rocket Glide (B R/G). These events are among the ones that will be included at the National Championships (NARAM) this summer. Contest flying will take place both days.

Participants must be NAR members in good standing and must build the model (RTF’s are not allowed). Motors must be NAR Contest certified (most available motors are). Rockets must properly deploy the recovery system and descend in one piece (no broken shock cords or ejected motors— a broken fin is ok). Boost-gliders can drop the boost portion of the model. Two models and two flights are permitted for each event. Contestant must successfully recover & return one flight in order to place; flights must be recovered for ELD and the eggs unbroken for the flight to count. Timing starts from first motion until touchdown or loss of sight by timers.

For the egglofting event, the best of two flight times (in seconds) is the score. For the other three events, the two flight times are summed. For more information, please contact David Fitch at EZ2CDave@aol.com and he will fill you in on the details.

On Sunday, February 29 we will host SmokeRise. The full-scale Nike Smoke will be flown with a Derek Deville P motor. Click here to see the online flyer. The PDF version can be e-mailed to you, just drop me an e-mail.

YOU GOTTA BE NUTS to go someplace even hotter than South Florida just to fly rockets! But, when it’s LDRS, well, you grab a floppy hat & several gallons of Gatorade and make the trek west to Argonia, Kansas. Several Florida rocketeers did just that, including the Big Daddy & Nike-Smoke teams, along with motor supplier Dennis Welch of New Horizons Hobbies and last-minute team addition (and “official photographer & rocket cleaner” ) Rick Boyette. The FirstTV television production crew was on hand filming footage for the three-part Rocketry Challenge program, which recently aired on Discovery TV.

It was BRUTALLY hot (110 in the shade, of which there was none!) but rocketeers are a hardy crew & the trip was well worth it. Next year’s LDRS will be held in Geneseo, which is located in western New York, on July 1-6 2004. For information, visit the LDRS-23 website at www.ldrs23.org

See the hardcopy version of the newsletter for LDRS photos. Check the latest issue of Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine for a feature article about LDRS-22.

The “October Skies” NAR contest had to be rescheduled to the November 22 launch due to blustery winds that just wouldn’t let up. It was also quite windy for the rescheduled meet, but we were able to fly the events. The B Boost-gliders seemed to suffer the most; with weathercocking & long drifts making things interesting. D Eggloft models fared the best, with most landing well within the field. The A Parachute & D Streamer birds tended to fly a very long ways downrange but the ones that were not lost to sight were eventually recovered. Contestant Pat McCarthy noted, “I don’t think I’ve ever been to a meet in Florida that didn’t have heat, cold, wind or rain!”

Joel Johns years-in-the-making Level 3 project finally got airborne during the August launch. The rocket had a live on-board hi-resolution video camera, and the footage was truly incredible— looking just like those cool NASA feeds from the Delta rockets flown at the Cape. The upscaled Estes Yellow Jacket was originally designed to fly on an Aerotech M1419, but motor unavailability prompted the switch to the hybrid system. The vent tube for the nitrous seemed to have some sort of blockage, making it hard to ascertain whether the tank was full. As a result, the tank was somewhat underfilled and the altitude achieved was less than predicted, but it was a picture-perfect flight. Congratulations on a successful Level 3 cert, Joel!

Mark Pieniazek’s half-scale Nike-Smoke project was not as fortunate. The rocket boosted perfectly straight under the thrust of an Aerotech M1375, but was traveling too rapidly when the parachute deployed, thus zippering the tube. The rocket landed deep in the canefield but Rick Boyette was able to track it down. All components were recovered but the rocket was too damaged to fly without a major rebuilding effort. Still, we hope to see Mark try again soon!

2004 FSA-TWP CALENDAR

LAUNCHES: Regular club launches are on the last Saturday of each month at ROTH FARMS SOD FARM on Highway 880, except during certain holidays. See "Events" listings below. 15,000' waiver, 10 am to 6 pm, motor sizes 1/4A through M. Club is NAR- and Tripoli-sanctioned & insured.

Directions: From West Palm Beach & points N & S: I-95 or Florida Turnpike to Southern Blvd (SR 80), west to Highway 880 at 20 Mile Bend (approx 4 miles west of Lion Country Safari). Turn left, go across the green trestle bridge and continue on about 6 miles to entrance. Look for the ROTH FARMS sign on the left (south) side. From Ft. Myers, I-75 to LaBelle exit #25 (SR 80/Palm Beach Blvd), east through LaBelle to 4-lane highway, bear to right towards Clewiston. Continue on SR 80 through South Bay (watch for the left turn!) and Belle Glade; look for the junction of Highway 880. Turn right on 880 and go about 15 miles to Roth Farms (sign will be on your right).

Events: Jan 24-25—Fla WinterNats/Gator 9, Feb 28, Feb 29-SmokeRise EX, Mar 27, Apr 24, May 29, June 26, July 31, Aug 28, Sep 25, Oct 30, Nov 20 (third Sat), Dec 18 (third Sat)

Websites: Florida Spacemodeling Association/Tripoli West Palm— http://members.tripod.com/fsatwp2001/index.htm

Other clubs: Tripoli South Florida - High-power (H and above) with waivers up to 20,000' are held at the Florida City site, 22200 SW 384 St. Contact Derek Deville at 305-667-6446; e-mail ddeville@ddeville.com. - www.tripoli-sofla.org

Florida Gulf Coast Tripoli - Lo & Hi-power, 15000' waiver, LaBelle Middle School. 3rd Sat of each month on CR29; email Harold Sasloe at Harsas@aol.com www.fgctripoli.homestead.com

Tampa/Hillsborough Organization of Rocketry (THOR) - low power launches on the third Saturday of each month, near USF/Busch Gardens in north Tampa http://www.modelrocketry.cjb.net. For info, email Brent Wynn at bwynn@surfbest.net