Have you ever had more than one igniter failure? I think the most I’ve had is three on one launch. The third igniter was indeed a charm! In keeping with that “wait 60 seconds and try again” theme, this will be the third attempt at launching a club newsletter. And like my third igniter, I expect a good flight of this scratch-built thing this time!

Heads Up - the name of this publication, as suggested by Steve Lubliner (thank you, Steve!) - will be a communication hub for the club. While we have multiple forms of keeping in touch as members of SARA, the newsletter will draw it all together in a fun and exciting manner. Because I do believe the reason why we are all members of a model rocketry club is to have some exciting fun!

Available in your email box and on our website (click on the link at the bottom of this article!) quarterly, Heads Up will feature announcements, calendar items, news pertinent to the club, articles from and about member rocketry projects, a classified section, and general club and safety info that will keep us all flying.

So, let’s get to enjoying this newsletter. And please let me know your feedback at president@sararocketry.org once you’ve done so. This publication is for you, the SARA club member. Producing it for the sake of producing it is a waste of time. Making it yours will make producing it worth the while.

Onward...

MOB

2025 SARA President

Heads Up 1-compressed.pdf

Let NAR Know You’re a SARA Member!

46 of our 98 SARA members are members of the National Association of Rocketry (NAR), and NAR needs your help linking your NAR membership to SARA in their new website. NAR is asking all NAR members to log into the new website and check out the resources there.  But in particular, affiliating your NAR membership with SARA, will help NAR validate our section’s membership for their upcoming audit of its sections nationwide. Please take a minute to link your self to SARA on the NAR website:

• Go to the NAR Website (https://nar.org/) and log into the site using the Member Login link in the upper right
  
  
  
  
  

• There is a form to login, with a link for forgotten username/password that you’ll need your first time.
  
  
  

• Once logged in, mouse over your name in the upper right corner, & click the Profile link.
  
  
  
  
  

• On your "Member Profile" page, scroll down until you see the "More Member Options" near the bottom left.
  
  
  
  
  

• Click on the "Clubs/Additional Members" link, and click the green Add Club icon next to your Primary Member record.
  
  
  
  
  

• Click on the "Select a Club" field, find Arizona in the dropdown list, and then click on the "+" next to your State to see a list of Sections. Scroll down the list and then select Southern Arizona Rocketry Association.
  
  
  
  
  

• Then click the "Save" button to complete the process.

As of late April, 2025, the road conditions on Manville Rd on the way to the Agua Blanca launch site are quite good. Modest 2WD SUVs or pickup trucks should have no problem. Lower clearance sedans or wagons may need to consider carpooling, but the conditions are some of the best we've seen.  The road has new gravel in a number of critical areas that improve driving conditions significantly.  Most of the road is primarily loose sand with decent traction, but it's best to keep moving slowly and steadily. 

You'll see a Rocket Range Ahead sign about 1/4 mile before you reach the Agua Blanca Launch Site. When you reach the launch site, you'll see the activities north of the fence just before the fork in the road. Take the right fork and then proceed through the signed gate, follow the road a short ways till you see the last of the signs into the launch range. Stay to the right on the established tracks to stay clear of the launch pads, and proceed south toward the road to park in the spectator area. 

The Southern Arizona Rocketry Association 2024 Annual Meeting was held on December 14, 2024 at Udall Park. Following is a report of the items discussed, and a roster of SARA's 2025 Board of Directors:

REPORT:

COMMUNICATING WITH MEMBERS WHILE AT LAUNCHES:

• Designate Announcement Coordinator for each launch
• Announcements made at launches for volunteering, STEM Outreach, and attending board meetings 
• • Not the LCO
  • Involve youth
  • Announcement sheet available at each launch

VOLUNTEERING AT LAUNCHES:

• Develop a Volunteer Coordinator position and staff it
• Separate membership status from volunteer roles on event registration
• Make set-up volunteer slots start earlier
• Revisit registration to allow volunteering for multiple roles at a launch 
• Launch queue priority for volunteers, designated with wrist bands
• Volunteer roles better defined on the web site: 
• • Goal: To complete registration for a launch event, registrant must select a volunteer position for the launch
  • Starting point document on Google drive from James

OTHER ITEMS:

• Shorten the safety briefing to 5 minutes
• Secure a Porta-Potty for December launch (MOB asking John C to take care of this)
• Add “Subject to change“ and reasons why to the launch schedule
• Suggestion to shift hot launch months from 8 AM to 7 AM (Not at this time.)
• Need to drive participation of younger members in running the club (under 50)
• Wes Taylor (½ year visitor) volunteering to act as SARA City of Tucson liaison, and SARA Membership Drive coordinator

Board was elected for 2025:

Michael O’Brien President

Matt Christensen Vice President 

Liz Knepp Secretary 

Jeff Black Treasurer 

Steve Lubliner NAR Sr. Section Advisor 

John Carey Tripoli Prefect 

Ken Weaver Member At Large 

Wes Taylor Member At Large 

SARA Newsletter 3rd Qtr 2024.pdf

All the links should work now on this!

As of late April, 2024, the road conditions on Manville Rd on the way to the Agua Blanca launch site are quite good. Modest 2WD SUVs or pickup trucks should have no problem. Lower clearance sedans or wagons may need to consider carpooling, but the conditions are some of the best we've seen.  The roughest part of the drive is the first quarter mile, with the deepest dip immediately west of the Agua Blanca Ranch gate on the way into the Ironwood Forest Access Point Parking Lot.  The western portion of the road is primarily loose sand with decent traction, but it's best to keep moving slowly and steadily. 

You'll see a Rocket Range Ahead sign about 1/4 mile before you reach the Agua Blanca Launch Site. When you reach the launch site, you'll see the activities north of the fence just before the fork in the road. Take the right fork and then proceed through the signed gate, follow the road a short ways till you see the last of the signs into the launch range. Stay to the right on the established tracks to stay clear of the launch pads, and proceed south toward the road to park in the spectator area. 

Thank you to all who helped SARA have an outstanding 2023.
Congratulations to our incoming 2024 board of directors.
They are:

President: Michael O'Brien
Vice President Ken Weaver
Secretary Val Moreno
Treasurer: Jeff Black
Members at Large:
Davin Uurtamo,
Kevin Westfall
Tripoli Prefect: John Carey
NAR Sr. Section Advisor: Steve Lubliner

Ken Weaver
SARA vice president

Members of Southern Arizona Rocketry Association, 

We’d like to inform you that our SARA Club President, James Cramton, submitted his resignation to the board in order to pursue other priorities, effective 5/31/23.

We are very grateful for his many contributions to SARA as he served in this role for the last several years and wish him all the best. 

Per our bylaws we will hold a special club election on a Zoom meeting: Thursday, May 11th, 2023, 7:30 PM.

We are now accepting nominations of individuals to serve as club president in writing.

You may email them to board@sararocketry.org (preferred) or submit them directly to a board member and we will reach out to them to confirm that they accept the nomination.

Additionally, we will accept nominations from the floor during the meeting on the 4th.

Please be aware that for in-meeting nominations, the nominee must be present in order to accept. 

If you have any questions, please reach out to the board at board@sararocketry.org

ZOOM link:

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83157217606?pwd=V0p5V1o4VkZJZHRrRDZJY202clUxQT09

Meeting ID: 831 5721 7606

Passcode: 280166

One tap mobile

+17207072699,,83157217606#,,,,*280166# US (Denver)

+12532158782,,83157217606#,,,,*280166# US (Tacoma)

Respectfully,

Ken Weaver

SARA vice president

SARA is returning to its long history of contest rocketry! Buoyed by a large collection of donated C6-7 motors, SARA is providing motors for our 2022 C6-7 altitude contest!  The gist of the contest is to fly an electronic altimeter in one of 4 common model rockets on a free C6-7 motor. The highest flight wins!  Eligible model rockets include:

Estes Alpha (not the Alpha III)
Quest Astra
BMS School Rocket (BT-50 size)
Rocketry Works Socrates

Material substitutions are permitted, provided the overall profile of the rocket is consistent with the kit parameters--same length, diameter, nose cone profile, etc.  

Prizes include a $25 Rocketry Works gift certificate, plus others TBD. 

The contest will be held at SARA's October launch at the TIMPA site, on the weekend of October 21-23. We'll have a running tally of results throughout the launch. 

Contestants are welcome to borrow an Altus Metrum Micropeak altimeter from Rocketry Works for this event.

The full contest rules are linked below, but the intent of this contest is to be an entry level contest  to build interest for members new to contest flying. Certain arcane contest trickery is explicitly excluded. Let's just go out and have some fun flying models rockets! It's a great way to get kids involved in contest flying, too!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1piJfkiRSYsg0_-pDmmxBeg7QJXxPp0u0/view

SARA President James Cramton completed his Level 3 certification at LDRS 40 at Lucerne Dry Lake in California. James' L3 build is called Window Sticker Mayhem--an extended Madcow Blue Iguana--a 5 inch diameter, 12 foot long fiberglass kit with a camera bay. The flight on an M1400 motor reached an altitude of 7930 ft AGL with a smooth recovery not far from the flight line. James and his son Zachary made the trip to LDRS 40 to complete the flight before Zachary heads off to college this fall.  Full technical details, including flight data and images from the ground and air are available here.

Near apogee looking south toward Big Bear from Lucerne Dry Lake