Guys, these are great ideas, but the problem is staffing those positions. Assuming 2hr shifts, five people are required for one of those positions. Looking at 3 positions (LCO, RSO, Pad MGR) 15 people are needed PER day!

Unless members really step up to the plate to volunteer and commit to a time slot, the club will never have a truly organized, well run launch.

It's up to all of the members to contribute if they can.

Ken.

Ken, what you said is very true and why we've had to duplicate positions in the past. Although it sounds harsh, no one should be allowed to fly without volunteering. While I haven't been the best member the last few years, this may be the only way we can put on a well-staffed launch.

You go up to the RSO tent, rocket in hand. The RSO looks over the rocket and asks any questions as you fill out the flight card. If everything looks good, the RSO signs off on the flight card. You take the rocket, flight card now in hand, to the lines for the pads, where the pad manager takes your flight card and tells you where to put your rocket. The pad manager puts the cards on the appropriate place on the board (or gives them to the LCO and tells the LCO which pad to place them on), and then they are launched.

I certainly don't disagree, but the LCO and RANGE Saftey Officer MUST be in eye contact and not heads down in a tent. He has control of the whole range and must be allowed to view it and be in control. ❓

I disagree. The RSO's primary job is to inspect the rockets prior to flight, and ensure the rocket and motor combination selected is likely to have a safe flight. The LCO is more in control of the range once a rocket has been deemed safe.

Wrong, dude. I waited more than a half an hour after I served my RSO duties, waiting for you to get back from retrieving a rocket. LDRS is not us. We are both.

What do you mean by "we are both"? Do you mean that we are both LCO and RSO? If so, that shouldn't be the case at the larger launches (Mayhem, Oktoberfest). I know that it sometimes is the case at our launches, but it shouldn't be - it would be more efficient to split up the duties with the RSO inspecting and the LCO controlling the range.

(Oh, and I don't recall keeping you waiting, but I do apologize for that whenever it happened).

Chris, despite our respective ages, we are brothers in this hobby, no apologies needed. There are at least three exceptions: those who tow the trailer, vendors, and those who volunteer who don't need to do anymore. "Both" means NAR and TRA, but the Range Safety Officer is in charge of the whole range and can't be held up in a tent. E.g., if I see you with a rocket, I'll glance at it and pass you through. I know your history. Edward wants us to weigh each rocket and give it the once over twice, and that's not wrong, just unrealistic. I've had more trouble with "Estes" kits and flight than anything else. 🙄 😯 I think we're all just trying to get the most out of those who volunteer and require those who don't to step up. OH, and as I learned from Joe, those who do their L3 have the day off! Good luck, Chris... though you've flown an M already. 😉

I'm not convinced that it's unrealistic - as I said, if there were a separate RSO table, the RSO could inspect each rocket as the flyer is filling out a flight card. Two RSOs can easily handle an LDRS-size volume of people, so one should easily be able to handle our comparatively small traffic.

Oh, and thanks for the wish for good luck (and as for the prior M, that's true, I did fly one before. This one's bigger though :D).

I took time to think about this, and you, Tim, and Edward may be right. And, a Rocket SO and Range SO would be best. BUT I think the point of all this is we need a fundamental change in the club philosophy on volunteering. Let me go back a little bit... I joined the club in 2005, then at the club meeting in 2006, we were all yelled at (rightfully so) for not volunteering. I just joined and didn't know what was going on. Now I do, and nothing has changed. There are those who volunteer and always did and always do. They get it. Others don't. THIS MUST CHANGE. And, whatever we do after that is fine. BUT THIS MUST CHANGE, AND IT MUST CHANGE NOW.

I agree. I think the "Range RSO" position could be filled by the LCO reasonably well though, with the "Rocket RSO" position as separate. That would only require 3 simultaneous positions to be filled, which I think is doable.

Oh, and I agree about the volunteering. I will definitely try to do some RSO or LCO duty at Mayhem, it's just difficult to promise when I will be able to given the number of flights I have planned (alphabet + L3).

Chris, and you should be able to fly all those flights. This is also the problem. You should be able to fly as much as you want and still put in at least two hours during the event. No biggie. You nailed it.

I agree, and if I were to guess, I would say Friday afternoon I will be able to do some work, as well as possibly Saturday afternoon. I just don't want to promise when I might not be free at exactly the time I thought.

I will try to get much more volunteering in at Oktoberfest, as well as throughout the summer, but at Mayhem, I have so much planned that I don't want to promise an exact time.

IF I can make MHM and keep some credibility, providing I ever had any, I will go to volunteer at MHM and fly at Oktoberfest. In reverse of you. People can swap times and events, just so everything is covered. Ed always has the signup sheet available at the sign-in table. And, just for some encouragement, perhaps the signup person should ask the people signing in to check the volunteer list and give them the “evil” eye if they don’t. 😈 That is important, because there will come a time, if we all don't step up, to where one volunteers to fly. Period. Since the fire risk has become more real to us, it is important that we maintain control of the range, as best as humanly possible. And, that takes people. The truth is we can all fly our brains and wallets out and still make sure everyone else gets to fly safely. Oh, and TAPS and NAR L3CC's are exempt, too. Since they usually have their hands so full of certs that they get to fly rarely themselves. Joe has taken on the responsibility of providing us and those across the country with motors, as Tim did. Joe has ALWAYS been there, and he still will be, but in a different capacity. Those of us who helped Tim out at one time or another should step up to help Joe so the man can fly. What goes around comes around. Ed, I apologize if I stepped into your area. Just a lot of time on my hands the last few years to think about things, though that should change soon. Just my "rah-rah" moment. 😉

Great news - thanks to everyone for stepping up.

I have posted the updated schedule on the "Volunteer Schedule" section of the NCR website. Hopefully you’ll check it out - remember that you need to have pop-ups enabled to see the schedule.

During the four days of Mayhem we have 39 hours of launch activity. With the sign ups so far, we have 27hrs of LCO covered, 2 hours of RSO covered, 12 hours of pad management, and 9 hours of registration table - plus the trailer towing by the two Kens. While this is far from 100%, it is at least enough to be “go-for-launch” from a volunteer’s perspective.

We will still need people to help and sign up on-site. Tell your friends!

Thanks all.

Ed, It looks good where you have me. I will see about taking another slot once I am up there.