Wheatridge Clinic- April 21st and 22nd (lead- Dave)
Ft. Collins Clinic- firm date?
Cheyenne- Saturday, May 19th (lead Dave)-I have emailed them with a couple of questions/ haven't heard back yet

Not firm on Ft. Collins yet. Hopefully will know by Wednesday. I still have to get the launch site confirmed also. Trying to get Fossil Creek H.S. Should give us close to 1200' in all directions, so small motors will work even in the wind. I am also working on a release form that will absolve NCR, Hobby Lobby (or who ever the sponsor is), the Poudre School District, along with the individuals leading this, from all responsibility and liability, as long as we are doing what we are trained to do and do not go outside that envelope. Just might be important! Still asking if anyone else care to join in the fun and give to youth?

I'll take on the Powerpoint, but i need way more pictures and video's. I have videos of my own H through K stuff flying, but the video quality is real bad on most of them. (smartphone cam).

Wish I had the LDRS video's even though it would probably be against some copyright to play them at an event like this.

If anyone in the club has some good video's can you email the link in a PM or if you want to send a file, drop me a PM and I pass you an email to send them to.

Wonder if we will have internet access at the event.... Youtube has some good ones.

Kevin

I'll take on the Powerpoint, but i need way more pictures and video's. I have videos of my own H through K stuff flying, but the video quality is real bad on most of them. (smartphone cam).

Wish I had the LDRS video's even though it would probably be against some copyright to play them at an event like this.

If anyone in the club has some good video's can you email the link in a PM or if you want to send a file, drop me a PM and I pass you an email to send them to.

Wonder if we will have internet access at the event.... Youtube has some good ones.

Kevin

NCR had a great video out back in '04, the Delta II was on it .. Joe? is that available for these guys to use?

I asked the question about internet connections at the Cheyenne event. I haven't heard back yet.

I like the idea of having a Release of Liability on this. Thanks for going in that direction Bear.

Updates on dates! I talked with Hobby Lobby and the manager is all for it, but the weekend I want to do it, April 28, is already scheduled with a Bob Ross painting class. They have the 1st weekend in May (Pawnee Open Launch) Mother's day weekend, and MHM weekend available. So I do not think so. I have tried Hobby Town, but I have not been able to talk to Gary, the owner, who happens to also own Westminster and Longmont, besides Fort Collins and two other stores. I will try again tomorrow (Thursday). I am also working with the Poudre School Board to see if we can launch at a high school and not get arrested for tresspassing. Hobby Town may be better than Hobby Lobby in that the class room at Hobby Lobby would only seat about 15 people. If half are parents, then we could only have 7 school age kids. May be we can do more at the Hobby Town. This could also be a way to be able to do more classes, say at all of the Hobby Towns, if we were up to it. I'll report more as I learn of it. Still working on waiver of liability and will be deciding on what kits we will be willing to build. They could be different almost ready to fly as long as the assembly steps are virtually the same in order of construction. Class would probably start at 10 am, when they open. Try to be done by noon, and again on Sunday. Of course other club members might want to come launch as long as we stay with "G"s and below, and keep it on launch rods to keep the equipment simple. Give the kids and parents a thrill and motivate them to want to do more. I also think the students have to RSVP, and the entry fee is the receipt that shows they bought their rocket and motors at Hobby Town. I am also thinking the children need to be at least 8 years old, may be 10, as a minimum age. Also I will research to see what tools and supplies will be needed so they will be ready to build, because I know we and Hobby Town will not be supplying it. Any comments?

when I spoke to the manager of Hobbytown in Wheatridge/Arvada, he says that he will have plenty of space. By April, their location is scheduled to have next door (are you ready????)-- an indoor rc flying center! Edward the manager didn't seem to think we could "overfill" the place. My class and their parents have agreed and are ready to step up and help with the construction. I have about 6 kids or so who can build and build correctly.

Dave and Kevin, and anybody else who wants to be inovlved: If we could build the rockets in 2 hours, (say everybody gets to buy an Estes Alpha III, and three motors, say an A8-3, B6-4, and a C6-5; could we build the rockets in less than two hours, go to the launch site and fly the rockets for a couple more hours so that it is all done in about 5 hours on a Saturday? (One day only?!) The Alpha III has a plastic fin can and nose cone, so we are building the motor mount, attaching a shock cord, maybe building a chute, attaching the fins and the decal, placing a name of the owner on the outside so things don't get mixed up, (so we are teaching them about following instructions, reading, taking what they have read and putting it into motion, checking their work) then going to the launch site, teaching them how to install a motor, prep a rocket, place an ignitor, and then fly the birds 3 times each, could we get that done in 5 hours?

the five hours in one day is preferable to me rather than making it a two day affair. The ride from Hobbytown Arvada to the park where it is allowed is less than ten minutes.

should we do that?

I think that would be more favorable, getting it all done in one day, and as quickly as possible. If we can light the fire in them, (and the parents so they either get involved themselves or support and encourage their children), all involved will come out ahead. If both events are located at Hobby Town, although different locations and dates, we can make one flyer advertising both. If the students are limited to one rocket, the Alpha III, then we can expedite building, and eliminate a lot of variables, get in and get out, and not strain the attention span of the students. If we could get Hobby Town to open an hour early, we could start earlier and not use up as much of a valuable Saturday. Those are my thoughts, looking for others.

I just got off the phone with Gary, who owns the Hobby Towns in Cheyenne, Cenntennial, Fort Collins, Arvada, and Longmont. He said yes to having the building class in Fort Collins on April 28. I told him of the plans, as I have discussed in previous posts and he was agreeable to the whole thing. He would consider doing this in all of his stores depending on the outcome of these events. I will continue to look for a place to fly and pin that down. I will continue to work on the waiver of liability, and if anyone wants to help on the flyers, that would be great. Thinking of Alpha III's and the motors, when you add glue, sandpaper, etc. and thinking of printing costs, if we could get everything for $20.00 or under, we would be really well off. I asked him about opening the store early on a Saturday morning so we could get going before 10 am and he said that would be no problem in Fort Collins. Am I missing anything here?

The one day build thing is a good idea. We could actually run in parallel if we wanted to. As kids finish their rockets, they could drive right over to the launch and fly em. My daughter and I could probably run the launch while some people run the build. I have the controller ready and should have the launcher ready with 8 rods by then. I'll figure out some way to to queue them up.

I have done launches such as this at schools before even here in Boulder county which is now against the county laws here(Didn't know at the time). The police showed up once just to make sure we were being safe. We had a person in a nearby house who thought we were launching bottle rockets. I did get gently nudged out of the boulder county fairgrounds last time by a ranger. Anyway, I would say get permission from the school, I don't know what the laws are north and south of Longmont. The main problem is that the authorities don't seem to know either so I am always confused who to check with. Does anyone know where we get the actual rules by county? It would be nice to have rules in hand.

My own opinion is that the law enforcement officer (LEO) will not know the codes. He will know that fireworks are illegal and so if you allow him to take that position, you have lost your argument. You have to teach him/her that these are not fireworks but educational toys. If you have the section of the National Fire Code that we are covered under along with you and documentation of the safety, printing articles that you find on the internet, you can win the argument before it gets started. Ideally, you talk to the local fire marshall, get a letter from him, and even have a fire truck as a professional observation team at the launch, you will have it made. It can backfire though, so you need to interview the fire marshal before you say too much. I know in talking with the sheriff here in Larimer County and with a number of deputies, they have no problems with model rockets. Education of the LEO is important also.

We will also need to figure out how many we can teach at one time. I am going to go to the Hobby Town here in Fort Collins to see how much space we will have to work with, check on tables and chairs, lighting, room for a screen and projector, etc., and figure out how many we can have at one time. The poster will state that seating is limited so sign up before the class fills up. I am going to try to know everything that is necessary long before the appointed Saturday morning, so that it goes smoothly, the hic-ups are limited to minor events, and work to make this a very positive memorable occasion so that we can do this again, many times if we desire, and if it is positive for our hosts also. I am also going to try to get newspaper announcements and reporters present so that it hits the news and gets more people involved. A lot of work and details, but those details make the difference.

Our school launched at Robby Ferrifino Park (Arvada City Park) several times now. I had to contact the city, who didn't know their were codes, talked with the Fire Marshall, (who had to get back to me after he looked up the codes). It is the only launch site within Arvada that Allows launching. Fire Marshall wound up being ok with up to D motors. Last Spring, I invited the fire department out; they sent a truck and crew, kids had a great time. The crew provided two judges for our myriad of contests. The field is shaped like an isosceles triangle and surrounded by houses. Perfect weather would be light westerly winds. We encountered no unfriendlies even though several rockets went into yards.

There is also just south of CO 72 on CO 93 the RC airport area, which is where the Boy Scouts do their launches. That place offers more room, but is farther away.

Jefferson County is like Boulder County; very few places that allow rocketry, but most LEOs don't have a clue.

I have bought a couple of Alpha III's and I am going to get my 11 year old grandson to build one in my presence so I can get an idea of how this will go. Then I will have a better idea of how fast we can build and then go fly. I am talking with the school district about a junior high school 3 blocks away that should be big enough for this. I checked out the room at the Hobby Town and there should be room for about 50-60 people. They only have 7 rectangular tables and virtually no chairs, so I have been working on another line and it looks like I might be able to get all the chairs and tables that I will need from my church. This room has an outside access and I am told there will be no issues with people coming in from that entrance and we could start the class at 8 am. Maybe be flying by 10:30. The whole thing might be done by 1pm. Now I am working on flyers. If Joe is reading, are there any objections to saying Sponsored by Northern Colorado Rocketry Club, and then giving the webpage address?If we can find one good design for the flyer, it can mention both of the classes at Hobby Town and then mention the May 5th launch and the MHM. I am goign to get some printed up so I can get them into the hands of science teachers and anyplace else I can put the flyers up. The flyer will also say RSVP, $20 per child, at least one parent must be present, and then when the register, they have to sign the release waiver. Have I forgotten anything?