OROC Members, Below are the meeting minutes for the July meeting at Giovanni's Restaurant on Thursday, July1. Gary Goncher OROC Secretary -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Oregon Rocketry July Meeting Minutes Giovanni’s Restaurant, July 1, 2010 The meeting was called to order at 7:35 PM by Gary Goncher. Officers present: Gary Goncher and Tim Ryerse. Summer Skies Launch Report A total of 290 flights were flown at the Spring Thunder launch in Brothers June 25-27: 36 on Friday, 157 on Saturday, and 97 on Sunday. This was a considerable improvement over the 95 rockets that were flown at the May launch! The difference was the weather – blue skies all three days, not much wind, and 85 degree temperatures. This was one of the best weekends for flying in Brothers in years, and there were plenty of high power to take advantage of the conditions. Motor tallies were as follows: low power (A-D) 111, mid-power (E-G) 61, and high power (H-N) 117. Six L-motors, six M-motors, and one N-motor were flown over the three days of the June launch. A total of 18 new certifications were achieved at the launch: 7 x level 1, 9 x level 2, and 2 x level 3 – this may be a record for a single launch. Welcome all to high power rocketry! Fred Azinger noted that the P.A. system was not very audible at the end of the flight line at the June launch. The club will look into upgrading the P.A. system this summer. Desert Heat Launch Preparation The Desert Heat launch will be held July 9-11 – that’s only two weeks away. As usual Friday will be a research day, and Saturday and Sunday will be commercial motors only. Gary Harris has agreed to head a group that will inspect launch wires for both high and low power pads on Friday and replace alligator clips as necessary to keep ground support equipment functioning well. Help at Launches There were some new volunteers at the June launch for LCO duty that helped keep things operating smoothly in spite of the large number on launches that took place. Thanks for the help! We will continue to have flier’s meetings in the morning both Saturday and Sunday at the high power launches to encourage participation in RSO and LCO duties at launches. If you would like to help, come to the meetings and find out how you can learn the responsibilities of these positions. It is important to share the work so that everyone has an opportunity to fly rockets. Rocket Safety Presentation Ken McGoffin gave an excellent presentation on amateur rocketry safety. He gave a brief history of amateur rocketry, discussing the excellent reputation that serious amateur rocketry achieved in the late forties and early fifties. This good reputation all but disappeared in the late fifties when many people with not much knowledge participated in rocketry following the Sputnik launch and many accidents ensued, including a few deaths. It is incumbent upon all of us to preserve the good reputation that amateur rocketry has achieved since then, and preserve the climate we have now for relatively unrestricted participation in the hobby. There are two safety principles to keep in mind: 1) minimize the risk of accidents occurring by knowing what you are doing and following appropriate procedures, and 2) minimize the severity of potential accidents by thinking about what you are doing. Safety is particularly necessary when dealing with sensitive materials such as the BP used for ejection charges. Let’s all follow safe procedures and keep launches enjoyable for participants and spectators. Treasurer’s Report Yvonne Moscoe was not present at the July meeting, so there was no update on club finances. A total of $800 was received at the June launch from new memberships (14), daily launch fees, and hat and shirt sales. The meeting was adjourned at 8:45 PM. Gary Goncher, Oregon Rocketry Secretary Please send any additions or corrections to the minutes to ggoncher@verizon.net