CONTEST EMAIL ARCHIVES

Date: 01/22/2007

Subject: Week 10 & 11 Update!

Teams: Many of you have been writing with questions concerning the Handbook, software, and altimeter. Please make sure you and all members of your team have thoroughly read your Registration Confirmation Email. The Handbook is available to download on www.rocketcontest.org, and Steps 7 & 8 of your Registration Confirmation Email contain the ordering information for the software and altimeter. If you have not already ordered your software or altimeter, you need to do so ASAP so that your team will be able to complete a qualification flight by early April!

By now, your team should have completed the following:

• Design and build the electrical launch system and the launch pad (rod or rail) to be used with your TARC entry, if you do not have a local rocket club's system available for your use 
• Begin construction of your initial design for your TARC entry
• Locate a NAR Senior (adult) member who can serve as your official observer for your qualification flight(s)

For the next two weeks your team should be working on the tasks below with the goal of completing an initial test flight by FEB. 1st!

WEEK 10 

• Develop a pre-flight checklist for your TARC flight and assign responsibility for each of the duties to a member of the flight team 
• Test your launch system by test-firing igniters without installing them in rocket motors

WEEK 11 

• Weigh your completed TARC rocket and re-run computer flight simulations with actual rocket weights 
• If your rocket weighs over 1 pound, locate the appropriate FAA flight control office to notify of your planned launch (see the Team Handbook), unless you are flying with an NAR club that already does this for their launches

Finally, if you are still looking for a NAR mentor in your area, please see the link below for a list of mentors by state. Please note, you do not have to use a mentor in your own state! If there is a mentor in another state that is closer, feel free to contact the out-of-state mentor.

http://www.aia-aerospace.org/aianews/features/team_america/pdf/tarc07_mentors.pdf

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