CONTEST EMAIL ARCHIVES

Date: 01/28/2008

Subject: TARC Update and NAR Membership

Teams,

Hope you are having a great week!  Just wanted to let you know that you should be working on the tasks below so that you can complete a test-flight by the first of February: 

WEEK 8 & 9

• Design and build (or purchase) 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), if you do not already have an NAR Mentor who will do this.

Week 10 & 11

• 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
• 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 Appendix 5), unless you are flying with an NAR club that already does this for their launches

We encourage you to connect with a mentor from NAR.  There are volunteers all over the country willing to help your team succeed.  You can find a list of mentors in your state here:  http://www.nar.org/NARseclist.php

If your team is unable to locate a member nearby, it is OK to have an impartial adult, i.e. someone who is not related to any member of the team and not a paid employee of the team's sponsoring school or member of the team’s sponsoring non-profit organization, become a NAR member in order to be an observer.  NAR membership can be ordered online and is effective the day it is ordered. 

Below are some of the benefits of joining NAR: 

The National Association of Rocketry (NAR) is the "rocket flier" half of the NAR-Aerospace Industries Association team that runs the Team America Rocketry Challenge.  The NAR is largest and oldest organization for rocketry hobbyists in the world.  All of the official adult mentors that assist TARC teams around the U.S., and all of the range crew that runs the TARC finals in May, are volunteer members of the NAR -- people who do rocketry because they enjoy it.  While the teachers and students who participate in TARC are not required to be members of the NAR, there are many benefits available for those who do become members. NAR membership is available here:  http://www.aia-aerospace.org/tarc/pdf/nar_app.pdf.  Please be sure to visit www.nar.org for more information.

 

For Everyone.  Membership in the NAR includes a subscription to Sport Rocketry magazine, a 48-page full-color bi-monthly magazine filled with articles about rocket flying and how to build rockets.  This magazine has extensive coverage of the TARC finals each year.  All new NAR members also get a copy of the 60-page "NAR Member Guidebook", a concise how-to-do-it handbook on every aspect of the hobby.  NAR membership includes $1 million (per event) personal liability insurance coverage for the consequences of the member's rocket-flying activities as long as these flights are conducted in accordance with the NAR Safety Code. 

 

For Students.  The NAR awards several annual $500 scholarships to students who are NAR members in good standing between the ages of 17 and 22, and who are planning to attend, or are currently enrolled in, a college, university or technical school.  Applications are available on the NAR website at www.nar.org/teacher.html.  The NAR also holds and annual rocketry Research and Development competition for its members at its national meet, with cash prizes of up to $1000 for the winners in the youth (ages 14 to 18) age division.  Check the website www.naram.org for information on the NAR Annual Meet where this R&D competition is held.  This year the Annual Meet will be at Great Meadow, the site of the TARC Finals, the last week of July.  Click here for more info:  http://www.aia-aerospace.org/tarc/pdf/naram-50.pdf

 

For Teachers.  The NAR provides several annual $500 "Robert L. Cannon Grants" to those teachers who are NAR members and who have the best proposals for using rocketry in education.  Applications for these can be found here:  http://www.aia-aerospace.org/tarc/pdf/nar_programs.pdf, along with substantial other educational reference resources, on their website at www.nar.org/teacher.html.  The NAR also offers an educational resource CD-ROM free in exchange for filling out a survey on that web page about your experience with rocketry.  Another educator resource available from the NAR is the Rocketry Educators e-Newsletter. This bi-monthly e-mail provides teachers with announcements, information, and the opportunity to share interests, ideas, and accomplishments with other educators on the use of rocketry in education.  To subscribe, go to www.nar.org/newsletter.html. 

 

For Launch Site Owners.   TARC teams of three or more students and one or more teachers/adults who are all NAR members may purchase "site owner" insurance coverage for $15 that provides liability protection for Safety Code-compliant rocketry activities to the owner of the launch site where they fly -- an important benefit for gaining access to a launch site in some areas. 

 

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