Issue 114__________Mar-Apr 2004

NEWSLETTER OF THE PITTSBURGH SPACE COMMAND - NAR SECTION #473 - SINCE 1986
MY LIFE IN ROCKETRY
NOTES FROM THE PREZ
ROCKETS BEYOND STRANGE
NEW MEMBERS
AND IN OTHER NEWS…..
2004 LAUNCH WINDOWS
SCHAFER CUP STANDINGS
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MAR.-APR. 2004
Above: January 18, 2004 launch. Adults left to right: Art Nestor, Steve Foster, John
Pace, Francis Graham, Mike Hardobey, Rod Schafer, B.J. Toth, and George Pike. Toth
children in front. Not shown: Phil and Walt, Doug and Ray Haim. Photo by Art Nestor.
The January 18th and February 15th launches were both cut short
due to the cold weather.
In January members retreated
to our backup meeting place, the coffee shop of The Garden Gate Restaurant on Route 422.
In February, members were
invited to the home of Mike Hardobey
to continue work on the new club
launch tower.
At left: Steve Foster takes a measurement on the new launch tower. Not
shown are Phil Haim, Mike Hardobey,
Art Nestor and Rod Schafer. Photo by
Art Nestor
Warning: front and back cover ink is not
water friendly.
PAGE 2
ISSUE NO. 114
editor’s note
TEAM PITTSBURGH
is published bimonthly by the
Pittsburgh Space Command
NAR Section #473
Uncopyrighted material appearing
in Team Pittsburgh may be
reprinted provided proper credit is
given to the author
and to Team Pittsburgh.
AD SPACE in Team Pittsburgh
is available free to
members in good standing.
PSC Yearly dues:
17 & under --- $6.00
18 & over & family-$12.00
(Membership includes
newsletter subscription)
TP subscription only-$8.00
Send PSC dues to:
Mike Hardobey
409 Mallard Drive
Cranberry Twp., Pa 16066
Check Them out!
In this issue you’ll find
two new features that are making
their debut. Both will appear on
an irregular basis, appearing
maybe every 3 or 4 issues. Just
often enough to add a little variety. These features are what I call
“article generators”. That is, ideas that are designed to produce
more than one article.
The first one, “Rocket
Cribs”, is a takeoff on the MTV
television series “Cribs”, that
showcases a celebrity’s home.
Every so often, Team Pittsburgh
will take you on a tour of a PSC
member’s rocket works. Three
club members have volunteered
so far for this show and tell series. Our first tour is conducted
by John Pace.
The second new feature
appropriately begins in this
March-April issue. It is titled
“And in Other News….”. It is solely
my creation, one that I have wanted to
do for several years. In “‘News” we
will look at some of the latest events in
astronomy, space and space travel that
are being ignored by major news organizations and the mainstream media.
Be prepared for the bizarre! Other
“irregular” features may also appear in
the future.
As always, I enjoy hearing your
comments on the quality and content of
Team Pittsburgh. It is my desire to put
together a newsletter that PSC members just can’t put aside until they’ve
read it all!
(Checks payable to
Mike Hardobey - NOT PSC)
PSC OFFICERS for 2004
President
Steve Foster
Vice President
Treasurer
Mark Cassata
Mike Hardobey
Section Advisor
John Pace
TP Editor
Art Nestor
Webmaster
Website
ATTENTION NAR SECTIONS:
Please send newsletter exchanges to:
John Pace
111 Crystal Springs Drive
Cranberry Twp., Pa 16066
Phone: (724) 742-8692
NEW ADDRESS?
NEW PHONE NUMBER?
CONTACT:
Mort Binstock
1150 Windemere Drive
Pittsburgh, Pa 15218
Phone: (412) 244-1332
Christine Rial
http://www.psc473.org
Submit articles for publication to:
Art Nestor
724-779-2000
New location!!!
230 Arthur Street
Zelienople, Pa 16063
Email: [email protected]
The Pittsburgh Space Command
Is dedicated to the advancement
of safe model rocketry.
1713 Rt. 228 Suite L1, Cranberry Twp., Pa 16066
HOURS: MON THRU FRI 10-9, SAT 10-6, SUN 12-4
ISSUE NO. 114
PAGE 3
My Life in Rocketry
By John Pace
(#1 in the Rocket Cribs series)
My entry into the
field of rocketry started
well before most of our
members were even born.
In the early 1960’s at the
age of 10. I took a deep
interest in rocketry watching and sometimes helping
my older brother build and
launch aluminum tube
rockets that were packed
behind the nozzle with a
mixture of salt peter
(potassium nitrate) and
sugar. Many of our experiences parallel that of the
kids in the movie,
“October Sky”. Unfortunately, all that changed one day
when my brother was mixing the propellant on his lab
stove and a spark happened to ignite the mixture resulting in serious burns to his arms, chest and face.
After that incident my brother moved away from
model rocketry but my interests never wavered. I started
to buy and build kits primarily from Centuri and a few
from Estes. I even entered the company’s idea contest. I
had amassed a large collection with everything from
glider payloads (Centuri X-21) to multi-stage models
(Centuri Black Widow). I found the Centuri kits to be
more innovative and creative than what Estes had to offer at that time and bought my kits primarily from them
As with most kids by the time I hit my mid
teens, I had found other interests thus limiting the time I
had to devote to model rocketry. I still remained interested in the field and occasionally launched a few models on my own since we did not have a club in the area.
While in high school I decided that I was going to enter
the field of Aerospace Engineering, which had always
been my dream. I enrolled at Lehigh University, a strong
engineering school, with an aerospace undergraduate
program in the fall of 1971. Unfortunately, the field of
Aerospace Engineering was shrinking with the Apollo
program coming to a close and no real long term direction in sight for the space program. I was very disappointed that my long-term dreams would no longer be a
reality for me. Realizing that I needed to find a job upon
graduation, I decided to change my field of studies to
civil engineering. If I couldn’t be involved in the design
and construction of rockets, I was going to build something.
Between 1971 and 1984, I had separated myself
from the hobby finding other interests like work, a wife
and family. With the birth of my son in 1984 came a new
and renewed interest in model rocketry. As with many
parents, I saw an opportunity to bond with my son as he
grew older. I also saw rocketry as a means of expanding
his creativity, allowing him to work with his hands and
get him out of the house and away from video games.
Apparently it worked. He is now a sophomore at Lehigh
University studying to be an electrical engineer. As Josh
grew older his interests changed to sports and paintball.
However, for me my strong interest in model rocketry
remained.
In our first two homes, I had always struggled
with the problem of trying to find a place of my own to
build my models. The cutting, gluing and painting was
not something I could do in my den even though I tried,
ruining several desks and chairs in the process. I had decided when I built our third home to set aside a workspace for myself and my hobby which had now grown to
include competition rocketry, high powered, sport rocketry and collectibles.
When I constructed my rocket work area I had a
specific plan of how big it would be and how it would be
laid out. Unfortunately, my wife and kids had other plans
for that area. What was going to be a large 10 x 10 room
turned out to be only 6 x 6 with a couple of small work
stations for my saw, sander and other wood working
equipment along with some storage space for sport and
competition materials and collectible kits.
PAGE 4
Although my rocket area is very compact it does
provide easy access to all my materials. I have my tubing
placed vertically in a barrel from smallest to largest tube
diameter. A couple of long shelves supports my balsa,
bass and plywood sheets. Nose cones, couplers, small
sections of tubing, and cut pieces of wood are all stored
in plastic pull out drawers. I also have a set of drawers for
parachutes, streamers, competition design articles, paper
supplies and NARAM stuff. Small pieces such as swivel
joints, launch lugs, engine mounts, etc. are stored in a
little drawer unit that is typically used for storing bolts,
nuts and washers. Above my work area I have three cabinets that are used to store phenolic tubing, competition
egg capsules, motors, wafer glass fin material and anything else that may be considered easily breakable.
Above the cabinet are some of my competition models
supported on a pegboard frame with wood dowels placed
vertically into the holes of the pegboard. I also have another pegboard frame to hold my sport rockets. Sport
rockets that have not yet been finished are kept in a two
drawer legal filing cabinet. Gliders have always been a
problem storing. For these models I made a rack on one
of the walls of the work area and support the gliders from
the wings stacking them one after the other. My rocket
work shop is my get away place and my way of escaping
the pressures of the day.
Sports flying is fun and high power has its excitement provided you can find a large enough field to
launch in, but my focus over the past four years has been
collecting models from the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s as well as
from other countries and competing. As of this writing, I
have approximately 175 collectible kits, motors and other
memorabilia. I have duplicates of some kits (Centuri Sky-
ISSUE NO. 114
lab, Nomad, and others) but in most cases I only have one
model of a particular kit. I still favor the Centuri kits and
am always willing to pay a little extra for a kit I don’t
have from my early childhood days. At the three NARAM events I have attended, I am always interested in
the models that are part of the auction event benefiting
the association. I typically come away with one or more
rockets if they are available. When I travel for business
and pleasure, I always make it a point to locate the older
more established hobby stores in the town I am visiting
and will not only look over the merchandise but also ask
the store manager what he has in the back room.
My competitive flying although not up to the level of Rod Schafer or Steve Foster is still up to par with
many contestants from other sections. My trophies have
been limited to 3 fourth place finishes and 1-second place
finish. I also have a national record in C-Superroc duration as a “C” Divisioner and B-Eggloft altitude with the
Krispy Kremers, Team division.
So what does rocketry hold for my future? Well
I’m not sure. I know I will always have a fascination for
space travel and would volunteer in a second for the next
shuttle launch. Unfortunately at the age of 50 I believe
my feet will always be planted firmly on the ground and
my chance to travel in space will have to remain in my
dreams and with my hobby.
****************
PSC SLOGAN CONTEST UPDATE
John Pace is also in charge of the slogan contest
that ended January 31st. At the next launch, John will
present all the contest entries for club discussion.
ISSUE NO. 114
PAGE 5
NOTES FROM THe PREZ
by Steve Foster
Thanks!
To Mike Hardobey
and family for opening up their
house (twice) to let PSC members build a launching tower.
PSC members can now build
many more scale models with
fine detail and not have to worry
about adding any “ugly” launch
lugs.
How High? Over the past few
years, PSC members have been
involved in several model rocket displays, camps, demo
launches, etc. Most of these
have been for youth groups. The number one thing the
kids seem to want to know is “How High?” I remember
one cub scout demo launch and informative talk that Rod
Schafer and I held which was split up into six different
groups of scouts during the day. At the end of the demo
we let the kids ask questions. Over half of the questions
asked (over a hundred) involved “How High?” The kids
want to know! At the March 21st launch we will be setting
up two theodolites (trackers) that can answer the questions
of “How High”. This can serve multiple purposes, (1)
PSC members will be testing different competition models
for upcoming events; B PAY, D ELA, B ELA*. (2) We
will be able to track almost any model flown during the
launch as long as it has some tracking powder (carpenter’s
marking chalk, powdered paint, even baby powder can
sometimes be used). (3) Learn how to use a theodolite.
Come out to one of the tracking stations and check it out.
*Reminder to competitors; start building! Any information we can share with each other will help when we
get NARAM.
Information for new members. Over the past few
months we have gotten quite a few inquiries from area
residents interested in PSC and model rocketry. There
seems to be an increase in the number of these inquiries.
Maybe some interest was generated from the shows on the
Discovery channel or the news about NASA’s Mars
landers, or maybe the prospect of going back to the moon
or Mars. Whatever has generated this interest, I have noticed that many of those making the inquiries would be
what we consider BAR’s (born again rocketeers), those
that have flown model rockets as kids and now have kids
of their own and are teaching them about model rocketry.
I was once a BAR and what BAR’s don’t know is how
much has changed from the time we flew rockets as kids.
There are now many more places to get many more
types of rockets and motors available. At the January
launch/meeting we discussed making up a packet that
would help new members learn more about PSC, the
NAR and much more about model rocketry as it exists
today. Here is a list of some items we have members
working on so far; * Welcome Letter, *Current Launch
Schedule and Directions, *NAR Information and Application, *Basic Contest Information and PSC’s Involvement, *Manufacturers and Vendors Information
w/Local Hobby Stores Listing, *Sport and Competition
Plans, *Rocket Glossary. Even though different members are already working on the information for this
packet, there may always be more we can add to it. If
you have something/or an idea that you think would be
good for this packet let me know and we can add it to
the list.
Science Center Events: During April there are two
events at the Carnegie Science center that PSC will be
setting up exhibits; Astronomy Day (April 3) and the
SciTech Festival (April 17-18). We will need members
to help man the booth and provide models for display.
Contact me if you would like more information on
these events.
Keep’em Flying,
Steve
Recent donations to help cover the cost of color
ink in Team Pittsburgh were made by Steve
Foster, Jerry Kraus and Barry and Mary Majerski.
Thank you!
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Coming to A launch near you!
John Brohm
1. I’m finishing a scratch-built 1/10th scale Black
Brant VIII with a PerfectFlite staging timer. The
Black Brant VIII is a two-stage model consisting
of a Nike booster and a Black Brant V sustainer.
2. Mars Lander clone based on the Tango Papa kit.
3. Super Vega, based on the new Q-Modelling release.
Jerry Kraus
1. Saturn V
2. The Renegade
3. LOC/Precision Starburst
PAGE 6
ISSUE NO. 114
ROCKETS BEYOND STRANGE
Part IV:
Rockets that Consume
Themselves.
by Francis Graham
Welcome again to
"Rockets Beyond Strange",
where we discuss rocket
designs so weird, so outrageous, so exceedingly exotic they are not merely
strange, but beyond
strange.
Once again, these
designs are highly experimental; they may violate
some or all safety rules.
They may even violate the
rules of simple decency, or
even the law, or the Commandments, indeed, these
designs may mock even all of the fundamental principles that made America a great and God-fearing
country. On the other hand, they are probably not so
dramatic as this, but they are certainly very, very
strange.
Before you read further today, please find a comfortable chair to sit down in. What you are about to
read will almost certainly peg the bizarre-o-meter.
As every novice rocket scientists know, staging is
more efficient than not staging, and, if one is given a
certain rocket mass, and fuel mass, and all other
things being equal, the more stages one has the higher the rocket will go. This is because the more stages
the less empty rocket weight is carried along for the
ride. Of course, more often than not, all other things
are not equal; staging often involves extra fins, extra
recovery, extra drag, extra dispersion, and what-not.
But the fundamental principle of the more stages the
merrier is a good first approximation.
So let us go down to the limit. Let us make a rocket with so many stages each stage is a molecule; the
rocket burns away as it ascends, like a cigarette or
flare. At burnout, only the payload and recovery device remain. This is equivalent to a multistage rocket
with an Avagadro's number of stages. It is the most
efficient staging possible; you have a self-consuming
rocket.
Instead of staging, the rocket parts burn themselves away.
I first experimented with this in March, 1981. A rack rocket
normally lines up engines in a fireproof rack. I allowed the
rack to be wooden and exposed, and had fins that ran the
entire length of the rack. As the rocket fired, it burned up
the parts of the rocket behind it, reducing mass, much as
staging would, but continuously as opposed to incrementally.
The rocket I tested then, the " Drachenchen" consumed
itself except for the payload and parachute and the last
stage. It worked fine.
Of course the advantage of a self-consuming rocket is
offset by what many would consider its greatest disadvantage: the self-consuming (or "autophagous") rocket can
be used but once.
Autophagous rockets
have apparently been invented before.
Some
research reveals I was not
the first to consider autophagous rockets. In a
book entitled Propulsion
Systems for Space Flight
by William F. Corliss,
McGraw-Hill, NY: 1960
(for which I am indebted
to David Gibson for rescuing this treasure from the
discarded former Westinghouse Atomic Energy
Library) there is a diagram
of three types of nuclear
rockets. The first is a
standard nuclear rocket
design that was used for
NERVA. The diagram on
the right is a shock plate
propulsion for which Project Orion was then an
active user of this technology. The middle is a A consumable nuclear rocket
consumable nuclear rock- illustrated in Corliss’ book.
et for which I have found
no further information.
However, keep in mind that in 1960 Project Orion, which
used the shock-plate technology, was tippy-top secret. It is
possible there is a series of nuclear consumable rocket tests
which are as yet classified.
My next autophagous rocket was the "Ourabouros",
which is the name of the snake that eats its tail and was a
symbol in the series Millennium and in E.R. Eddison's
PAGE 7
ISSUE NO. 114
Zimiamvia Trilogy. It was a three-stage model rocket
with three engines lined up in a thin tube of newsprint
paper, with three long tapering fins, made of file folder
cardboard, running the course of the fuselage. A
launch lug of rolled newsprint also continued the expendability of the rocket. The "Ourabouros" was tested January 18, 2004 at Camp Lutherlyn and performed
fair on an Estes B6-0/B6-0/C6-7 combination, in principle going higher and better than an actual three stage
rocket with its extra fins, launch lugs, drag, etc. The
only thing to survive was the upper stage casing and the
nose cone. There was one flaw: due to uneven fin
burning, the upper stage was slightly unstable.
into a slightly smaller cone that fits on the inside of the
bismuth cone with a small separation.
Fill the space BETWEEN the cones with a solid fuel.
The space inside the tin cone remains empty. Light the
solid fuel. As the bismuth melts, it will crimp inward,
since solid bismuth takes up more space than liquid bismuth.
Imolator--- My dream consumable rocket.
As the tin melts, it will crimp outward, since solid tin
is denser than the liquid. This crimping in and out will
constrict the space between the cones at the base, forming
a toroidal nozzle. Pressure builds up in the space between
the cones immediately forward, and the device rises.
It is stable as the area of the frustum behind the center
of gravity is always greater than the area of the cone in
front of the center of gravity. In that respect it works like
a cone rocket, like Centuri's old kit, "The Point".
Of course the cone is getting smaller as it melts and
rises as the fuel burns. The toroidal nozzle is maintained
during the melting process. There is no need for a recovery device. At burnout, the rocket simply and utterly
ceases to exist.
***************
The “Ourobouros” at the Vinter Vunderland
launch on January 18, 2004. (The mystery man in
the background is your editor.)
Did you know? David Grumbine added to my list of
My dream autophagous rocket is called the
"Immolator". Although I have not yet built it, I'd like to
describe the design. Take a sheet of bismuth and make
it into a hollow cone. Take a sheet of tin and make it
PSC web addresses (Pacific Salmon Commission and
Pacific Software Corp). He adds www.psc.edu will
bring up the Pittsburgh Supercomputing Center while
www.psc.gov yields the Program Support Center of the
Dept. of Health & Human Services.
PAGE 8
ISSUE NO. 114
PSC New Members
Jerry Kraus - I became
interested in model rockets as
a kid. I started back up again
in the mid 90’s with my stepson. He seemed to grow out
of it but I did not. In 2000, I
started again with some basic
rockets: the Comet, Stormcaster, Mean Machine etc.
Then I tried some gliders:
The Condor, Astron and
Transwing. Also multi-stage
rockets like the Comnanche 3
and Echostar. Trying to expand my experience, I have a
LOC/Precision Starburst to build.
My son-in-law and I have found a couple of places
to launch from. The best place we have found is the Hartwood Acres park where they have the Christmas light display and a small amphitheater.
I look forward to launching with PSC this spring
and summer.
****************
Rob Freyvogel and son
showed up for the February launch and did quite a
bit of flying.
MYSTERY PHOTOS IDENTIFIED
Last issue page 10.
Left photo: John Brohm’s custom John Deere rocket
lifts off on a Rocket Vision E15-4.
Right photo: Liftoff of a Quest Apex by Brittany
Hardobey age 5.
And in Other News…………
Alien Skulls Found on Mars
Dateline February 17, 2004. Weekly World News
magazine claims to have obtained Mars Rover photos
from NASA that clearly show two alien skulls. Approximately a quarter mile away is the remains of a
wrecked spacecraft with an entire alien skeleton. The
magazine says NASA scientists are consulting with
experts in the fields of anthropology, archaeology and
forensics.
Also according to Weekly World News, these
photos are what really convinced President Bush to
send new missions to the moon and Mars. The Mars
Rover is not able to gather up these artifacts and return
to Earth with them.
U.S. Air Marshals Allowed Aboard UFOs
Dateline February 17, 2004. Weekly World News
magazine. Amazing as it may seem, President Bush
convinced the leaders of 12 planets to carry U.S. air
marshals when flying in U.S. airspace. His main concern is that aliens may beam aboard a terrorist by mistake. Or that a renegade alien might seek to destroy us.
The air marshals will be heavily armed with orders to
use lethal force.
Of course, no one at the F.B.I. or the White
House is willing to talk about this breakthrough in negotiations. After all, advanced alien cultures have no
reason to work with us.
****************
Anthony James Cassata is the newest addition to
the family of PSC Vice President Mark Cassata
and his wife Diane. Anthony was born January 22,
2004 and weighed 7 lbs. 4 oz. at birth.
Weekly World News can be found at the
checkout counters of all better drug stores and supermarkets. The staff of Team Pittsburgh will go to great
lengths to bring its readers the news. (Surely they
wouldn’t print it if it wasn’t true.) We know you’re
dying to read the stories behind these headlines. We
saved you the embarrassing encounter with the cashier.
You’re welcome.
(compiled by Art Nestor)
ISSUE NO. 114
PAGE 9
2004 LAUNCH WINDOWS - EVENT CALENDER
Please consult our website at www.PSC473.org for directions to local meets or contact a PSC officer.
Month
Day
Time
Event
January
18
Noon
February
08
?
Building Session
Announced
February
15
Noon
Sport Launch
Camp Lutherlyn
March
21
Noon
Sport Launch
Camp Lutherlyn
Altitude Trackers set up for testing models
*April
24
Dragon’s Fire
Launch
Charloroi, Pa
High Power Meet
*April
25
Noon
Sport Launch
Camp Lutherlyn
*April
17-25
8:00
SciTech Festival
Carnegie
Science Center
May
1&2
May
15
TARC Finals
The Plains, Va
May
15 & 16
Dragon’s Fire
Launch
Charloroi, Pa
High Power Meet
May
23
May Madness/
Camp Lutherlyn
OPEN MEET
Sport Launch
Where?
Camp Lutherlyn
Reach for the Sky Camp Lutherlyn
XVI
Sport Launch
June
5-6
June
20
June
Comments
Four Fin Tower & Competition Model?
REGIONAL MEET EVENTS: ½A PD, ½A RG, ½A HD,
A BG, B ELD
EVENTS: ½A PD (MR), ½A HD, B SD (MR), B ELD
ECRM-30
Middletown, Maryland
Sport Launch
Camp Lutherlyn
26-27
SPAAR MEET
Carlisle, Pa
MADROC REGIONAL EVENTS: ½A SD, ½A PD (MR),
½A RG, ½A HD, B ELA
July
1-4
LDRS 23
Geneseo, NY
TRIPOLI NATIONAL LAUNCH
July
18
Sport Launch/
Fun Event
Camp Lutherlyn
Events to be announced
July-Aug
31-06
NARAM 46
The Plains, Va
NAR Annual Meet
August
15
Rest &
Relaxation 10
Camp Lutherlyn
Sport Launch & Picnic
August
21
9:00
Dragon’s Fire
Launch
Charloroi, Pa
High Power Meet
September
12
Noon
Sport Launch
Camp Lutherlyn
September
18
9:00
Charloroi, Pa
High Power meet
October
9& 10
Dragon’s Fire
Launch
Steel City Smoke
Trail 4
Charloroi, Pa
REGIONAL MEET EVENTS: *1/8A PD, A FW, C PAYLOAD, C ELD, E BG
November
14
Noon
Sport Launch
Camp Lutherlyn
December
12
Noon
Sport Launch
Camp Lutherlyn
Noon
Noon
MADROC REGIONAL EVENTS: ½A HD, A RG, B
Payload, Plastic Model Conversion
PAGE 10
ISSUE NO.114
SCHAFER CUP STANDINGS - 02/07/04
Alan Freed Photo
Alphamania
SCST-3
Total
The Krispy Kremers
T-890
---
990
990
Richard Freed
24586
186
639
825
The Flying I-Beam Kids
T-473
---
798
798
Joe Peters
81329
166
63
229
Elliot Watt
82471
218
---
218
Walt Haim
81475
186
---
186
John Brohm
78048
115
---
115
Doug Haim
81476
104
---
104
David Grumbine
69152
84
---
84
Sarah Grumbine
75912
71
---
71
John Sarosi
30396
21
---
21
Is this your rocket?
TEAM PITTSBURGH 03/07/04
Pittsburgh Space Command
Send returns to:
Mort Binstock
1150 Windermere Drive
Pittsburgh, Pa 15218 - 1144