Meeting Minutes - October 12, 2015

Meeting called to order at 7:20pm on October 12, 2015
Old Business:

• ERC discussed the October Sky workshop
• WV Sounding Rocket Team came and helped out, described their M powered project
• Many new groups came in this year
• No rockets were lost!
• Each team launched at least twice (even in winds at 9+ mph)
• The new LP rocket box was utilized all weekend and worked flawlessly
• Four teams were at the event (3 additional teams are scheduled to come at later dates)
• Student feedback:
• “It was a good experience”
• Students went back and talked with their science teachers
• The first part of the camp was a good start for beginners
• Maker Faire
• Was a good place to talk with RCBI and others about what you could do bring to industry
• We had a good solution to our problems but it was not necessarily what they were looking for
• All had a good time
• TARC Webinar
• The ERC hosted and it is now published on the TARC website
• Outreach meeting
• Not very well attended

New Business:

• Treasurer’s Report
• Current balance: $2,789
• Motion was taken to spend to spend up to $1,000 to support as many teams as possible (currently 2 teams, at least one more will likely be spent)
• The team has sponsored two TARC teams and will likely sponsor at least one additional team
• All the monies set aside for the October Sky camp were not needed, the leftover money is going towards the team sponsorship
• Outreach meeting reformat
• Meet at 6pm at Blackbear and hold the outreach meeting from 6-7pm as needed
• Announcements for outreach sessions for approximately one week before
• Normal business meeting from 7-8pm
• Meetings would be every second Monday
• Vote was taken. Motion passed.
• Future launches
• Mylan site is still the approved HPR site
• WVU Agriculture Farm is a good alternate site – may be a better winter site than Mylan
• Tennant Farm is also available for winter launches
• Rocket in a tree retriever (“The Sticky Thingie”)
• Motion was made and seconded to spend around $100 for a retriever
• Motion was passed to purchase.
• TARC/Club Winter Launch Dates
• October 31: Ed is RSO. Theme is Pumpkin Palooza
• November 28: Chris T. is RSO. Launch is at the Tennant Farm
• December 19: Jamie F. is RSO. Launch is at Mylan unless otherwise noticed
• January 30: Holtzer are RSOs.
• February 13: Ricky B. and SarahEllen D. are RSOs.
• February 27: Mark S. is RSO.
• March 19: Jamie F. is RSO.
• April 2: Holtzer’s and Pill’s are RSOs.
• April 3: Tennant is RSO. Launch is at the Tennant Farm.
• HPR Launch Waver
• Wanting to get the Mylan site on the waver (reapply)
• Will look into adding an additional launch site
• Soccer Complex outside of town
• Tennant Farm
• Memberships are Due to Barbie P. starting now 
• $5 for students
• $15 for teachers
• $25 for adult members
• Social Media Outreach
• Motion was made to start a Facebook page for outreach and post pictures and videos
• Mark S. volunteered to create and administer the page
• Motion was passed

Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm. Next meeting is November 9 at 7pm at Blackbear in Evansdale.

Download meeting minutes in PDF format.

Meeting Minutes - June 8, 2015

Meeting called to order at 7:15pm on June 8, 2015
Old Business

• S4 Summer Camp Update
• Camp will be July 13-17 from approximately 9am-5pm each day
• There are currently 9 teams signed up with 37 total students total
• It is a mixed of middle and high school groups, most have experience with TARC and/or S4
• The kit list has been compiled. Some pre-assembly required.
• Volunteers are welcome to join for as they are able
• Teams will be designing and building the rockets during the camp
• See the S4/TARC page on the website for more information: http://wvrocketry.org/s4-and-tarc-summer-camp
• Treasurers Report
• Currently $3,078.32 in the account – there are additional altimeter and club dues that have been received that are not reflected in the report

New Business

• There will be a club order soon in order to support the S4/TARC Summer Camp from Animal Motor Works
• Proposal was raised to have Vista Print make lawn signs to direct people to the club launches
• SarahEllen presented a sample and stated that the signs would cost approximately $9 each
• Motion was passed to purchase 5 signs and reimburse SarahEllen for the cost.
• October Sky TARC Rocket Camp
• Proposed dates are October 3-4, 2015
• Motion was passed to schedule the camp for that weekend
• October Sky Funds
• Proposed to set aside $1,000 to run the camp
• Moved to table the discussion until the next business meeting in August. Motion was passed.
• Launch Recap
• Redskin Rocketeers won the Egg-Lofter competition taking home the Golden Eggbeater
• There were a number of DQs
• Club members overall enjoyed the competition and look forward to more in the future
• General discussion on suggestions to encourage pre-TARC season launches with incentives to launch based on scores.
• 5th Grade Outreach Launch
• Launch occurred on June 3
• The students launched kit egg launchers
• There were several mid-power and high-power demonstration launches
• Overall launch was a success
• Proposed to move the next Out Reach meeting to July 6 at 6pm to help prepare for the S4 camp pending ERC availability. An additional topic will be TBD with the discussion of the topic moved to the email serve.
• Motion was passed to move the date with the topics mentioned.

Meeting adjourned at 8:15pm. The next Outreach meeting will be July 6 at 6pm. The next business meeting will be August 10 at 7pm.

Minutes in PDF format

Meeting Minutes - August 10, 2015

Meeting called to order at 7:20pm on August 10, 2015

Old Business:

• July outreach meeting was canceled
• July launched was cancelled due to Mountain Fest
• S4 and TARC Camp (HUGE Success!!! 8 payloads, 8 rocket launches, 7 parachute deployments – 36 students plus mentors/instructors)
• Students helped to mentor each other and overall helped everyone learn different skills
• Teams went from no knowledge of soldering to being very comfortable doing it by the end of the camp
• The students came in and solved the problems that they were faced with and succeeded on all accounts
• S4 rocket repaired
• Treasurers Report
• Spent most of the $2k authorized by the club on S4 and TARC supplies for the camp
• Now have:
• another 12v lawnmower battery
• lots of G engines
• Two extra 3” rocket body tubes, nose cones, and fin material

New Business:

• Discussed the S4 summer camp that occurred in July
• The tethered balloon launch occurred over downtown Morgantown
• The powered flight occurred at the WVU Ag. Farm
• August 29th launch
• Not sure about the launch (Slide the City is that weekend)
• If kept to Low Power then the WVU Ag. Farm is a likely Plan B launch site
• September Outreach Meeting at the ERC at 6pm on September 14
• Meeting will be session lead with these topics:
• Build your own Altimeter
• GPS – build your own or use as a sensor
• Dual-Deploy
• Non-Profit Status
• Why would we be a non-profit: Outreach for to kids
• Starting the process to become a IRS recognized 501c3 non-profit
• October Sky Training on October 3/4
• Camp is geared towards training new students to build TARC rockets
• ERC is requesting additional teachers (Todd will send agenda)
• ERC is requesting $1,000 to help run the camp
• Motion was passed to give the ERC the requested funds
• Fund raising
• Donorschoose.org – will look into setting up an account
• Aurora – go and talk with them about a partnership for rocketry outreach in the area
• Club store – Would need a Quartermaster
• Brian volunteered and was voted to be the quartermaster
• Would need to specify for the store that you would need to be a club member or affiliated with a registered TARC team in the area to buy from the club
• Need to poll the club for items in the store
• Store could be used to help with fundraising
• New Launchers!
• ERC has purchased a 5-pad rocket launcher to replace their multi-Low Power launcher
• Ricky demoed his wireless launcher

Meeting adjourned at 8:40pm

Minutes in PDF format

Meeting Minutes - April 13, 2015

Meeting called to order at 7:15pm on April 13, 2015
Old Business

• TARC Wrap Up/Reflections
• No WV teams qualified for the top 100. The combined cutoff score was 40 this year.
• Last launch was a cold day with many launches. Many teams from all over the state (as far away as Charleston).
• Comments:
• Better organization for the launch with official roles (timers, RSO, etc.)
• What do we need to do to help our teams get better scores?
• Need to teach the very basics of model rocketry (same sized fins, consistency in build process)
• Steer our teams towards a simple rocket while allowing them to experiment early on with various wild designs
• Have the teams think about their goals for the season
• Just launch and have fun while learning?
• Make it to nationals?
• Have more teams come together and have joint build sessions or generate YouTube clips
• Keep It Simple, Students (KISS) Video Series with basic skills
• Seemed to be too much thrust with the fairly common F engine for the single-egg competition
• Did have a record number of teams involved in TARC this year for West Virginia
• Apparel
• Barbie did a fantastic job with the apparel order
• Treasurers Report
• Purchased 2 Folding Tables for Launches -- $59.40
• Safety Vests
• Amazon has bright vests that are fairly inexpensive
• Outreach Meeting
• The meeting went well, laid back atmosphere

New Business

• WVU/WVRocket/NASA Grant and S4/TARC Summer Camp
• Proposal was written for the summer camp – It was accepted
• Now have an extra $2000.00 in the communal budget for outreach, components, etc
• All members are invited to help with the camp and mentor as available
• Camp will likely run July 13 through July 17
• How do we reach out to parents and educators? What age range are we targeting?
• Proposed 7 teams with 2-3 kids on each team as well as a coach/mentor to come to WVU to spend the week
• Combining the S4 camp and the TARC camp
• Merge the payload building for S4 as well as the rocket building components from TARC
• Want to do a tethered balloon test in Morgantown – Use this as a media event
• Launch the large rockets on Friday
• Age range would be the same as the TARC competition. Some exceptions may be made under special circumstances.
• For advertising, make a YouTube clip on the build process and the final launch
• Can WVRock spend up to $2000.00 for components?
• Motion was made for the club to spend up to $2000 for the S4/TARC Summer Camp
• Discussion was made. Comments include:
• Is there a minimum number of teams? Maximum number of teams?
• At least 5 teams, max of 10 teams (with some concessions for cost efficiency)
• Vote was taken. The motion was passed unanimously.
• May Team Launch Competition
• Limited to black powder motor
• Must be a Low Power Rocketry (4.4oz propellant/3.3 pounds Max)
• Use the PerfectFlite FireFly as the altimeter
• Target altitude of 500 feet
• Target time of 28-32 seconds
• Single parachute
• Must carry one raw egg (55-60 grams) and return it unbroken
• Individuals or Small Teams
• Paid Member of WV Rocketry Assoc.
• ¼” launch lug or 1010 rail buttons
• Aaron Yoho gave a presentation on his HPR Level 1
• Gave an overview of his build process and motor selected
• Dual deployment discussion utilizing the Strattologger PerfectFlite CF
• Showed a video of the successful launch
• Outreach Meeting Topics
• High Power Rocketry (Buy a kit beforehand and go through the build process)
• RockSim How-To
• Glider Discussion
• TARC Rules, how to win this year
• 3D Printing
• Electronics and How To Build Your Own Altimeter
• Parachutes – Picking and making your chute
• North Elementary Volunteers – June 3
• Go to Mylan Park and launch a large rocket
• Kids will be launching between 3-5pm
• Aaron, Ricky, Paul, and Brian have volunteered to launch a larger rocket as a demonstration flight (TARC sized and larger)
• TARC Finals on May 9 (rain date May 10)

Meeting adjourned at 8:50pm. Next meeting will be at the NASA ERC on May 11 at 6pm. The topic will be on RockSim.

Minutes in PDF Format