Meeting Minutes- April 11, 2016

Meeting called to order at 7:30pm on April 11, 2016.

Old Business:

• TARC Recap
• NAR Section #749 was started over 3 years ago with the goal of outreach to students
• Have successfully met and continue this goal
• Quite a few members aiding the National TARC launch
• S4 Update
• No news on the Space Grant
• Anticipate hearing news very soon
• Treasurer Report
• Dues money has been added.
• The Safety Grant was received and has been spent.
• No other changes to the treasurer’s report.
• Membership Report
• Have just over 50 members currently (not all paid)
• If you owe, pay up

New Business:

• TARC for the Future (Successes and Failures)
• It was difficult to fine tune the parameters
• The national cutoff was extremely challenging
• Need to implement a different launch setup
• Rage Safety Officer is responsible for just the pad area
• Launch Safety Officer is responsible for inspecting launches
• Recommend this for all our launches, not just TARC launches
• Launch earlier in the season
• Suggest teams to launch in September and October
• Incentivize launching early
• Buy teams engines that launch early?
• As a NAR club we need to realize that TARC season starts in the summer, not in the winter
• As a club we need to make the effort to launch when the weather was good
• Make the teams “pay to play” to make them take ownership of the project
• Recommend having a backup rocket
• Something will fail and a backup is always good to have a backup
• Consistency and repeatability between rockets is key
• Upcoming Launches
• April 30 – Easter Egg Launch
• Ed will provide guidance
• May 21 – TARC for the Rest of Us
• Will follow most of the same rules except for time
• 45 seconds (no window), no multiplier
• 850 feet target altitude
• Above/Below altitude is 1 point. Time is 1 point for second above and below
• June 25 – A Competition
• Only limit is the using an A engine
• Use the Alt-tracks to track altitude
• Highest altitude wins
• July 30 – Follow the Leader
• Likely will use a C6 with tube fins
• Do not have to follow the rocket exactly but try to match the leader rocket’s anticipated performance
• S4 Summer Camp
• July 18-22
• Work is underway to prepare for the upcoming camp
• Encourage all team members to support the TARC final in Northern Virginia the weekend of May 13-15.

Meeting adjourned at 8:45pm.

Meeting Minutes are available in PDF format here.

Meeting Minutes February 8, 2016

Meeting called to order at 7:20pm on February 8, 2016
Old Business:

• Membership Report
• 14+ members have paid
• Treasurer Report
• $2,789.00 is currently in the bank account
• Past Events
• TARC Launch on January 30, 2016
• The Facebook page was highlighted
• Multiple people contributed photos to the site
• Encouraged people to share what they are doing with rockets on the site
• Snowy and muddy but very successful launch
• NAR Safety Grant
• Mark wrote the safety grant and submitted it to NAR
• NAR accepted the proposed safety grant
• Four safety cones
• Pole pruner to get rockets out of trees
• Couple safety vests
• Club first aid kit for launches
• Club Non-Profit Discussion
• Aaron has recommended we work with the Community Foundation
• Use them as a mechanism to obtain 501.3c non-profit status
• Community Foundation would provide this means and would do the paperwork aspects of the 501.3c record keeping

New Business:

• S4 Grant
• Todd presented the Sense Hat and Raspberry Pi combination to the group as the S4 version 2
• Last summer WVU, ERC, and WV Rocketry successfully sponsored the S4 Camp
• Motion was proposed for the club to spend up to $2,000 on the S4 Summer Camp Project
• Ed seconded the motion
• Discussion:
• There are ideas for an intern to take care of the logistics
• The Raspberry Pi system is less expense than the arduino-based system
• Additional agreement that it is good project
• Want to have 10 teams as part of the camp
• Middle school groups
• High school groups
• A motion was approved by all members present to spend up to $2,000 for the S4 summer camp
• Summer TARC Camp
• Jamie proposed hosting a Summer TARC camp
• Advantage is students do not have miss a day of school
• Supports our objectives for student outreach
• Needs:
• Funding
• Supplies
• Engines
• Barbie proposed the TARC Summer Camp
• Discussion:
• Discussed when to host the camp
• Tentative date: July 25-29, 2016
• SarahEllen motioned to have a TARC Summer Camp on July 25-29 pending funding and supplies
• Jamie seconded the motion
• The motion was approved by all present
• Future Events
• Next TARC Launch is February 13
• Attempt to launch from Mylan
• Will attempt to be HPR but focus is on TARC
• Animal farm is a very good backup site
• Following Launch is February 27
• New Launch Sites
• Holtzers are still looking into the Laurel Fields Soccer Complex (potential for HPR)
• Tennant Farm is generally available pending weather
• Preston County High School in Kingwood (plenty of space for TARC)
• WVU Farm in Reedsville (potential for HPR)
• North Marion High School
• Club Competitions
• Adult TARC Competition
• Cluster Engine Competition
• Staged Engine Competition
• Toilet Paper Competition
• Pink Launch (October – Brest Cancer Awareness Fundraiser)

Meeting adjourned at 8:30pm. Next two launches are February 13 and February 27. Next meeting is March 14.

Download the meeting minutes in PDF format here.

Meeting Minutes - March 14, 2016

Meeting called to order at 7:20pm on March 14, 2016.
Old Business:

• Safety Grant
• Safety grant money has been received
• Mark will be making the Lowe’s trip soon to purchase the items specified
• Treasury Report
• Same as last meeting
• S4 Grant
• Dimitris with the help of Todd, Ricky, and SarahEllen wrote and submitted the grant to the West Virginia Space Grant Consortium
• The total budget is for $6,000
• $2,000 from WVRocketry
• $1,000 from WVU Physics Department
• $3,000 from WV Space Grant Consortium
• Budget includes significant increase in travel and support
• Will begin actively recruiting teams throughout West Virginia
• The WV Space Grant Consortium will vote on the grant during their April meeting
• Membership Report
• Launches since last meeting
• Three launches since last meeting – Two club launches and one launch at the Tenant Farm
• TARC qualifications are starting to take place
• CTI experiences
• They work really well as long as you get your delay correct

New Business:

• Upcoming launches
• One this Saturday, March 19. Will likely be at the WVU Agriculture Farm
• Added a launch on March 26
• Future launch sites
• Two possible launch near Reedsville
• WVU Farm at Reedsville
• Possible friends of Ricky and SarahEllen with farm land
• Still need to find a HPR launch site, will continue investigating different sites
• Future Launch Competitions:
• Launch your [plastic] Easter Egg – Bonus points for “painted Easter eggs”
• Just the plastic containers
• Ed will specify the rules
• Launch will be at the end of April
• Club TARC-like competition
• TARC-like rules
• Two-eggs to 500ft
• Todd will specify the rules
• Launch will be towards the end of May
• Highest on an A Engine Altitude Competition
• Mark will specify the rules
• Launch will be at the end of June
• Follow-the-Leader
• The leader gives out specifications and club members have to build a similar rocket attempting
• Aaron will specify the rules
• Launch will be at the end of July
• TARC team updates
• Teams are making progress and using all available resources and spaces

Meeting adjourned at 8:20pm. Next launch is March 19 likely at WVU Agriculture Farm. Next meeting is April 11.

Meeting Minutes are available in PDF here.

Meeting Minutes - January 11, 2016

Meeting called to order at 7:25pm on January 11, 2016

Old Business:

• Membership Report
• Dues are due. Send Barbie your dues.
• Currently the club has approximately 50 members.
• Facebook page
• Facebook page has been created
• http://www.facebook.com/wvrocketry
• Officers and other members will be administrators in order to post and share pictures and articles.
• The Facebook page will allow the club to have one platform for all images.
• The website will link to the Facebook page for image shares.
• There was a suggestion to post and share upcoming launches and essentially use Facebook to advertise to local groups and act as a RSVP location
• TARC Outreach
• We need to make an effort to go to the kids instead of requiring them to come to us
• Weston with the 4H Camp
• WV State University Agriculture Department
• Charleston/Hurricane
• “Mini-grants” program to help teams with parts and other expenses
• Financial problems do hinder many teams
• Major expenses are engines and travel (if qualified)
• Training Courses
• Many teachers and other support people are intimidated by rocketry
• Training 
• Rocketry Summer Camp
• Currently in work
• Budget
• Without the current donation, the group would be broke
• Fundraisers (Tip cup), Donors Choose, Your Community Foundation, Fairmont

New Business:

• Safety Grant
• Needs: Sanctions, tables to put safety equipment on, anemometer/weather station, safety vests, first aid kit, pole-mounted pruner (45ft)
• Mark volunteered to write the grant
• Your Community Foundation and Fairmont State
• A motion was passed to allow Aaron to go talk to Your Community Foundation
• A motion was passed to allow Todd to talk to Fairmont State
• Mylan Launch Site
• Mylan has approved us launching at their facility until March
• In March the launch site will go under construction for the new aquatics center
• Alternate Launch Sites
• Soccer Complex Launch Site
• There is a need to follow-up with the complex about winter launches
• Potentially a HPR launch site
• WVU Agriculture Farm
• This is a great launch site for low-power
• There is a need for a warm-weather HPR site
• Gabe/Kemp presented their TARC rocket
• Their rocket has many 3D printed parts
• Potential outreach and rocket field-trip to the Greenbank radio observatory
• There are members within the club that have connections to low-cost housing
• If a date is selected at the beginning of the month, then there is the possibility to launch LP at Greenbank and HP at the Vex rocket club (approximately 30 minutes away)

Meeting adjourned at 8:40pm.

Download the meeting minutes in PDF.