Since a recent FAI Spacemodeling event was held in Lviv, Ukraine I imagine US Team members got to know some of them. Has there been any contact with the FAI competitors in Ukraine. Any word on how they are doing?

NRC events for the 2019-2020 Contest Year
 
Per rules 13.1.1 through 13.1.2 of the United States Model Rocket Sporting Code (USMRSC), the NAR Contest Board has selected the following 6 NRC events for the 2019-2020 contest year, including NARAM 62:
1/2A B/G
1/2A SD
1/2A HD
1/2A PD
1/2A ALT
B Payload
 
Per the USMRSC, NRC launches with scores to qualify for Event Specialist and National Awards for the 2019-2020 contest year can be held from August 4, 2019 (the day after NARAM-61) until June 30, 2020.
 
Dan Wolf
National Contest Board Chair

There is a huge amount of information about piston launchers and various combinations of motors, piston tube diameters, lengths and more out there on the NAR site and other places. But....

Is there any reason why pistons could not be also used with composite motors with some benefit as well? I know their time-thrust characteristics are rather different than BP motors in that they come to thrust generally rather faster....but does that negate the benefit of using them - or accentuate it?

Just wondering because one event at NARAM-61 in particular almost begs for a pistoned composite motor.....

This year’s NRC includes 1/4A Helicopter Duration. With the only real motor available having a 3-second delay, I’m wondering what models folks are using for this. Whatever it is, it probably needs to be piston-launched as well.....

Thoughts?

It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone on this board....and John Hochheimer reminded us about it in the February Electronic Rocketeer, but there are rules change proposals open for review and comment right now, with the comment window open until the 14th. 

There are two proposals about piston launchers, two about Classic Model, one about altimeter check-in as well as some others. Take a look if you haven’t. 

https://www.nar.org/contest-flying/rules...2018-2019/

As an occasional competitor, but one who flew quite a few events at NARAM-60, I find them very interesting.

I built an 18mm SD model recently for the entertainment of my 3 yr old. Decided to include some details on design philosophy and such. Also major parenting fail--launching at dusk:

My situation that some are aware of has taken a turn for the worse.

https://goo.gl/toUzL2

its a very long insane story. read the 4 updates. (bottom to top 7500 character limit) it reads like a b rated horror script. its 100% the truth. its insane.

no. I don't expect strangers to loan me $60k the purpose. the hope. is that if enough people see it and spread it through their own networks that maybe just maybe some individual or private mortgage broker might decide my cause is worthy and safe enough and well... sign me for a mortgage. that is all I seek. a chance to succeed.

short story. my father left me with mentally challenged siblings that I now have to take care of and $176k in debt. the state has "invalidated" my ownership of my own house and declared it "my fathers estate" (because he never filed the ownership change legally it seems) therefore I now have to pay his judgements and leins to keep my house. the equity in my house is the only means I have to pay the $35k (down from nearly $80k) of debt he left me.

I have worked 3 full times jobs 100-120 hours a week for last 2 years attempting to save myself and my family. the objective being to zero out my debt and move to a much cheaper lower cost of living state (new mexico) I am trying to purchase a $70,000 house (1700sqft 5 acres city water and gas RARE out their in my price range) the $8300 a year I pay in property taxes alone here will be enough to cover 100% of my COL out in new mexico. 100%.

I can not declare bankruptcy because the house is not legally mine its part of his estate and so it would NOT be protected and I was forced to pay off most of "his" debts to avoid sheriff or tax sale already.

I was given 21 days notice of sheriff's sale on my home and after exhausting all options I could access was unable to negotiate even one penny down on the $14,000 unpaid sewer bill (2/3 interest fees penalties) it took 100% of what I had and some credit to pay this 6 days before the sheriff's sale. the debt I carry is his but its in my name (credit cards signature loans lines of credit to pay down his past due and tax debts when he was still alive) this happened because I Have good credit he did not.

but now I am going to lose my home anyway. without my $14,000 savings I can not survive the winter. my debt load is too high and the store declines in business such that it can pay its own expenses but NOT the mortgage from dec-mar. which means I will default after december and they will take it from me. since its a forbearance agreement NOT a mortgage this will happen extremely fast and they might be able to stop me from selling the house. My savings is how I floated this down time for the last 2 years. its very consistent the down turn in business and occurs every single year for over 10 years like clockwork. its just a thing. I lack the capital to make any attempt at altering it.

SO I have to sell the house before I default. but I still don't have enough savings/equity to move. I can't buy a new house even a really risky trailer in new mexico At Closing I will get around $45,000. after I move out (arranged to get 60 days) I get another the $12,000 that they will hold in escrow to make sure i get out. 6 months later I will get the $6000 or so they are holding in escrow for inheritance tax (which I won't owe anything since the debts I have paid exceed the value of the house after the lender is paid)

so only $45000 counts for anything. I need $35k of that to pay off current debts leaving me with $15k for a down payment. (yes that is only $10k left but the $12,000 I get back in 60 days post closing will pay for the move pay the closing costs and pay the difference to $15k which I will extract from credit and pay off with the $12k) the math works but JUST barely.

alas a mortgage through a normal bank is not possible. they only count about 1/3 to 1/2 of my income as "valid" so I can not meet the 45% requirement WITH my debts. without my debts I can but they refuse to guarantee anything until AFTER I pay off the debts. but to pay off the debts I have to make myself homeless and sell the house and then use that money to pay the debts.

if they then decline me. I will have committed effective suicide. since I can't reverse the payments and can not reverse the sale of the house and will now NOT have enough cash to try and purchase something to live in no matter how cheap.

but $45k is not enough to purchase anything. and I can NOT leave here with my debt coming with me as my income out their will be enough to pay for the home and my cost of living but NOT the $1200 a month in debt payments I am making. I would fail. fast. I have to pay off the debts.

what I need is a mortgage. my hope with this campaign is not to get donors. we all know that will never work. my hope is if enough people can see this and understand my situation that maybe just maybe some private individual or broker might be willing to back me with a mortgage.

the odds are extremely low of this happening but its better than zero and I am quite frankly out of options. I have exhausted all of my resources and decision tree's there is nothing additional I can do except hope for "luck" and we know how well that works in the real world. its insane how lucky I am to have made it this far working this many hours.

my last measure my "escape hatch of escape hatches" was to buy a $29,000 rat hole. (its in pretty bad shape) and pay off the most expensive of the debt with the rest. I would still carry debt but it would be "about" what a mortgage would have cost so that can work. that is no longer an option. that house just went under contract 2 days ago. there are NO other options at that price range. 

I can't even try to make an offer on any house at a lower price since you have to have proof of funds and I don't until I sell the house. again non reversible decision. if it fails its tantamount to family suicide.

if anyone can help. even by simply spreading the word to people they know who might be able to help. I would appreciate it.

many if you have known me for over 20 years. I missed my very first naram this past summer. the sheriff sale was for August 10th......

in 24 years of credit history I have never missed a payment on anything. EVER. I have EXCELLENT credit. 700-760 with the only thing keeping me under 800 being my DTI (carrying too much debt) I pay my bills. no matter what if at all humanly possible.

thank you.

100% transparency brutal honestly. ask me absolutely anything. if a vetted individual thinks they might be able to help I will provide whatever docs they want (bank records credit reports etc..) and answer absolutely any reasonable question I am able to answer.

my original plan required one more year here to pay down the rest of the debt or nearly all of it and did not entail the nasty surprise $14,000 sewer bill. ($9,000 in interest penalties and fees) I would have enough savings and equity to purchase a house or get a mortgage (carrying no debt I would qualify and would not have to sell my home first to "try" to qualify)

this is no longer an option. the mortgage is $1749 a month and heating this house to 60'F costs $500 to $700 a month. without my savings to float me through the winter as I have the last 2 years this "WILL" fail. the math is clear. it can't work. my only alternative is to draw credit. this will get me to next summer no problem but will "trap" me here and once again doom me to failure because I don't have enough extra income for the extra debt payments drawing this money would require and can only get interest free for 6 months or so. after that I will begin to default on payments which will destroy my credit and then I won't be able to qualify for a mortgage at all. its a death spiral if I take that path.

better to sell become homeless but at least debt free. $10k won't get me far (what I will have left after paying off the debt) I guess it can rent a place for a year or so if I move out west (it won't pay 6 months here) another death spiral. me alone? I could do that. family of 3 possibly 4? never work. worse this would happen just as winter sets in. even new mexico gets pretty cold in the winter.

suggestions? remember this is not a new or sudden issue. I have been fighting this for over 2 years now. the sheriff sale debt just really screwed me hard at the worst possible time.

Now for something completely different. This probably isn't terribly competitive, but it's weird and cool and exciting and super minimalist. There's hardly anything on this plane that doesn't do 3 things or more:

This has been in development for a while now, and I haven't exactly kept it a secret, but flight testing is finally concluded and I think it flies rather well. Enjoy:





Yes, kits are indeed available. Not as affordable as the Edmond's offerings, but then we hand select the balsa on these, so they come out light enough that you can use actual paint.
http://jhaerospace.com/product/windlance...st-glider/

So it's been two years since Ken Brown died. I only recently learned of this and it's definitely a sad thing to see.

So no one has taken up production of these models, and there's nothing out there on how to recreate them. Can we start an effort to collect the plans for these models? Anyone have remnants of these kits, complete ones, etc? It seems a shame to let them die since QCR had a complete lineup of models for all of the NAR events.