Tripoli Western Australia is pleased to announce that the 4th annual Williams "Wildfire" Westernationals is to be scheduled for the Foundation Day long weekend over the 2nd & 3rd of June 2012.

Whilst this post is early, and there is still much planning to be undertaken, it was decided to let everyone know the dates so travel plans and holidays may be booked in as much advance as possible.

Preliminary plans once again include a "Rockets Magazine" Mach Madness competition and a "CGN Rocketry" Random Altitude contest, so now is the time to start thinking of a winning combination as there will be some GREAT prizes up for grabs!

One of the features at the last event which created much interest was an "Australian Rocketry" sponsored N2000W "State of Origin" Drag Race. A similar drag race will again be a feature of this years event, which will most certainly be worth seeing.

A number of other spectacular projects are also on the drawing boards, but unfortunately their nature cannot yet be revealed.

The operating ceiling of the instrument in place at Williams is 18,000ft, with windows into Controlled Airspace to an altitude of 23,000ft available under exclusive conditions.
Any flyer wishing to make use of the extended windows will need to contact the Prefect (email below) in advance to have their flights included in the required paperwork.

This thread will be used in conjunction with our own website http://www.tripoliwa.org.au to provide further updates and details of registration, accommodation, special events & sponsors.

The event also provides a unique opportunity for Tripoli members to certify at all levels including L3 as a TAP will be present for the duration.

Any questions may also be directed to our email address prefect@tripoliwa.org.au

Mach Madness V-2.0 Un-ashamedly ripped off from MDRA (Thanks Bob!)

The Challenge: How fast can you go and stay within the waiver? Do you want to test your skills and challenge your fellow fliers in one of four dedicated Classes? Then you’ll want to participate in Mach Madness V-2.0.

The success of the original Mach Madness concept was based around an unlimited competition. While the name is Mach Madness, you do not have to break Mach to compete or even win. All you have to do is go faster than the other guy or gal. The changes to Mach Madness will make the event even more competitive than ever and open the opportunity to win open to all levels of rocket fliers.

This year we have broken Mach Madness down into 4 different classes.

Class 1) Any rocket powered up through G Impulse.
Class 2) Any rocket powered between the H and I Impulse.
Class 3) Any rocket powered between J and L Impulse.
Class 4) Any rocket powered M Impulse and above.

This is half Challenge and half Fund Raiser to help pay for ongoing upgrades and maintenance of the Tripoli WA/CGN Infrastructure, Pads, Trailers, Launch Towers and all the other good things Tripoli WA has to offer it's members. "Mach Madness" will give all you Guys and Gals a chance to put your "Motor Where Your Mouth Is" and show us "Who Is The Baddest In The Land" "Mach Madness" involves putting up $5.00 per flight to enter the challenge and through verifiable means be the fastest in the air. You must have a recording altimeter in the rocket to download with the Mach Madness Judge. Each Class will have a winner and the overall fastest Mach Madness will be The Badest of the Land.

All awards will be presented at each Williams "Wildfire" Westernationals.

We have had major interest from our Vendors who would like to donate some top end prizes to Mach Madness. This should add additional incentive to push the envelope. After all we are Tripoli WA/CGN, if we don’t do it who will? The results would be prominently displayed on the Tripoli WA Web Site as to "Who Is The Baddest In The Land" and the current speed records.

The rules are:

* Any size rocket.
* Staging is permitted.
* Any motor or combination of motors.
* Stay with in the waiver; this will be enforced.
* The rocket must ascend intact, no Max-Q disassemblies. The high "G" spike throws the readings out the door.
* The rocket must be un-damaged on landing. The altimeter / accelerometer must still be functioning.
* There must be a verifiable means of determining the speed such as an ARTS, Altacc, G-Wiz, Raven, Perfect Flite, RDAS etc. on board.
* If you have a new or different type recording altimeter you must give the Judge(s), the software and the cables for recording purposes.
* The altimeter is downloaded into the Judge(s) onsite laptop the day of the launch.
* The fee is $5.00 per flight payable at the registration table.
* The Class Winner is entitled to the designated prize for that Williams "Wildfire" Westernationals.
* There will be a "Baddest In The Land" overall winner at the end of each Williams "Wildfire" Westernationals.
* If the rocket is lost and not found by the end of the launch, the flight is disqualified.

Who is the "Baddest In The Land"? Could it be you? Put your Motor where your mouth is!

For all the budding Aerospace design engineers out there we at Tripoli Western Australia have come up with another competition for the Williams "Wildfire" Westernationals that we like to call "Random Altitude"

The rules are simple, any rocket, any motor or combination of motors, stay within the advertised waiver & horizontal radius and carry a recording altimeter that can have the data downloaded onto the judges laptop.

Any high pressure spikes will be eliminated from the data, and the judges decision is final, so no tears!

Simply pre-nominate on you flight card "Random Altitude" and an altitude of any specific number of your choosing, pay the $5.00 registration fee, have it stamped and verified by the RSO. Fly your rocket, and upon retrieval present the altimeter to the judges for verification.

The flier with an actual flown altitude closest to their pre-nominated value wins!

Presumably altitude must be non-zero and positive. Is there a minimum altitude? I imagine those flying to lower altitudes can more accurately predict the altitude rather than those flying higher.

Ahhhh Yes..... That would be correct




No minimum altitude, however the winner will be decided on a ratio/percentage basis which theoretically creates an opportunity for everyone, regardless of impulse, rocket design or complexity to compete on a level playing field.

I can think of a couple of "No Brainer" ways to win this contest, but since I am the "Judge" I will keep them to myself and let others figure a way of picking up a prize.

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THOSE ATTENDING WWW 2012

Williams "Wildfire" Westernationals will have a standing 18,000 ft instrument in place with high altitude windows on each day to 23,500 ft. To enable the windows certain criteria must be met and submitted to CASA/Air Services Australia for the permissions to be processed.

Any flyer wishing to take advantage of a high altitude window please contact me (sooner rather than later) using the following email address:

prefect@tripoliwa.org.au

Information that will need to be provided is:

What altitude do you predict your rocket will attain?
How much time your rocket will spend in Class E airspace (Class E LL FL180)?

So you will need to advise the duration your rocket will be between 18,000 ft to its maximum altitude (no more than 23,500 ft) whilst ascending and the duration of the descent from its maximum altitude back to 18,000 ft

A simulation file will also be required showing weight, maximum altitude, descent rate and flight duration.

Launch windows will be scheduled between 1:00 PM - 3:00 PM on Saturday and 10:00 AM - 12:00 Noon Sunday and possibly again at 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM Sunday.

Flights above 18,000 ft will not be permitted unless they have been pre-approved.

Sounds like fun!

Any ideas where I can get an altimeter for this -



I reckon that it will do at least 30 feet!

Krusty

Why don't you just put it on a spool of cotton, then just measure how much comes off Now I think of it, DO IT!! I WANNA SEE THAT haha

Now that is an idea! Will the judges accept that???

Krusty

Quick question Scoop. Can I assume Altus Metrum products (Telemetrum, Telemini) are acceptable for use in the Mach Madness competition?

You're thinking small, that's your problem!
Build a real rocket, put it on a spool of rope. Measure the rope beforehand and stake the other end to the ground!

PK

It's a real rocket!! Real small

And hey, they're just pennies a flight!

Krusty

PK, why not do this and keep the rope short, like a few meters


So will there be any flying self pleasuring devices this year ?

CS

Not sure. If you are desparate, you might be able to catch a parrot. Gotta trim the beak.. Nasty cuts. Feathers tickle real nice though!

Probably better to bring your own..
PK

I just remembered that I have something else on that weekend...