1.
The NAR Safety Codes for model rocketry, high power rocketry, and
radio-control gliders will be followed for all activities at Rainbow Valley.
The U.S. Model Rocketry Sporting Code (USMRC, or "Pink Book") will be followed
for competition flying. These codes include the following requirements:
Ø No alcoholic beverage consumption by fliers on the range.
Ø No smoking around high-power rocket preparation or flying areas.
Ø
No use of rocket motors that are not listed on
the most recent “Combined Motor Certification List” published by NAR Standards
and Testing.
2.
Rainbow Valley’s field rules also require the following:
Ø No glass containers on the property.
Ø No private cooking (grills, etc.) on the property.
Ø Pets must be on a leash or in an enclosure.
Ø
Rocket flying
is allowed only on the official range(s).
3.
Contest or sport range RSO decisions on disqualification or denial of
flight due to safety are final. Contest RSO decisions on other aspects of
contest flight qualification may be appealed to the Contest Jury in accordance
with the Pink Book.
4.
There will be two ranges set up for rocket activities: the Contest
Range and the Sport Range. These will be the only areas from which
rockets may be launched.
Ø Competition flights will be flown only from the competition range.
Ø Practice flights for competition models and non-competition flights may be made only from the sport range.
Ø Gliders may be hand tossed in cleared areas, away from launch activities.
5.
All radio control equipment will
be impounded while on site, and released for use only under the established
frequency control procedures.
6.
Only biodegradable (and
animal-digestible) wadding is permitted, no pink fiberglass is permitted. Blue
foam plugs for competition models are acceptable.
7. Do not transmit on FRS radio channel 7, which is used for NARAM management.
NARAM-48 Sport Flying Range Rules
1.
No one under age 18 or not NAR or TRA
HPR certified for the motor impulse in question will be allowed past safety
check-in in the direction of the high-power pads without an appropriately
certified sponsor.
2.
You must present your NARAM registration badge to the Sport Range staff
to be allowed to fly on the sport range.
3.
Igniters for high power rockets will be installed only at the pad
immediately before flight. They should be brought to the safety check in desk
separately from, but along with, the rocket.
Ø Sensitive igniters (such as 'electric match' and 'flash bulbs') must be shorted until hooked up to the range launch control systems at the pad.
Ø Electronically-triggered ejection charges or upper-stage ignition systems must also be shorted or disconnected until the rocket is at the pad.
Ø Continuity checks on igniters that are installed in high power motors may only be made through the range launch control systems, after the rocket is at the pad, pointed upward, and ready to be flown.
4.
No high-power rockets may be launched at angles that would cause them to
fly over the contest range or spectator area.
5.
All high power flyers should be prepared to demonstrate the location and
correct orientation of the Center-of-Pressure and Center-of-Gravity for their
rocket.
6.
All HPR flights of “I” or higher motors will be announced from the Sport
Range RSO to the Contest Range RSO before launch, so that all fliers on the
field may be alerted to the impending launch.
1.
Model rocketry is FUN. Lives and fortunes are not at stake in the
contest events, so do not behave like they were. Good sportsmanship is
expected.
2. Range Duty. All contestants are required to perform their fair share of some form of range crew duty each day.
Ø Each individual from a team will be expected to perform duty.
Ø Range duties will be assigned via a published duty roster based on the preferences indicated on your registration form, and on the needs of the contest. See the Range Operations Manager if you need to request a change
Ø Contestants who fail to show up for their assigned duties will not be allowed to fly in competition that day.
3. Check-In. Contestants must check in for each official flight attempt and satisfy the check-in officer that their model complies with the rules, uses an engine certified for NAR contest use, and is ready to be flown. A new flight card will be issued for each flight attempt. The contestant is responsible for ensuring the card contains the proper information for his flight.
Ø Engines must be presented for inspection before flight, at check-in.
Ø Check-in for each event will close 10 minutes prior to the end of that event.
Ø After the official end time for an event, all flights in the launch queue at that time will be given a single launch attempt. Misfires on the pad after event close may NOT be corrected and retried.
NOTE: We plan to allow you to check in engines, models and eggs the night before at the hotel; this will help you prep your model and expedite flying on a short schedule.
4. Pad Assignments. Pad assignments will be made only to unoccupied pads. If you have a tower (or other device) at a busy pad, you have the option of moving your equipment to an unoccupied pad, or waiting until the pad with your equipment is free. No stacking or pre-allocating flight cards for a particular pad will be allowed. You must re-enter the assignment queue for each flight attempt.
5. Requesting a Flight. When you are at a pad and your model is ready to fly, indicate this to the Launch Control Officer by raising the paddle corresponding to your pad number until he acknowledges you.
Ø When acknowledged, your flight card will be entered into the launch queue and you should put the paddle back down on the ground by the pad.
Ø The RSO will fly rockets from the launch queue in first-in, first-out sequence. If you are no longer ready to launch when your turn comes up, the RSO will return your flight card to the end of the queue.
6. Misfires. Stay away from your model for 60 seconds as required by the Safety Code after any misfired launch attempt.
Ø If your misfire can be corrected with a spare igniter at the pad, your flight card will be removed from the ready-to-fly queue and re-entered when you again signal ready-to-fly with your paddle.
Ø If you must leave the pad area to correct a misfire, your flight card will be returned to Pad Assignment and you must return through there for a new pad assignment when again ready to fly.
7. Launch Devices. Towers or other personally-provided launch devices must be sufficiently sturdy and long to provide safe initial guidance to the rocket.
Ø Piston launchers must include directional support after the rocket separates from the piston tube. Pistons used inside a tower are considered to have this support; free-standing pistons must provide it in some other manner that is judged adequate and safe by the RSO.
o Guiderails on the piston that are at least 2 inches long (for 13mm bodies) or 3 inches long (18mm or larger bodies) will be automatically considered adequate and safe.
Ø Contestant-provided launch devices must include an adequate blast deflector that prevents motor exhaust from directly impinging on the ground.
Ø
Contestant-provided electrical
launch systems must comply with NAR Safety Code requirements, and procedures for
control of launch with them must be approved by the RSO.
8. Returns. For events requiring a returned model, that return must be made within 60 minutes from the end time for that day's events. There will be a designated "returns point" at the NARAM motel if the returns desk on the field is closed. It is the contestant's responsibility to ensure that the officials have annotated the flight card to correctly mark the model as returned.
Ø Returns for rockets that land in dangerous or inaccessible spots may be waived under Pink Book Rule10.4 for all NARAM events except for Eggloft. Such “10.4” returns can be claimed for flights that land in trees and power lines and are visible there to the RSO or his designated official. These officials will not travel farther than 2 miles in order to view and certify a potential 10.4 return from an inaccessible point, except they will go anywhere to view a potential 10.4 return from a power line.
Ø Do not walk through the high-power pads on the Sport Range while recovering your models.
9. Tracking. All tracking will be to the point of ejection. Please use colored tracking powder that contrasts with the prevailing sky conditions, and inform the check-in officer of the color that you used. Flights that are “track lost” or “no close” but otherwise qualified do not count as official flights and may be reflown -- or can be accepted as a flight of "0" for flight points.
10. Specific Event Guidelines. In addition to all the specific requirements of the USMRSC, which are not repeated below but should be read in advance by all contestants, the following interpretations and special procedures are provided for specific NARAM-48 events:
Ø 1/2A Streamer Duration. The streamer must be completely out of the body tube and in the airstream in any form to qualify as deployed.
Ø B Helicopter Duration. A minimum of one complete rotation around the vertical axis is required during descent. NARAM-48 will follow Rule 11.9, no limit on the number of flips as long as vertical-axis rotation occurs.
Ø B Boost-Glide. If the flight angle during powered boost ever points below the horizontal plane, the flight attempt will be declared to be "ascending using aerodynamic lifting forces" under Pink Book Rule 1.1 and will be DQ. The model must glide at some point during its return; this is defined as maintaining a stable flight path having a slope within 45 degrees of horizontal. The model must land safely, "death dives" that hit the ground in an unsafe manner as judged by the RSO may be DQ, even after a glide was established. The booster or motor pod must also be recovered in an appropriately safe manner and must be returned with the gliding portion in order to get a “returned” flight.
Ø B Eggloft Duration. Eggs broken in the preparation process may be replaced, until a flight has been attempted. Eggloft Duration flights are not required to deploy a recovery system as long as they land safely.
Ø F Altitude. Contestants using o-board electronics, staging, or clusters, are requested to note it on the flight card. No return is required, unless requested by the RSO.
Ø Scale and Science Fiction and Fantasy Scale. Safe landing is required for ALL components. Return is not required for qualification, but entries which cannot be returned (including under Rule 10.4) will be awarded maximum flight damage points under Pink Book Rule 16.8.
Ø Research and Development. All entries involving rocket flight must comply with the NAR Safety Codes, even if a demonstration flight is not planned at NARAM-48. Note the extensive specific requirements for the content of the report in Pink Book Rule 63.5.