Reading of the previous meeting minutes: none, see below Secretary/Treasurer's report: not given, see below
Meeting attendees:
Since the following issue is important to the club, it was discussed first as soon as enough members were present. The Secretary/Treasurer, Ralph, has resigned. A letter written by Ralph to Bob Wingate was read with the comment that a check for the balance of the treasury was sent to Jerome. This topic was discussed at length, and covered how the issue should be handled per the charter, and what it is thought that the charter says about the subject. Tim Burger was appointed interim Secretary/Treasure by the club president.
The current balance of the treasury is $292.31. This sum includes the monies taken at the last club launch, and also includes the pro-rated dues for Michael Pule who recently joined the club. Jerome stated that he would send the funds to Tim.
The members present also discussed the treasury and the question of a club checking account. Tim volunteered to ask about accounts like this at some of the larger banks. The consensus being that best solution would be a bank with many branches for easy access and no fees.
Old Business:
1) Membership cards. These have been printed by Bill Hensley. They were brought to the launch but accidentally left with the equipment. Bob Wingate has a complete list of club members and getting the cards filled out should be no problem.
2) HPR field. Nick has been working on getting a waiver to fly rockets at the high power field we're planning to try out. His request covered two dates, the weekend of August 25 & 26, and the weekend of September 29 & 30. (The last weekend of both months.) There was a good bit of paper shuffling with the usual run-around on the part of the FAA, but Nick has completed all of the requested paperwork required and it has been received and noted. The person responsible is making noise about the field being smack under, or at least very near, a flight path to the Wichita airport which may be a problem. Nick stated that our first launch would probably include less than 50 rockets, and would not exceed 5,000 feet, with a call in limit of 10,000.
We also discussed the possibility of a somewhat larger field by speaking with the owners around the field we are currently planning to fly from.
3) Equipment Update. The equipment is working out very well. There are no real changes, the PA has been working very well, and getting everything set up and later packed up is a lot easier.
Jerome suggested that we should consider a bigger, stronger pad. This was discussed and it was pointed out that if we are planning HPR, we should consider this carefully. Jerome pointed out that the pads Jim Ball is making cost $100. A local vendor has rails for sale for $60. Discussions of rockets with rails followed with a general consensus that a lot of the club members would indeed equip their rockets with rails if they knew they could fly them at the club launches. Theo Asir suggested that there are plans available to make heavy pads that will cost about $25. No motions were made.
It was brought up that John Skelton had mentioned the idea of a trailer to someone at the last launch. This too was discussed and several points were made. The advantages are that it would be easier to pack up and keep track of the equipment. It would also make transporting equipment to Shawnee Mission Park, the new HPR field, and to PR events like the Paola Airshow a lot easier. The questions that need answered are: will we still be able to store it with the Case's farm, how much would it cost to make/purchase, can it be made water proof, and what about registration fees, and insurance? We all agreed it's a good idea. No motions were made.
The number of launch pads and stations on the controller were discussed. This was discussed in the light of how often there is a line waiting to launch. The overall opinion appeared to be that the problem was largely due to not enough of a given rod size and that a lot of waiting for a proper pad was being done, or a lot of changing of rods was holding up the launch procedure. It was suggested that three pads be located at each of the six stations with each of the three size rods. No motions were made. (Secretary's note: if we were to purchase or make larger heavier pads we'd have the extras available to do this.)
Following this, a discussion of launch control logging ensued. Bob Wingate requested that someone bring a launch card that the Tripoli MoKan club uses for a sample. The discussion covered the problems with the cards, namely that if the same card is used for multiple flights (a la NAR contest cards) folks carry them home and the club loses the potential of accurate records, and that the wind can reek havoc with them. No motions were made.
4) October Contest. Prizes have been secured and paid for, namely six Quest kits and an Airspike. Bob Wingate will be the contest director.
5) Advertising and Promotions. Dan Kirk brought out the idea of advertising in the "Time Bound" publication, a newsletter of the local SciFi club. Cost is $5.00 for a 1/4 page add. Pat Nelson told us that it has a fairly large readership. A discussion ensued, including the suggestion that the Star Trek fan club publication may also be advertised in and perhaps the club (Pat is a member) could be invited to one of the launches.
Bob made a motion that we advertise in the SciFi newsletter. It was seconded by Pat. The motion was carried by the majority.
6) Rocket Display at the Kansas City Public Library, Trails West Branch. This is an idea that we've been kicking around for a while. Dan mentioned that this was done before, but that he had been embarrassed by the lack of participation. We all took a walk out to the cases to get an idea of the size and generally agreed that we could fill all three cases. It was also generally agreed that the best time of the year would be Winter, preferably January. Tim mentioned that he had at least three rockets that would be available for display, and more during the winter. Pat and Bill also offered rockets for display. It was noted that the cases are locked. Bob Wingate suggested that photos of a given rocket "in action" accompany the rocket on display to give the impression that these are not simply static display rockets and that we are a club of action. Dan advises that we should discuss this with the head librarian for scheduling.
No motion was made.
7) Duty Roster Problems. This has been being discussed over the KCAR yahoo group with lots of ideas and suggestions about what to do about this problem. Bob brought up that it may simply be that the club members do not realize it has been a problem. In any event, shutting down the range last week did seem to solve the problem. The range was never actually shut down as two volunteers presented themselves for duty right after the announcement. Bob also liked the door prize idea. We discussed the "proceed to the head of the line" idea. We also discussed setup or breakdown as one hour of range duty, but it was pointed out that we still need to fill the slots. Jerome suggested that the range shouldn't open until the first four hours worth were filled, then amended this time to three hours. Dan suggested that we request volunteers for the next shift at the beginning of each shift. He also suggested that John Skelton be awarded a prize for all the extra range duty at the last launch. Bob mentioned that John be exempt from range duty as a prize with an apology for "speaking out of school" suggesting this earlier. We agreed that this should be the case. Jerome suggested that we set up a longer narrower waiting line with the flags at the next launch to avoid the "clump" of fliers that accumulates while waiting much as Ralph had set up last August that seemed to work better. No motions were made.
8) Paola Demonstration. The officials of this event are holding a meeting next weekend. Nick suggested that everyone that can attend and that he would be there. He and Jerome were also planning to drive down after this meeting to look at the site. The following points were discussed:
No motions were made.
There was no new business.
Dan suggested that we adjourn if there is nothing else. Tim made that motion, Bob seconded, motion carried by the majority.
Education Program:
George Sheil presented the club members present with NARTREK information. He handed out data packets on the Bronze level, and passed around some other information about the Silver and Gold levels, and detailed information on the advanced levels. George very skillfully fielded a number of questions.
Show-n-Tell:
Nick showed us a rocket and altimeter that he has set up. We discussed and asked questions about the technical nature of the unit. Nick also showed us some 9V nickel-metal-hydride batteries and a charger for them.
These minutes were recorded by Tim Burger from notes and memory. We all know my memory isn't what it was, so feel free to point out any inaccuracies or mistakes and make clarifications that you might feel are needed. Thanks!
KCAR Home Page
Email: nar505@yahoo.com
Last updated: July 21, 2001
