Tag Archives: restroom

March 2023 Meeting

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by Joel Cool-Panama, Secretary, RRS.ORG

The Reaction Research Society held its monthly meeting at the Compton/Woodley Airport location, March 10th, at 7:30 PM PST.

Agenda topics of the meeting were:

  • Jim Gross video watch in San Fernando
  • Symposium
  • MTA Upgrades:
    • MTA Restroom
    • Restroom locks
    • Blockhouse
    • 60 ft launch rail
    • Fencing
    • New generator
  • UCLA 3/2/23
  • Nickerson Gardens, 3/18
  • Claybaugh launch 4/22, 4/29
  • Polaris Propulsion MTA use, August/September
  • Polaris Propulsion meeting, March 14th
  • American Artist
  • Far Solid Motor class
  • Expansion of MTA use
  • Plastic bin donations

Past Events

UCLA was scheduled to use the MTA on March 2nd. However, they had to
reschedule, and are now due to use the MTA on March 18th. As a part of their
use of the MTA, UCLA has agreed to clear some brush on the property on the
society’s behalf.

Yet more progress has been made on the MTA restroom project. Though the
water pump is not yet running, the shower is operational. Also, Dimitri
has been looking into high quality locks for the MTA, having spend $60 so
far on the project.

Current Events

Claybaugh is currently working on his next launch at the MTA. As of now, he
is scheduled to launch on April 22nd.

As previously mentioned, society member Dimitri is researching high quality
locks for the MTA. The ones at the site now are typical residential locks,
and have withstood the elements poorly since their installation. The ones
Dimitri is currently looking into are better resistant to dust, being used
at mines and quarries. The new locks can all be keyed so that the whole
facility will only make use of a handful of keys, making keeping a whole
set easier.

Jim Gross has also confirmed that his video watch party will be held at his
home in San Fernando. Though he is apparently open to hosting future watch
parties online, it seems that on this occasion he plans to host the party
exclusively in-person. He also is looking into getting an educational
allowance from the publisher, for his watch parties.

The RRS symposium is now certainly set to be held at the Mary Star of the
Sea Highschool, in San Pedro, Los Angeles. The society will be arriving
early to do necessary preparations for the day, and will likewise do some
setup the night before, before or after our monthly meeting, to be held at
the same location. Frank has already obtained the keys to the campus, so we
will be free to setup before the day of.

In regards to our preparations, it’s been noted that we should seek out
Fire Marshall approal for a model rocket, if we are to launch one at the
symposium. Mary Star will handle food service for us, and we will need to
keep an eye out for vandalism to their campus. We also need to check the
quality of their internet service, and to obtain signs and easels.

In regards to attendance of the symposium, a number of groups have confirmed
their attendance or absence at this time. FAR has confirmed that they will
not be at the symposium. The Air Force might make an attendance, and ROC
is expected to come as well. There is also a desire to reach out to Civil
Air Control. Over all, it’s been noted that the symposium attendance will
have fewer schools, with a greater industry presence.

Society Treasurer Larry has made some progress in regards to the new
Blockhouse project. He’s made contact with National Concrete, who can build
a new blockhouse, and has received an estimate. This same group has been
used by the society previously for the restroom concrete pads.

The society has recently accepted the donation of a telescoping tower. The
tower is about 50 to 60 feet in length, and the donor is asking for a tax
write-off in return.

Headway has also been made in constructing new MTA fencing. Ed’s Fencing has
given an estimate of $100k. Their estimate includes a 6ft high, mendable
fence, with concrete posts 3 feet in the ground. Alternatives cheaper than
this have been proposed, including a simple razor wire fence, by Dimitri.

Another project has also been undertaken for the MTA. Society Secretary Joel
has been delegated the responsiblity of improving the MTA’s electrical
infrastructure. The current generator used at the site is owned by Polaris
Propulsion, and it’s been noted that it is not clean burning. There is a
desire to purchase a cleaner and more efficent 20kw generator, as well as to
add solar to the electrical infrastructure. It’s been recommended that
Osvaldo be contacted in regards to this project.

Frank’s class in Nickerson Gardens is currently set to launch their rockets
on March 18th. Frank’s current plan is to launch each rocket three times.

Responses have been received from members regarding FAR’s solid motor class.
The class will span over three weeks, and will be led by John Newman. It’s
been noted that a single class uses 8ft of propellant, and that a class only
takes 4 persons. The classes will be $10 per person per day.

Future Events

Polaris Propulsion is going to make use of the MTA later in the year,
starting in August, and ending in September.

American Artist is still planning to launch his rocket. It’s a 1936 vintage
Caltech motor, and as of now it is expected to occur either at the end of
the year, or some time next year.

The society is also looking into expanding MTA use in the future. There is
a desire to hold regular launch events, such as on the fourth Saturday of
the month. The society will also need a high power launch rail to accomodate
more clients in the future.

The next society meeting will be on April 14th, 2023, at Mary Star of the
Sea High School. Contact the secretary for details.

MTA work and launch event, 2023-02-19

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by Dimitri Timohovich, RRS.ORG

The RRS met at the Mojave Test Area from Sunday, February 19, through Tuesday, February 21st, primarily to continue working on the restroom. We also got a launch or two off on Sunday thanks to Keith Yoerg.

Returning rocket to the MTA courtesy of favorable winds

Here is a basic recap of what was done and what needs to be finished to get the bathroom up to working order.

On Sunday, 2/19/2023, Keith and I installed 5 of the 6 unistrut segments on top of the Dosa building. The last piece was accidentally left behind and will be installed on the next trip out. Dave Nordling assisted with installing the lighting in both bathrooms which were tested. 4-hour mechanical timer switches were used to avoid wasting power.

Dave Nordling also cleared brush in the western part of the MTA property that day.

Mechanical timer switches used in both restrooms.
Dual LED panels from recreational vehicles provide excellent low-power lighting.
Good quality light from just two panels.

On Monday, 2/20/2023, I welded and installed the four-inch sewage drain passthrough and attached the sewage drain line to the passthrough. I started welding the other two passthroughs.

On Tuesday, 2/21/2023, I continued welding passthroughs until the wind came up and had to stop. From there, I continued installing the water intake line on top of the container and continued hooking up Pex pipes inside the container.

What’s next will be finishing the 4-inch drain line and starting the 2-inch drain line in the ground. The 2-inch passthrough must be welded in to the container wall. Attachment of the intake water line to it’s passthrough will follow, then attaching the water line from passthrough to water pump. We must also finish attaching the water lines from the pump to all fixtures.

We will temporarily attach the water pump to battery power and test the lines. This will get the bathroom to interim working status which is a major goal of the project. The date of the next work event is not known at this time but will be coming very soon.

February 2023 meeting

Posted on by

by Joel Cool-Panama, Secretary, RRS.ORG

The Reaction Research Society held its monthly meeting at the Compton/Woodley Airport location, February 10th, at 7:30 PM PST.

Agenda topics of the meeting were:

  • Pyro-op licenses. New applications, test materials, CALFIRE website list, renewal period reminder.
  • Newman motor pouring class interest
  • Outreach
  • CALFIRE Rocket subcommittee
  • Bill Claybaugh
  • Jim Gross meet up in San Fernando Valley for electrical firing video
  • Symposium
    • Entrance fee
  • Larry Hoffing

Past Events

On January 22nd, 2023, we hosted another work event at the MTA. The work event was productive, but the electrical and septic work are not yet done. More support during the work week was requested, and another event was scheduled for February 19th.

Keith Yoerg held a firing event at the MTA on January 28th. He, Leanna Lincoln, Rushd Julfiker, Jim Gross, and Michael Rouleau attended. Keith recorded videos of the event, including slow motion footage, of the four micrograin standard alpha rockets they fired. Larry briefly went over methods for cleaning out alpha rocket propellant tubes as a part of the discussion.

FAR’s liquid rocket symposium on the same day, January 28th, at the Flabob Airport in Riverside was a success, having about two hundred persons in attendance. Videos and presentations from the event are currently hosted on Mark Ventura’s website.

The society is pleased to announce the new Constitution has officially been ratified. While there were no opposing votes, the fact is that a majority of society members did not vote on the matter.

On February 6th, the executive council discussed the new website. We currently expect that the site will launch by the first of March. As of now, we are seeking tax exempt status from Paypal, in order to reduce the cut of our donations which they take. We also need to archive the old website.

Regarding our April symposium, we are currently leaning strongly towards holding the event at the Mary Star of the Sea High School in San Pedro, which has approved the event. It should be noted that the location has good parking, and might provide food for the event. We also discussed holding a class on their football field.

Current Events

The Society is pleased to announce that Keith Yoerg is currently getting his recommendation letters for a Class 2 Rockets pryo-op license. Wolfram is also undertaking the process for obtaining a license, and Michael Rouleau is considering it as well.

For any others who might be interested in obtaining a pyro-op license, it was mentioned that the lowest grade license, Class 3 Rockets, doesn’t require recommendations from fellow license holders. Instead, recommendations from any non-related person as to your character will suffice.

John Newman’s solid motor pouring class at the FAR site was also mentioned at the meeting. He is going to be hosting the class on the first and third Saturday’s of March. So far, nearly ten society members have shown interest in attending.

Society vice president, Frank Miuccio was pleased to announce his first class in a year at Nickerson Gardens. The class demonstrated straw rockets and Newton’s three laws of motion.

Society treasurer Larry Hoffing attended the last CALFIRE Rocket subcommittee in Dave’s place. Mark Holthaus of FAR and David Reese of ROC have been giving a lot of good guidance to CALFIRE regarding laws governing rocketry which will be taken for legislative review this year in Sacramento. Based on some language seen in a recent draft, society president Dave Nordling had strong reservations against manually relieving pressurized tanks which should be avoided by design on rockets and remote releases should be mandated instead. This will be mentioned in further meetings at the committee.

Bill Claybaugh continues to prepare for a late April launch and may need to use the MTA again in the near future.

Future Events

Jim Gross is still planning to watch some educational videos with members of the society. The location was set for his home in Northridge, but the possibility of an online meeting, potentially through Zoom, was discussed.

The date and time for the society symposium has been set for April 15th, 8am to 5pm. The society discussed using the preceding Friday evening to set up for the event. The ordering of exhibits was discussed as well, and it was suggested that universities be allotted later presentation times, as well as big ticket exhibits. A limit of twenty minutes and twenty slides was suggested for each exhibit, but it was suggest that this number of slides was in excess of the time alotment. There was also brief discussion of holding a launch at the event.

The subject of fundraising at the Symposium was also discussed. It was suggested that some or all visitors pay an entrance fee, but it was mentioned that another society encountered issues when they sought to do the same. It was suggested that the society could have a dedicated RRS table to collect donations which would require constant monitoring. It was also suggested that donations might help cover expenses and the need for cleanup volunteers after the event was mentioned.

The CALFIRE Subcommittee has deliberated on some new rules. Among them are a requirement that blockhouses have two layers of sandbags on their roof or the equivalent to slow down projectiles. Although the idea is not new, there is some question about the exact and specific need of sandbags to provide adequate protection versus other means of construction providing similar or even superior protection.

Larry Hoffing needs a blueprint for a new blockhouse which Chris Lujan is to assist with. It should be noted that the contractor who worked on the septic system is a mason, and could be asked for assistance when time requires.

Following the completion of the restroom, the next project which the society wishes to tackle is the creation of a sixty-foot launch rail for liquid propellant rockets. Many universities have requested this and Mark Holthaus of FAR may be able to give us the design for the one used at FAR.

Another potential future project is the surplus LNG container that the society owns. While it isn’t ready for use and requires some refurbishment, some groups to the MTA have inquired about our capacity to deal with LNG. The society will need someone to work this project.

The next society meeting will be on March 10th, 2023. Contact the secretary for details.