For all those budding Aerospace design engineers who think they know their rocket like the back of their hand, the Tripoli WA Games Comittee have come up with another competition for this years Williams "Wildfire" Westernationals. A competition we like to call the Dial Your Own Challenge.
Part challenge / part fund raiser, this seasons comp will cost $5 per flight with all proceeds going towards maintaining / upgrading the club infrastructure.
Rules
The rules are simple, pick you rocket, pick your motor(s), nominate the altitude you think it'll get to and try and get to it.
The calculation being r = |h - n|/n where
r = ratio
h = actual height
n = nominated height
The flight with the lowest r value at the end of the event wins. In the case of a draw, the fastest speed is next determinant.
As always: No crying... Judge's decision is final on all aspects of the competiton.
At a minimum, the rocket must conform to all the rules of a standard Tripoli WA launch.
The rocket must be recovered in a similar state that would have it pass a certification flight.
The entire flight must be contained within the operating ceiling of 5486m (18,000 feet).
Every competition launch attempt must be clearly indicated as Random Altitude on the Flight Card along with the nominated height.
Data
The recording altimeter must be carried during the flight.
Valid data from the flight must be downloaded to the Judge's computer, must be readable and clearly demonstrating flight velocity.
Other Considerations
Participants must agree to photos, video and any material from the flight being made available to media such as Rockets Magazine for possible inclusion in articles.
The Judge has most forms of software on his laptop, however if you are using an altimeter other than G Wiz MC2, LCX or HCX (Flight Viewer V2.8.1) Arts 1 or 2 (Data Analyser V1.5) Featherweight Parrot or Raven (Featherweight Interface Program) I would suggest that you bring a version of the software along so that it can be installed on the Judge's computer and the data downloaded.
Any high pressure spikes will be eliminated from the data, and the judges decision is final, so no tears!
If you wish to use a Perfectflite MAWD or similar, then your gonna have to produce a fairly robust excel program to convert the time & height data to something we're gonna be happy accepting. This application will need to be sent to the Judge prior to the launch with enough time to satisfactorally evaluate it's effectiveness.
Now...
If your up for the challenge...
Let the Games begin!
