Tag Archives: restroom facility

October 2022 meeting

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by Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

The society met at the Compton Airport front office again for our monthly meeting on October 14th. Mike LaGrange joined us by teleconference for the first time. Joel Cool-Panama was welcomed as our newest administrative member.

We first reviewed past events,

  • USC RPL sample grain burns
  • pad anchor modifications
  • restroom progress at the 10/1/22 work event

We spoke of pending events

  • Bill Claybaugh’s new pad, 10/20-10/22
  • Aerospace Corp launch of experimental motor, 10/20
  • next work event, 11/5-11/6, more plumbing
  • USC RPL static fire on 11/12
  • Events subject to change, public calendar soon to come online with the new website

The RRS reported quarterly dividend from Smile.amazon.com

Further concrete repair work is needed. Four of the 28 mounting holes need more work. This will likely be done by the society. We need to determine best way to extract old anchors and patch the holes with sufficient time for curing before redrilling. USC RPL will assist by drilling final anchors once repair work is done. USC has been very helpful in making this important site improvement.

A budget update on restroom with expenses to date and how much to finish. Last estimate showed we’re on target. An update is coming before next month. Our goal is for the restroom to become operational by year’s end.

The society is working hard to help other members to become pyro-ops. More pyro-ops means safer operations and greater flexibility in future events. Frank and Bill Inman have their letters and are working on their applications. The best way to start is being active with society events and apprenticing under experienced and licensed individuals.

RRS has updated their flight waiver with the FAA to 100,000 feet. Some planning and advance notice required. Laminated copy of our waiver and instructions will be put in the Dosa Bldg. Also, launch requirements available from the RRS president.

Patrick Finley of the Collegiate Propulsive Lander Challenge attended. He explained his foundation to encourage propulsive landing technologies among university groups. Five technology prizes. The RRS is a supporter of this initiative. He can be reached at “patrick@landerchallenge.space”

Wolfram Blume has been working on the Gas Guzzler over the summer. Fuel pump and flameholder fixes. Next flight could be in December?

Bill Inman is building the 2nd generation Solar Cat with fellow member Dale Talcott in Nevada. Subscale prototype built in the summer had excellent focus and heating. Next test at MTA could be December, perhaps January.

John Krell’s avionics chips have had some improvements. Now can do 16 channels at over 1 kHz all on a chip fitting in a slim alpha payload tube

First meeting with LACMA by the president and VP on a STEAM project focused on the arts. Further discussions will better define the RRS role. 

2023 Symposium will celebrate our 80th anniversary, tentative date is April 8. Researching locations, food service and potential speakers. Official launch will be in the new year.

New launch rail design proposed for high power rockets using 24-feet of 1515 launch rail and a 1-ton hand-winch to operate. It will be an outdoor fixed asset and supplement existing launch rails. Need to get a materials list and drawings made for a contractor quote.

Larger 60-foot launch rail for liquid rockets is in the planning stages. The RRS has had several entities interested in using such an asset.

We will soon be starting the effort to sort out the old equipment in the north yard, determine the purpose, origin, and dispose or refurbish each item. We must use our space wisely and not store articles without a relevant purpose. Junk will always fill a void.

RRS may be getting a new pair of storage containers and fire-fighting equipment. Council is in discussions and supportive of this site improvement. More details later.

Some at the meeting indicated strong interest in learning how to weld. The RRS is seeking an instructor which may give us training for a nominal fee. More on this next month.

3D printers were discussed near the end of the meeting. Several members have the devices, but design tools are just as important. Google Sketchup, Solidworks and CATIA are options but costs on some can be prohibitive. This would make a fine topic for a future article on RRS.ORG

Nominations for executive council offices will be at the November meeting next month. An election chairman will be appointed who is neither a current office holder or a candidate for office.

Next meeting at Compton Airport front office on 11/11/2022 at 7:30pm.

MTA work event, 2022-10–01

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by Dave Nordling, President, RRS.ORG

In the cooler temperatures of October, the society restarted our build efforts on the restroom container. It was great to have the support of several members including Dimitri Timohovich, Waldo Stakes and former president, Osvaldo Tarditti. We were able to make significant gains on the exterior plumbing connecting the water tanks and begin the heavier aspects of the interior plumbing for the toilets.

Setting up for a day of building at the MTA restroom
Thanks to Manny Marquez and his dad for helping with the effort.
Waldo and Osvaldo change out tools for the interior work.
Checking the spacing of things.
A lot more work is ahead of us.

We charged the water tanks with just a few hundred gallons in each to verify no leaks in the new header plumbing. We’ll bring more in later trips. We will need to meet at least a couple more times. Next build event is planned for November 6th. Our goal is to get an operational toilet, urinal and sink by year’s end. This much desired improvement remains our top priority.

June 2022 Virtual Meeting

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by Dave Nordling, President, Reaction Research Society

The Reaction Research Society held its monthly meeting by teleconference on June 10, 2022. The meeting covered several recent topics and we welcomed new member, Rushd Julfiker.:

We discussed the two recent events at the RRS MTA. Firing reports have been posted for each.

5/21: YMCA student launch event

6/4: UCLA Senior Capstone project launches

The society has had a few groups interested in using the MTA in the next month. Formal requests to use the MTA must be sent by email to the RRS president with specific dates requested.

Wilbur Owens’ loader in action on 5/21/2022 at the RRS MTA.

Dimitri Timohovich and Osvaldo Tarditti went to the MTA on Sunday, 6/5/22 to disassemble and examine the condition of the loader used at the MTA and owned by member, Wilbur Owens. The hydraulic cylinders will require a complete rebuild to return the machine to working order. The backhoe and loader has been a very useful asset to the society and as such the repairs will be paid by the society. Our security cameras are working well to monitor the site in our absence.

The 40th annual Large and Dangerous Rocket Ships (LDRS40) event by the Tripoli Rocketry Association is being hosted by the Rocketry Organization of California (ROC) in Lucerne Valley this weekend. Some of the RRS will be attending. it is an excellent event that brings many groups together and this year it is back in southern California.

lrds40.org

Progress is being made on the new restroom facility. The septic system and leach field will go in soon. Dimitri provided updates on the container interior which should be finished by month’s end. The next step will be adding the roof platform and water tanks followed by completing the electrical systems.

Site maintenance and upgrades were discussed for projects after the new restroom facility is complete including more water storage and fire suppression gear. We could also use some metal cabinets and industrial shelving to better organize the contents of our new 40-foot storage container.

We have had a persistent problem with nails and metal debris puncturing tires at the MTA. One solution to this problem is a magentic sweeper which can pull up and remove any iron pieces left in the shallow layers of sand and dust.

Magnetic sweepers make picking up nails, bolts and other iron debris simple.

The society has bought two of these devices. With some dedicated and coordinated efforts, our site can be cleaned of this hazard. We will be asking our membership to spend some time sweeping the MTA, collecting the findings and disposing of them in the burn pit.

The north pad (foreground) by the Dosa Building is a convenient spot for loading and unloading.

The society has bought a new 1-ton gantry crane, trolley and chain hoist. This equipment will be useful in loading and unloaiding heavy materials on and off pickup trucks. Items such as cryogenic liquid cylinders would benefit from having a simple means of lifting them on and off with no power source required. The gantry crane will have the wheels removed and will be permanently mounted to a fixed foundation at the north pad by the Dosa Building.

An example of a gantry crane, trolley and chain hoist lfiting a heavy article on or off a pickup truck.

After some consideration, the executive council decided it would be best to postpone the next RRS Symposium until the spring of 2023. It takes a significant amount of preparation and we felt it best to wait to begin in the new year when we will celebrate our 80th anniversary. Before the pandemic, we had three increasingly successful annual events and we look forward to restarting them soon.

Next meeting will be July 8th as they happen on every 2nd Friday of the month. Our meetings will remain by teleconference but we are checking with the Ken Nakaoka Community Center about returning to in-person meetings soon. We will continue to have the teleconference feature even after we return to in-person meetings.

To attend our meetings, contact the RRS secretary.

secretary@rrs.org