Tag Archives: UCLA

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 High School, 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 6-foot 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 8 feet 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 Launch Event, 2022-06-04

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By Dave Nordling, President, Reaction Research Society

The RRS held a launch event on Saturday, June 4, 2022, at our Mojave Test Area (MTA). I was the pyro-op in charge. Winds were brisk and steady, but still under the 25 MPH limit. We had two operations that day.

The first was the UCLA Senior Capstone project led by Professor Brett Lopez. This quarterly class has seniors build and balance their own rockets from scratch. They load F-sized motors and fly them at the end of the quarter to prove their team’s skills in flight.

The UCLA students gather their materials in the propellant loading area.

Secondly, RRS member Wolfram Blume returned to the MTA with the latest rebuild of the Gas Guzzler. He had concerns about flying in the strong winds that day so he limited his work to testing the staging system with both halves on the 1515 rail. Bill Inman and new member, Dale, offered their assistamce in positioning the rocket on the rail.

Dale, Wolfram and Bill Inman

Bill Inman and Dale assisted Wolfram in trying out the new staging system in the Gas Guzzler. The old system (e.g., last December) was a hassle and required assembling the upper stage (main body tube, cowling, nose cone) on the rail with a screw driver and a step ladder. The mating of the booster thrust rods into the upper stage was very difficult. So after December, he redesigned and rebuilt the thrust rods and the staging system. The result was a successful design. The new system is fairly easy to stage on the rail, does not require any assembly (with the ever-present danger of losing small screws) and does not require a ladder. Wolfram feels good about this system for future launches.

The Gas Guzzler during its fit check on 6/4/2022

Wolfram doesn’t think he’ll make it back to the MTA until the summer heat is over. His goals for the summer both involve the fuel system:

  • The flameholder is the ramjet needs to ignite every time.
  • The ramjet slows down very quickly after stage separation (25m/sec/sec = 60mph/sec), so the ramjet must ignite within less than 2 seconds after stage separation; less than 1 second would be better.

Using the 270-volt, 3-phase electricity at Wolfram’s laboratory, he can run a 20hp air blower which can mimic the air flow at stage separation with a K-motor in the booster (175 m/sec). The blower can be run higher to mimic stage-separation flight speeds of about 250 m/sec which is just below the separation speed of an L-motor in the booster (280-300 m/sec).

Wolfram’s workshop is good for the tuning and testing the flameholder. but running the main burner would require returning to the MTA. The main fuel flow could be tuned using water. After the summer’s heat is over, he will return to the MTA and finish testing the parachute system. The first powered flight of the ramjet with a short – 5 second burn is under discussion.

This short event was also a good time to clean up the site a bit. The society has big plans for the summer including some much anticipated facility upgrades.

The next monthly meeting will be June 10th (2nd Friday of each month) by teleconference. Contact the RRS secretary for details.

March 2022 virtual meeting

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by Keith Yoerg, Secretary, Reaction Research Society

The society held its monthly meeting for March on Friday, the 11th, at 7:30pm by teleconference.

The following items were on the agenda.

  • Chris Lancaster’s presentation on rocket bikes and drag racing history
  • Review of recent MTA events, USC RPL static fire
  • Upcoming events at the MTA
    • Delivery of new 40-foot storage container by Dimitri Timohovich
    • Site maintenance and upgrades
    • Wolframe Blume’s next flight of the Gas Guzzler
    • Bill Inman’s testing for steam rocketry
    • Low power launches
  • Upcoming university event requests and inquiries
    • USC RPL static fire and flight
    • University of Michigan, MASA in May 2022
    • UC Irvine and Cal Poly Pomona
    • UCLA
  • Student classes and launches
    • LAPD CSP – STRIVE event, 4/2/2022
    • YMCA classes, launch on 5/1/2022(?)
  • RRS post office box, renewal and other options

We spent the majority of our time on the subject of early rocketry in drag racing and rocket bikes. Chris Lancaster of Pennsylvania spent an extraordinary amount of time researching this subject and the specific rocket bike built by Henk Vink now on exhibit in Germany. A stand-alone article on this topic may be forthcoming.

Henk Vink, racing a rocket-powered motorcycle in Europe

The MTA firing report from 3/12/2022 covers the events from that day following the meeting. The anticipated events were discussed at the meeting.

The RRS will continue to keep our post office box in Los Angeles (Inglewood) 90009 for another year. The annual cost has been rising but it remains well used for correspondence.

Reaction Research Society; P.O. Box 90933; Los Angeles, CA, 90009

Our director of research, Richard Garcia, agreed to investigate LNG safety guidelines with regard to flaring of this volatile fuel in amateur rocketry applications. He will submit his findings to the council for internal peer review. The RRS will be creating a policy on this issue as some amateur liquid rocket projects intend to use natural gas (largely methane).

example of an industrial-scale flare stack

Further updates to this meeting report are forthcoming.

Next meeting will be April 8th. For those interested in attending, contact the RRS secretary.