Hello Members,

It’s been a long time coming, but finally here is the 2008 CAR Activity Report. It’s a brief synopsis of who held leadership roles, what activities were undertaken by committees and accomplishments of some of our members. Much of it was constructed from memory and the Directors and heads of committees were consulted as well. I hope you will find it informative. But I hope you will be able to read between the lines to know how much more goes on behind the scenes.

I would also like to you to think about what you’d like the 2009 report to say. If you’d like to see great news about membership numbers, lots of certifications, cool projects or other things; then do those things now! The association is as vibrant and alive as you make it! If you’d like to see other things included in the 2009 Activity Report, send your ideas to me and I’ll maintain a list.

So once again, the posted report describes the activities of 2008 (I had several people review the final version and all suggested a reminder that it’s from last year).

Rainfall is supposed to increase remarkably this weekend which will transform the launch site into a big mud pit. The farmers basically told us that we will massacre their fields on which the plants are already late. Unfortunately, the launch is cancelled. Sorry. Mother nature really isn't cooperating with us this year. We'll try again this fall!

Hello Members,

The newest Executive and I have been in office for four months now and an update is due to the membership. Over the past several months, things have been busy. These updates will be published to the CARWEB as announcements, and they will find permanent homes in the relevant sections on CARWEB. To help us keep topics organized, they are sequentially numbered as they come up, but they are acted upon based on priority.

2008-9 Safety distances for hybrid launches

Following news from other rocketry organizations, and a review by the Range Safety Officer (RSO) Committee and the Chief RSO, it was recognized that the distances from launch pads for hybrid powered rockets were not adequate. Therefore, a decision was made to require a minimum safe distance of 30m for all hybrid launches.

http://www.canadianrocketry.org/index.php?news=5

2009-4 CAR Motor Certification Committee (MC2)

The CAR Motor Certification Committee (MC2) is now functioning again and the new MC2 Chair, Thomas Raithby, has completed the first testing session in 2009. A total of 52 motors were certified and the letters of certification, representative thrust curves and some test photos have been published to CARWEB.

http://www.canadianrocketry.org/motor_index.php

2009-3 Nine kilometre distance from airports

It was recognized that the 9km rule was not required based on Transport Canada regulations and placed an unfair burden on CAR members, who have a long record of safety. It was therefore decided that the rule would be removed from the CAR Model Rocket Safety Code.

http://www.canadianrocketry.org/model_safety_code.php

Ontario Representative

The position of Ontario representative is still open, and David Buhler, CAR Elections, will make another call for nominations.

We urge all Ontario members to consider running for this position, where you can have an opportunity to speak for your region, and to bring your vision and concerns to our organization.

Leadership transition

The process of obtaining all records from previous executive members continues. Further activities and updates will almost certainly develop from that ongoing transition.

Status of the Canadian Association of Rocketry

The corporate status of CAR is currently being reviewed and will be corrected and up todate shortly. Then, government liasons will be appointed.

Membership

There were very few new members on our roster in the calendar year 2008. This is an important issue that will be addressed in the coming weeks. If you have ideas or suggestions, please contact your regional representatives (Directors) to bring those ideas to the table.

Conclusion

It’s been a busy first few months as Chairman of the Canadian Association of Rocketry. We have some tasks completed and many to go. The Directors and my Executive team have been working hard to bring success to CAR. This in an invitation to all members and potential members: join us in our efforts to safely enjoy our hobby and to bring it to more people.

Kindest regards,

Angelo Castellano
CAR Chairman

(June 4 - updated 2008 membership facts)

I am very pleased to announce the certification of 52 new reloads from Cesaroni Technology, Inc.

A motor testing session was held at the Cesaroni Technology Incorporated facility in Gormley, Ontario during the dates of April 30th to May 1st, 2009. A total of 208 motors were fired in hardware ranging from the new 29mm diameter Pro29, up to the 162mm diameter Pro150. Impulses ranged from F to O and reloads were certified for use in hardware from CTI, AMW/ProX and Aerotech.

Ten propellants were fired, including Classic (CL), Smoky Sam (SS), Vmax (VM), White Thunder (WT), Blue Streak (BS), Skidmark (SK), Red Lightning (RL), Blue Baboon (BB), Wild Wolf (WW), and a new release – Imax (IM).

An interesting development during this round of testing was submission of two very similar reloads. Two versions of the Pro29-3G Blue Streak reloads were certified. The first was certified as an H133 (see p12) and the second as a G118 (see p21). The H- and G variants of this motor use different nozzles, but are otherwise the same components.

While these motors were certified in Canada, a reciprocal agreement between the Canadian Association of Rocketry, the Tripoli Rocketry Association and the National Association of Rocketry means they may be flown in many jurisdictions. With that in mind, several of these motors include notes that indicate they are considered high power under NFPA 1125.

Attached are the certification letters for these new motors. These letters and the accompanying thrust curves will be available on the official CAR website soon.

I wish the best of success to Cesaroni Technology as they continue to expand their selection of rocket motors.

Unfortunately, the launch this weekend is cancelled.

Saturday 90% rain

Sunday, variable skys with 40% chance of showers, winds of 30 km/h

We really can't fly anything in this kind of weather.

We are very, very sorry.