Mile High Mayhem

Introduction and Overview

NCR's Mile High Mayhem Spring launch has become a popular, must attend event for many model and high power rocketry enthusiasts around Colorado and the Rocky Mountain West. With good people, great weather, an awesome recovery area and a 20,000' AGL standing waiver, Mile High Mayhem attracts flyers from all over the west to fly everything from 1/4A Micro Maxx motors up through the largest certified motors available. Once you come fly with us at Mile High Mayhem, experience has taught us that you'll be back again and again and again.

Although over the last few years, Mile High Mayhem has been held in the latter part of April, this year we've returned to our roots and pushed back a couple weeks to take advantage of slightly more predictable weather and longer days.

Dates:

Friday May 28^th thru Monday May 31^st

Range Schedule:

• Friday May 28^th- 10AM until 6PM - Certified Motors Only

• Saturday May 29^th- 8AM until 6PM - Certified Motors Only

• Sunday May 30^th- 8AM until 6PM - Tripoli Research Rules

• Monday May 31^st- 8AM until 4PM - Tripoli Research Rules

Fees:

Flyer fees are unchanged from 2008.

• NCR Members - $10

• Non-Members - $25*

  
  
  *Non-members get a special membership deal. $25 for Mile High Mayhem plus $25 gives you a full years membership in NCR, a $10 savings.

Registration Form and Instructions HERE!!

Parking

As always, parking is along the road behind the flight line. Park head-in and behind the yellow rope. Make sure you do not block the vendor area or Administration Tent access which will be roped off as well. See the site map below for further details.

Pre-registration

We strongly encourage pre-registration. Please print out the registration form HERE and send it in with a check for your flyer fee to the address on the form. Checks should be made out to Northern Colorado Rocketry. When you get to Mile High Mayhem, go to the Administration Tent to pick up your flyer's wristband.

Onsite Registration

Of course you'll be able to register onsite as well. After finding a parking place, walk on down to the Administration Tent to pay your flyer fee and get signed up. You'll get your wristband right away. NO ONE FLIES WITHOUT A WRISTBAND!

Volunteers

Site Considerations

Recovery Area

Sitting in the midst of over 96,000 acres of the Pawnee National Grasslands, NCR's Pawnee - North Site lies on rolling short grass prairie and aside from the occasional sagebrush, rabbitweed, or stand of grass, there is little more than 6" high aside from the barbed wire fence posts and windmills scattered around the area. Trees are essentially non-existent aside from a few cottonwoods scattered in the odd dry wash here and there - none of which are within 5 miles of the launch site.

Weather

Weather at NCR's Pawnee launch site is usually very good with clear Colorado skies and mild temperatures. While it can get very windy at the site due to the lack of trees and hills to block the winds, this is not common during the Spring and Fall, although sometimes high winds have forced us to shut down launch operations. It is advisable to stake and guy out any tents or sunshades you set up to prevent them from ending up in Nebraska or in a ragged pile of broken poles and torn fabric should high winds come up. Temperatures can range from below freezing to over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, although it is most likely to range from the 40's at night up to the low 80's during the day.

Camping and Lodgings

Camping is permitted right on the flight line. You may bring RV's, tent trailers or set up a tent or whatever you wish. Keep in mind the need to be fair about taking up space on the main flight line for a large camp. Please establish those out towards the ends of the flight line. No camping or vehicle parking is permitted on the West side of the road.

In the past, a special pricing deal has been arranged for those of you who want to stay in a hotel at the Comfort Inn in Wellington. While we have not yet made arrangements for this discount, we are working on it. Check back here frequently for details. Even without the discount, rates are reasonable

Fires

The Forest Service allows us a single fire pit at the site which we must clean up at the end of the event. All other fires or barbecues must be elevated well above the ground to prevent charring and sterilization of the soil. Above-ground BBQ's and gas grills are allowed.

Evenings, the fire is frequently the center of social activity during Mile High Mayhem with much good conversation and cameraderie. Join us there!

What to Bring

Sunglasses - It IS bright out there. People have become glare blind after a full day out in the sun. (not actual blindness, but like snowblindness, feels as if your eyes have been filled with sand.)

Sunscreen - The sun here is intense at 5430' and you WILL burn a lot quicker than you think. Bring and USE plenty of sunscreen.

Food - We recommend you bring all the food and snacks you will need as stores and restaurants are all more than a 20 minute drive away with the exception of the Rockport Inn. There will likely be a hot dog vendor and the burrito vendor will definitely onsite during the day on Saturday, but for the other days you must be prepared to feed yourself.

Useful Stuff

Binoculars, GPS unit, FRS radios, EZ-Up sunshade or similar, chairs.

Sanitation and Trash

Porta-Potties are provided for your convenience. Please don't use them for anything but their intended contents. Don't throw trash or other materials into them.

There are NO trash receptacles provided. YOU are responsible for taking ALL of your trash out with you. Please be aware of so-called micro-trash laying around on the ground

Water

Bring enough water for you and all your activities as there is none available at the site. We highly recommend an allowance of at least 1 gallon per person per day as the dry climate will dehydrate you far more quickly than you can imagine.

Other Services

There are no services whatsoever at the site that you can count on. A Hot Dog vendor and perhaps a burrito stand will be there during the day on Saturday, but you should plan on taking care of your own needs. Rockport and Nunn have the nearest restaurants - the Rockport Inn and the Nunn Cafe. The nearest convenience stores are in either Pierce, Ault (approximately 20-30 miles by road) or in Wellington (also about 25-30 miles).

Contests and the Mile High Mayhem Raffle

Like at our other big event, Oktoberfest, NCR sponsors a contest or two specifically for the event and we also hold a raffle with a wide range of rocketry oriented prizes.

The Mile High Contest - This is a contest we only hold at Mile High Mayhem. Contest rules are simplicity itself. Whoever can fly a rocket closest to a mile high AGL without going over wins a prize. Altitude must be confirmed by an unaltered, stock electronic altimeter and witnessed by at least 1 NCR member. See Warren Musselman, NCR Contest Director, for details at MHM. Basic rules are unlimited motors, unlimited rocket class - closest to a mile AGL (5280' AGL) wins. We may also do a contest for Closest to the Pad landing.

Single Shot and Super Single Shot Sweepstakes - These are the latest incarnations of a pair of VERY popular contests from going back to 2004. The idea is you get one chance to reach the highest altitude possible on a specifed motor. Altitude must be confirmed from a standard, unmodified commercial electronic altimeter and witnessed by at least one NCR member. There is a one time, $20 entry fee. The prize is awarded at NCR's annual club meeting in January and consists of the entire pot of collected entry fees. The prize for the 2005 SSS was $280. The specific motor used changes from year to year - this year the Single Shot is the Roadrunner G80T single use motor (108nSec) and available from club member Jon Skuba's CoolRocketStuff.Com. He'll also be at many launches throughout the year. The Super Single Shot will again be the standard Aerotech J350 (38/270 case).

Raffle - Over 50 vendors have been contacted to provide raffle prizes for our big raffle giveaway. Buy as many tickets as you like and be treated to a wide range of prizes from such vendors as Hobbytown, Giant Leap Rocketry, WildMan Rocketry, Photos By Nadine, Public Missiles, Missileworks and many more! Tickets are $1 each and available at the Administration tent where you can also see a list of the prizes and who donated them..

Vendors

As always, NCR's big events attract an increasing number of rocketry vendors selling kits, supplies, rocket motors and reloads. If you expect to need larger motors and reloads, we suggest you contact your favorite vendor soon and place your order to ensure your motors and reloads are available in time for Mile High Mayhem.

Missileworks - Jim Amos and Missileworks will be there, as always and Jim will be selling his fine quality altimeters, timers, remote deployment controller and perhaps even his new MPac flight computer product line as well as Animal Motor Works reloads and motors. Jim is no longer selling Cesaroni motors and reloads so make sure you contact one of the other vendors if you need them.

Giant Leap Rocketry - Tim Thomas, our new Colorado Giant Leap rep will be on hand with parts, components, rocketry supplies as well as both Aerotech and Cesaroni reloads. Giant Leap is one of the best suppliers in the country of High Power rocketry supplies and motor reloads and they are even manufacturing their own line of Aerotech compatible motor hardware.

Photos By Nadine - Nadine is so well known throughout the high power rocketry community that it is the rare picture on the cover or centerfold of any high power magazine that isn't taken by her. We're lucky that she lives near us and has attended NCR's Mile High Mayhem and Oktoberfest launches since we started them. Her photos are superb - 'nuf said.

Rocket Garden - Bryan shows up at most NCR launches bringing his trailer full of model rocket supplies, model and high power kits and rocket motors - primarily Estes and Aerotech single use motors up through G impulse.

More Event Stuff

Certifications

If you intend to certify at MHM, you will need to make your arrangements in advance.  If you are a member of NAR, you will want to have your cert team assembled prior to bringing your rocket to the LCO’s desk for check-in.  If you are a member of TRA and wish to certify, you will want to make arrangements with the NCR Tripoli Prefect, Joe Hinton. Level 3 Tripoli and NAR certs will require you TAP team to be notified and present, so be sure you make your arrangements in advance. Motors for L2 certifications will be almost certainly be available onsite from a variety of vendors, however we strongly recommend that you contact your preferred vendor ahead of time to ensure availability of the specific motor you require if you're planning on cert'ing L3. Early ordering and arrangements are strongly recommended if you expect your motor to be there in time. Keep in mind the pending AMW shutdown.

Hybrid Motor Fees:

In addition to the flyer fee which ALL flyers must pay, NCR also charges for hybrid flights, based upon the amount of nitrous used.

This year, NCR is instituting a special launch card for hybrid flights. This is a bright yellow/green card with the same information that is on a regular flight card plus a checkbox for each impulse class of hybrid motor and the fee charged. These cards are only available at the launch registration tent and will be given to you AFTER payment of the nitrous fee. You must have one of these special flight cards before you can hook up to the hybrid GSE at the pad.

It should be noted that this fee covers one flight attempt - If the rocket is removed from the pad for any reason, the flyer must pay the fee again. (This will be waived if the flyer doesn't fill the motor with nitrous before removing it from the pad.) While the fee does allow for a reasonable attempt at flight including a reasonable number of fills or purges, the final determination if additional fees are to be charged due to multiple fill attempts is at the discretion of the LCO and Launch Director. (ie. - we'll be far more inclined to tolerate multiple purges with an H or I motor than with an L or M due to the much greater amounts of nitrous oxide used in a fill.)

Other Good Stuff

Of course, like any other NCR launch we expect this to be a heck of a fun time for everyone. With good people, good conversation, great flying and all the rest, Mile High Mayhem will be an event worth remembering. Some things worth thinking about:

Friday Night at the Movies - Doug Gerrard will once again be holding Friday Night at the Movies, weather permitting, with his awesome collection of ground-based and in-flight films, this is an event truly not to be missed. Obviously, this will be held Friday night as soon as it is dark enough for the projector.

Stargazing - As at previous events, a number of people bring out their telescopes to take advantage of some of the best dark-sky conditions in Colorado. If you have one, by all means bring one. If the weather conditions are cooperative, we'll have some great "seeing" and a number of scopes are sure to be set up.

Disclaimer

Safety first!  NCR makes every effort, as defined by the Tripoli Safety Code, the NAR Safety Code, NFPA 1122, NFPA 1127, and FAA FAR 101, to ensure the safety of all participants and nearby aviation traffic..  But rocketry is not a zero risk endeavor.  By participating in Mile High Mayhem as either a flyer OR as a spectator, you are accepting the risks inherent to the hobby and you acknowledge that you assume full financial risk for participating or attending the event.

While Friday and Saturday of Mile High Mayhem are for certified motors only, Sunday's flights will be administered as a Tripoli Research launch with flyer-made propellants and motors as well as potentially some larger rockets. Flyers must be Tripoli members and L2 certified or above in order to fly.

Don't bring pets, fireworks, firearms, explosives, or illegal drugs. Alcohol use is restricted to the hours after flight operations have ceased for the day. We ask parents and caregivers to carefully consider whether it is appropriate to bring small children (or the old, infirm or disabled) to this event as some of the rockets are large and powerful enough that they could cause serious injury or death in the event of an accident. Attendees should be fully mobile and aware of their surroundings in the event it becomes necessary to move rapidly away from a falling or malfunctioning rocket.

Conclusion

NCR welcomes you to Mile High Mayhem and we hope you will be able to attend the best Spring launch in the Rocky Mountain West. We look forward to seeing you there.