Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Eyes on 2012

After recovering from the trip overseas, and the intense effort it took to get ready for the World Championships. we took some time off. Starting in January, Matt and Cassidy will start focusing on preparing to make the 2012 US Team (Katie is too old to go back as a Junior team member, and will instead concentrate on college). Watch this space for more updates as we get ready to go to Slovakia in 2012!

Monday, October 11, 2010

Contest Report

Thank you for your support of TeamSteele in 2010.

We did not get the medals we were seeking, but we did have a good time. The flying was a lot of fun, with 24 national teams, and over 250 of the world’s best racketeers in one place. Serbia was beautiful, and we were well treated by everyone we encountered.

In the Junior Division B Scale Altitude (designated S5B), Katie and Cassidy Steele entered models of the Space Grant 1, a NASA sounding rocket. Katie had her model finished before we left the States, but Cassidy had a few small things left to finish before the judging turn in.

In the Senior Division C Scale Altitude, Matt flew a Bumper WAC, Round B-8. He also had a few little things to finish before turn in, but there was no frantic building prior to turn in, like there had been in the Steele family workshop the month before the meet.

The judging of the Scale Altitude models was completed on Tuesday night. In the Junior division, the US Space Grant models were at the bottom of the static points as expected, since the Space Grants favor altitude capabilities over scale qualities. Katie had 473 points. Cassidy and George Reynolds were tied for last with 462 points. The top model in the static scoring was a Russian Bumper WAC that received 647 points. To win, the US team would have to fly at least 174 meters higher than the Bumper WAC.

In the Senior division, the top static score was another Russian Bumper Wac, with 669 static points. The US models were in the middle of the pack, with James Duffy scoring 625 points, Tony Reynolds scoring 619 points, and Matt Steele scoring 603 points. With the altitude potential of the Bumper WAC design, the US Team felt like there was medal potential, especially since all three team members had medaled in this event before. Most of the competition was Taurus Tomahawks, which scored well in static points, but do not fly as high.

On Wednesday, we awoke to light rain at breakfast. The weather was overcast in the morning, and finally cleared in the afternoon, but the wind was constantly at the limit. It was not fun.

Cassidy had the first flight of the US Junior team. Her Space Grant 1 model had a 13mm Estes A3-0T (from a special batch made for the 1985 US Team) in the lower stage, and a 10.5mm Delta A2-6 in the upper stage. Cassidy tried her first flight from just a tower. She had a good flight, only to have it disallowed when the Range Safety Officer couldn't confirm that it landed safely. It later turned out the model did land safely, but stripped the streamer off and made it hard to see. She had the 355 meter, flight, the third highest flight of the event. Learning from Cassidy’s problems, Katie added some red tracking powder to her model. She got both stages to work properly, but with the wind, the second staged weathercocked quite a bit. The RSO saw her flight, and when the model and the tiny altimeter were recovered, it showed 376 meters. This was the highest flight of the event, but it was only good enough to place her 11th overall.

Cassidy’s first flight damaged the motor tube in the model, and she struggled to repair it for another flight. Her second attempt was not successful, so she ended up with a zero for an altitude score. USA’s George Reynolds had problems getting his upper stage motor to ignite and also got a zero for a flight score.

In the end the Russian Junior team won the gold, and the US S5B Team ended up 8th. Had Cassidy’s first flight been seen by the RSO against the cloudy, gray sky, and George gotten his model to work, the US team would’ve won the bronze or silver team medal.

By the time the Senior team got to fly in the afternoon, the skies had cleared, but the wind kept blowing. Flying an Ultra B5-0 motor in the V-2 portion of the Bumper, and an Ultra B2-7 in the WAC, James Duffy had his first flight fly only to 238 meters. James later realized that his model hung up on staging. Matt Steele went next, only to have a low flight when the upper stage motor failed to ignite. Tony Reynolds followed with a spectacular flight to 606 meters, demonstrating the design’s potential. Disaster struck on Matt’s second flight attempt, when the second stage ignited with the WAC pointed down, causing it to pile drive into the ground, shattering the tiny model. The recovery team returned a small bag of “particles” to Matt, but never did find the altimeter – it may have vaporized! A third attempt by Matt with a single stage version did not go high enough to trigger the altimeter.

Tony ended up finishing 4th, just out of an individual medal. James was 18th and Matt was 24th out of the 35 entries. The US Team ended up in 6th overall. Again, with a little luck, the team could’ve earned a medal, as the potential was there.

We made a safe and uneventful voyage home, with a four day layover in Germany. We certainly had to scramble when we got back to the "real world" at work and school - paying the price for being away and out of touch for so long. It was worth it, though. We truly enjoyed the experience of traveling to a foreign country where not every teenager has an iPod and a laptop. It was an eye-opening experience. We felt proud to represent the United States and the National Association of Rocketry to the rest of the world spacemodeling community. It was a truly memorable event.

Cassidy and I hope to go to Slovakia in 2012. Katie is too old for the next Junior team, but hopes to go to see some of the friends she made.

We would like to thank everyone who contributed to help us. Every little bit counted, right up to the end. We appreciate your generosity – thank you so much!

Matt, Katie, and Cassidy

TeamSteele 2010

Sunday, October 10, 2010

We made the Salt Lake Tribune!

We made the Salt Lake Tribune!

Check this link out:

http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/neighborhood/southvalley/49993821-132/steele-rockets-space-daughters.html.csp

Saturday, September 4, 2010

Home!

We got home safe and sound on Thursday night. We did not get the medals we had hoped for, but did make new friends and had a lot of fun. More details as the jet lag wears off.

Friday, August 20, 2010

On the ground in Serbia

We just landed in Belgrade after 24+ hours of flying. Smooth flights, nothing to complain about.

We did not get the space shuttles finished, but did get our scale altitude models done, so we will just be flying our best event.

Wish us luck!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Dog Days

Getting into the final grind of getting models ready - too much to do, and too little time. Sleep is starting to become optional!

Parts are coming together - it is going to be a mad dash to get everything done, though!

Friday, July 16, 2010

KSL Coverage link

Here is the link for the KSL coverage:

http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=11598533&hl=2

Enjoy!

KSL TV Coverage

Amanda Butterfield from the local news station, KSL, came out and did a nice clip on Cassidy and I (since Katie is out of town). It aired on the 6 PM news. I will post a link as soon as they put it up.

Friday, July 2, 2010

Good practice

Had a very productive time in Chicago at the team practice. Picked up a lot of important info on both the strategy and the logistics of the meet. With about 6 weeks left to go, there is a lot to get done. My biggest worry is making sure we get everything packed and transported safely.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Getting Ready

I am getting ready to head to Chicago area this weekend for the Great Lake Cup competition and the US Team Practice. While they will not be flying our events that we will be flying at the World Championships, I will get a chance to talk with our team matesand meet with competitors from 7 other countries. It should be a fun time. Here's hoping for good weather!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Public Missiles

We got these fantastic molded rail guides from Public Missiles. Thanks so much for the donation!

Matt

Friday, June 18, 2010

Bob Smith CA

I have been using the Bob Smith "Gold" CAs for the past few years - I like the quality and low fumes that the brand has. Charlee Smith was gracious enough to donate a supply of CA and kicker to get us through our building needs for the world championships. Thank you so much!

Aero Pack Help

We were lucky enough to receive a donation of some 29mm Aero Pack 29mm motor retainers for use with our shuttle main engines. I have used these in the past and found them to be a fail-safe way to keep motors in big, important models. Thanks so much!

CAD Help!

A special thank you goes out to Jim Faliveno of General CADD Products (www.generalcadd.com) who saved me hours of painstaking work by converting some old drawings into a newer format. The help is really appreciated.

Each of the Scale and Scale Altitude models must be submitted with a 1:1 workshop drawing. The file I had was in a slightly different scale and needs to be slightly resized. If I had to re-draw the 24" x 48" drawing, it would take me a month. Instead, all I have to do is clean up some fonts and change the scale slightly. That's a big help, as I already feel the pressure of being behind where I should be.


James F. Faliveno
President
www.generalcadd.com
General CADD Products, Inc.
1 Railroad Avenue
Cherry Valley, N. Y. 13320 USA

Tuesday, June 15, 2010

Family Help - Thanks!

Much thanks to my brother Miles, who contributed via PayPal. We sure appreciate the support of all our family and friends in this project.

Another Thank You - Performance Hobbies!

We sure would like to thank Ken Allen of Performance Hobbies, who graciously donated to the cause with some F25-4 motors. This will let us start test flying soon!

The S7 Scale Event

One of the events we were selected for the Scale event, where the goal is to model a real rocket, and then fly it. We will be flying 1/72 scale models of the Space Shuttle. Each modeler prepares a substantiation documentation that includes photos and drawings of the vehicle. The models are judged on scale accuracy (including the measurement of key attributes to .001”), likeness of color and markings, and flight characteristics. We plan to fly our models to a peak altitude of 600 feet, separate both RSRMs and let them parachute back, separate the Orbiter under rocket power and let it glide back under radio control, and return the ET via parachute as well. Each model has a small flight computer on board that senses peak altitude and controls the deployment of the parachutes. They are really miniature versions of the real thing.

Your help would be greatly appreciated. A donation to the Team Steele in order to offset some of our costs would be wonderful! I have set up a non-profit organization to accept donations, so anything collected will be 100% tax-deductable.

If you can help, please make your check payable to “Team Steele”, or go to our blog (www.TeamSteele.org) and make a donation via PayPal.

Thanks so much!

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Thank you so much!

A big "Thank You" goes out to David J. Miller and Sirius Rocketry, LLC, who donated to the cause. I love David's kits, and will no likely be buying more after I get back from Belgrade.

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Astronauts on Board!

I am lucky enough to work at ATK, where we have a number of retired Space Shuttle astronauts employed.

Katie, Cassidy and I were selected for the Scale event, where the goal is to model a real rocket, and then fly it. We will be flying 1/72 scale models of the Space Shuttle. Each modeler prepares a substantiation documentation that includes photos and drawings of the vehicle. The models are judged on scale accuracy (including the measurement of key attributes to .001”), likeness of color and markings, and flight characteristics. We plan to fly our models to a peak altitude of 600 feet, separate both RSRMs and let them parachute back, separate the Orbiter under rocket power and let it glide back under radio control, and return the ET via parachute as well. Each model has a small flight computer on board that senses peak altitude and controls the deployment of the parachutes. They are really miniature versions of the real thing.

We each have picked flights that were commanded by some of our "ATK" astronauts.

Katie will be modeling STS-100, which was commanded by Kent Rominger. Kent has five space flights under his belt. I have been lucky enough to work closely with Kent on a number of projects, and he has a unique perspective on his flights. My favorite story was hearing Kent explain his "need for speed" to racing car magnate Chip Ganassi, and how he had gone much faster than Chip had ever gone in his Indy Car!!!

(As a side note, good luck to Chip and his Target Racing Team as they try to win the Indy 500 this year!)

Kent has also generously donated to help our cause.

Cassidy will be modeling STS-101, which was commanded by five-time astronaut Jim Halsell. Jim runs our ATK's Huntsville operations, a key position for us, with its proximity to Marshall Spaceflight Center.

We are asking both astronauts to review and sign the cover sheet for the model documentation, as well as provide an autographed photograph. We are also hoping to get a photo of each astronaut with a shuttle model and and Katie or Cassidy to include in the judging package.

As most of the judges for this event are Eastern Europeans, it will impress them that we were able to get the actual Commander for the mission to review and approve the data package. That should help our overall scores for each model. In international competition, every point counts.

We will keep you posted on this effort as it progresses.

Fund Raising Thank You Notes

We have started our fund raising efforts in earnest now. It is a delight to hear from so many of you. As we get donations, I will be posting thank you notes here.

Our first donation came from Dana Vela - thanks so much! We are so grateful.

We also got a significant donation in support of our efforts from Gary Rosenfield and Aerotech. Since we are using Aerotech motors as the main power for our Space Shuttle models, this is a big help. Thanks, Gary and all the crew at Aerotech!

Matt

Friday, April 9, 2010

Team Steele Official Photos

Official photos of the team members, courtesy of Team Steele's very own photographer, me.





Matt

Katie


Cassi

Team USA!





Redistribution of these photos is ok as long as you link back to teamsteele.org. Spread the word!

And here's a bonus: our favorite blooper of the shoot! If you donate, you can request an email full of the rest of the bloopers!

Sunday, February 28, 2010

The Team!

Hello there! Welcome to the Team Steele Model Rocketry Website. I hope you enjoy your stay and get to know our awesome team of competitors.
Katie
Katie is the middle sister. She enjoys kicking both her sisters' butts (as often as she can.)
Cassi
Cassi is the youngest sister. She also enjoys kicking her sisters' butts. We believe in family rivalry here.
Matt
Matt is The Dad. He's the one who's been doing rocketry the longest, and the whole reason anyone in the family does rocketry. He's won a few awards. ;)
Robyn
Robyn is the Team Mom, or Range Queen. She doesn't fly, but she keeps everyone fed, watered, shaded, entertained, and most importantly, sane. Her value cannot be underestimated.
Caroline (Carrie)
That's me. I won't be competing at the World Championships, but I have a few National Championships under my belt and I fly a pretty good glider. I have appointed myself Team Publicist.

Here's the whole family (minus older brother Cody and his fabulous wife Rachelle) at NARAM-51 (National Association of Rocketry Annual Meet, AKA National Championships) in 2009. Our club won the Section Championship for the 5th year in a row!

And here's some more photos from NARAM-51.
Katie and Carrie, preparing to fly egglofters

Katie and Carrie, at the Team America Rocketry Challenge (Cassi was part of our team too)

All three girls at TARC.

Matt and his team, Pod Bay Doors, at NARAM-51.

Please Donate

Katie, Cassi, and Matt have qualified to compete in Serbia for the FAI World Championships in August. But we can't make it there alone! Please donate to help us cover the costs of travel and competition.