Results From my Rocket Competition (US flyoffs)

On July 14th, 2022, I traveled to Springfield, Missouri, for the United States flyoffs and the North Coast Cup, and man, was it fun!!

It was a 10-hour drive from my house to the hotel that we were staying at. Once we got there, however, the energy from everyone competing was incredible! I talked to some of the adults competing in the senior division, who had helped me through the difficulties I had starting rocketry. I met and made some new friends (adults and kids alike) as
well.

The basis of the competition is based on a bunch of different events. I participated in 4 events for this competition: Parachute Duration, Streamer Duration, Helicopter Duration, and Glider Duration. All my events were duration events, meaning that the goal is to stay in the air for as long as possible using the recovery system described by the rules. There are other events, such as Scale events, where contestants are expected to create an accurate model of a real rocket. Another type of event is the Precision Eggloft event, where contestants are expected to carry an egg to a specific altitude and time provided to them at the competition. Each event has three rounds, and the person with the highest score wins that event.

Now that we got that out of the way let's talk about my experience. The first day had three of my events, including Parachute, Streamer, and Helicopter Duration. Parachute went better than expected for the first two rounds, and I was sitting comfortably in first place, but for the third round, it took me forever to recover my rocket, and so by the time I found it and got on the launch pad, there were two seconds left in the round, meaning I could not wait for optimal launch conditions. Streamer also went well, and I missed out on the podium by two seconds. In my first round of Helicopter, I forgot to tie a kevlar chord causing a malfunction during flight and a DQ for that round. I got good flights in the next two rounds, which allowed me to end up in the top ten. The second day was a complete disaster because I had never flown rocket gliders, and I messed it up completely, but hey, you can't win them all.

Overall I ended up 3rd in Parachute Duration, 4th in Streamer Duration, 9th in Helicopter Duration, and dead last in Glider Duration. Additionally, the New Albany Rocket Club (a club I started at my high school) had two members (including me) be invited to be a part of the United States National Rocketry Team. We will be competing at the international competition next year. I had a fantastic time, so thanks to my mom and dad for driving up there with me, and to Steve Krystal, Emma Krystal, Matt Steele, Robin Houston, Brian Muzek, Sean Muzek, Mike Nowak, Al De La Iglesia, Terrill Willard, and everyone else that helped me through the issues I had as well as for setting up this entire event. Every single Junior and Senior had an amazing time there!

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I plan to use this website to showcase what I like to do / what I am interested in, and I am open to discussing anything I post. I would love to connect with anyone who has something to talk about. If interested in contacting me, click HERE.