AboutDave Landgraf Expertise I will be happy to take on questions about low-power rocketry in general, including rocket design, operating characteristics of blackpowder motors, low-power motor selection, rocket construction, aerodynamics, parachute and streamer duration competition, boost glide (and a little rocket glide), egg loft, altitude competition, and scale competition. I can help you with Barrowman stability calculations, but I am not a rocksim user. I know the basics of mid-power rocketry and small composite motors but I don't fly them much (I'd rather stretch my money by sticking with low-power). I believe I can explain many concepts in a way that just about anyone can follow (and maybe even over-explain?). I absolutely do not mind "newbie" questions one bit; the only bad question is the one you don't ask!
Experience I have flown model rockets for some 40 years, including a few early years of NAR competition. I have been active at the local club level as well as in the NAR. I enjoy designing and developing unconventional designs (the kind of thing you look at and say "it won't fly!").
Organizations National Association of Rocketry
Publications Model Rocketry (magazine)
Education/Credentials I am an aerospace engineer who has worked professionally in the field for over 30 years. I have worked often with local school, church, and scout groups to lead introductory build-n-fly sessions.
I read in another e-mail that you are in Ft Worth... I am also in Ft Worth. My sons and I are new to the hobby, and we are unsure of where to launch. Our address is in Saginaw, but we are willing to travel a bit. Please help us out with your knowledge!
Answer Hi, Noelle, and welcome to the hobby!
It is getting more and more difficult to find places to launch model rockets (as well as fly R/C airplanes, or run R/C cars, and many other hobbies).
I cheat. I launch a lot of A- and B-powered stuff in my yard (it helps to have two acres of space).
I also use a school yard that is about three miles away, and several times a year I use the front lawn of our church (five or six acres, if you count the parking lot) when I help the scouts with a rocketry unit.
You are going to have a tough time finding launch fields for model rockets using C- or D-power motors, because they usually push a rocket higher. As you probably know, it's always windy around here and model rockets can drift a LONG way (and become lost) if they deploy a parachute at higher altitudes. You also need to be polite to the local air traffic, which is complicated with Ft. Worth Naval Air Station (the one that used to be Carswell AFB), Meacham field, and the Ft. Worth-Dallas International Airport; we don't want to scare any pilots...right? To get away from this, you might check into the DARS (Dallas Area Rocket Society) launch schedule (check their web site), but their launch locations are a pretty good drive from the west side of Ft. Worth.
You should check your local schools to see if any have athletic fields or any other open spaces. (It would be good to get permission from the school administrators.) Is that giant new high school part of the Saginaw district? If so, you might be able to use part of their campus (and they might even have a science club, or rocketry club?).
The north campus of TCC has a pretty large open area in front of their school. If you stayed away from the freeway and their little lake, it might make a good launch area for low-powered model rockets. Again, you should probably get permission from the folks that run that campus.
I don't know what city parks you have available, but there you definitely need to check out your local laws and city rules on use of park spaces. I don't remember enough about the fair grounds (?) at the south end of Saginaw, down by Loop 820, but there may be some large fields there.
I'm sorry if this is not much help, but the metroplex is a tough place to find really good launch fields. You may indeed end up having to drive a ways out of town. Good luck!
