The DARS Fall Classic 8
October 20,
2012 Frisco, Texas
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The Fall
Classic is The Dallas Area Rocket Society’s annual contest that is part air
show, museum visit, and science lesson all rolled into one! The contests are simple and fun... The
rockets are classic and cool. Did we
mention that there are prizes?
This year’s
feature event will focus on the rockets of NASA, past and present. Anything from Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo,
to Jupiters, Deltas, Titans, and many more.
All of this
can be found just off Preston Road, down Pather Creek, on October 20, 2012
from 10am to 4pm. If you are new to the
event, please take a look around and be sure to check out the articles and
pictures from past events at the bottom of the page.
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What’s New?
10/6
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Back by popular demand are tee shirts! If you missed them the first time, this is
your last chance to get your piece of FC2012 paraphernalia. I am now taking orders through the end of the
event for shirts, to be delivered after the event,,, like in
November. I will aslo take orders on the
field the day of the event. Due to the
expected lower volume on this run, shirts will be $2 more per shirt than
advertised below. Use the links in the
9/16 What’s New post for contact information and the graphics on the
shirts. Pre-payment is very much
preferred on this run.
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Our sponsor, Sirius Rocketry. has provided 10% discount
coupons that I will have available at the event. They will be on the tables near the prizes
for pick up. Please use these as they
are way for Sirius to determine if sponsoring The Fall Classic actually
benefits his business. Our sponsors make
the prize distribution possible every year.
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Here is the schedue for this year’s event
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8:30 -9:00 |
Arrive and set up |
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10:00 |
Launching begins |
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Begin contest registration |
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11:00 |
1st Young Rocketeers Drawing |
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12:00 |
2ndYoung Rocketeers Drawing |
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Polls Open - Voting Begins |
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1:00 |
3rd Young Rocketeers Drawing |
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2:00 |
4th Young Rocketeers Drawing |
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3:00 |
Polls Close |
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Final flights for points must be complete |
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5th Young Rocketeers Drawing |
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3:30 |
Winners Announced/Prizes Awarded |
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4:00 |
Tear Down/Pack up |
9/24
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Shirt orders are now closed
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Looks like NSL 2012 took a page out of NSL 2006 with a
Classic Rocket contest. It looks like
the same catagories that ran at our NSL in the formative years of The
Classic. Check it out in the recent
Sport Rocketry under Day 2. And if you
want to stroll down memory lane check out the links under 2006 NSL at the
bottom of this page.
9/16
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Tee Shirts – Designs are finalized. The front will look like this
with the picture in the upper right quadrant of the shirt, and the back will
look like this. Shirt prices are the same as last year $17
for youth and adult sizes up to XXL. $19
for XXXL and up. Pre-payment is
preferred, but I will work with you. I
can take PayPal. Contact me with size
and quantity requirements first, here.
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Please do read the rules/guidelines this year. There are new events and some come with a few
requirements.
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This Year’s Event Sponsors
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Click on the logos
to link to their sites
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This Year’s Event Line Up
(for
all event details, please see the guidelines/rules document below)
The Classic Classic
Rockets
qualify for this category if the original design of this rocket was introduced
in the 60s, 70s, or 80s. This category
is open to originals, clones, and re-issue versions of the rockets from these
eras. Ninfinger.org can be an invaluable
resource here, as they have list of all Estes and Centuri rockets made, as well
as many of the catalogs they appeared in.
Rockets are judged by the public, so sometimes it pays to match the
original, and sometimes not. Bonus
points apply to this category for providing year of introduction documentation,
including old catalogs. Flight points
also apply as does the special rule for old pictures of the rocketeer and the
rocket from the correct timeframe.
Classic Upscale
Vendors like
Estes, Q-modeling, and others have brought back a number of classic designs in
jumbo sizes. These kits are eligible to
compete as well as your own scratch built versions of classic rockets. Only flight bonus points apply for this
category.
The Classic Craftsman 
This year we thought we would give the NAR contest that most
closely resembles The Classic a try.
This is a judged event with pretty extensive rules, and history has
proven that no one reads the rules for these events anyway. For those of you up for that challenge, this
is the event for you. This will be run
under the United States Model Rocketry Sporting code event number P57 Classic Model Competition
The NASA Space Ships 
The theme event for this year will take all the Classic
models of NASA rockets and line them up to complete against newer NASA vehicles
in scratch build, kit, or plastic model conversion (PMC) form. All models are eligible for flight points,
but PMC models must fly and have a stable flight to be eligible. Unstable or unflown PMC models will be
disqualified from the competition. Here
are a few of the NASA designs that have compete and won in previous
Classics.
Best in Show
This one is always hard fought and exciting. This award goes to the rocket judged best in
show by the voting public. All rockets
in all categories are eligible to win best in show.
Young
Rocketeers Prize Drawings
Once again this year we will be holding drawings for the
young rocketeers at the launch for some great prizes. Rocketeers 14 and under are eligible. You must be present to win.
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What’s a Classic?
Much of this is in the eye of the beholder. Generally Classic rockets are considered to
be those designs that appeared early in the hobby when everything was new and
anything was possible. That certainly
includes the 60’s when Vern Estes, Lee Piester, and others created kits,
motors, and components to build safe and reliable hobby rockets. It includes the 70’s, since that is the
decade where the competition between Estes and Centuri was the fiercest and
other constructors began come on line.
We include the 80’s in our competition as there were still many great
designs that appeared in that decade that would be a shame not to represent.
These Classic
designs continue to be popular with the old timers in the hobby that grew up
with them, as well as those that came into the hobby beyond these decades. The evidence for this shows up with events
like Estes re-release of Classics like the Orbital Transport, Red Max, Scissor
Wing Transport, Interceptor, and the Classic Series. It is also shown by manufacturers like
Semroc, Q-modeling, and many others that continue to fill the demand for these
classic kits and parts. The fact that
the Big Bertha has been made continuously since at least 1965 (the shape
appeared as the Ranger in 1962) probably says it all.
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Helpful Links and Such
Guidelines/Rules for
all the events (If you are going to compete, please
read this) Guidelines
Map and directions
to the site Frisco Field
This
year’s store flyer
Tips for building
your own Classic Cloning the
Classics by our departed friend James Gartrell
Three Classic
must-have sites Ninfinger.org JimZ’s
Rocket Plans Ye Olde Rocket
Plans
The Hall of Fame
winners of past events The
Hall of Fame
Past
Classics Pictures and Reports:
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Event Year |
Picture Gallery |
Articles |
Links |
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2011 |
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2010 |
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2009 |
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2008 |
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2007 |
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2006 |
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2006 NSL |
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2005 |
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Back to the DARS Home Page 
This is a
nice classic design for this year’s competition....