KINGMAN, Arizona USA — While vintage aircraft performed barrel rolls and other aeronautical stunts overhead at the Kingman Air and Auto Show on Saturday, folks in a nearby booth promoted a new club in Kingman that encourages families to participate together in a rather unique activity.

The Mohave Area Rocket Society, or MARS, is a prefecture of the Tripoli Rocketry Association. Taken from Roman times, a prefecture is a self-governing club, organization or group that will support the goals and future of the Tripoli Rocketry Association.

A parachutist shakes hands with the crowd Saturday after landing while a World War II simulated bombing run occurs behind him during the annual Kingman Air and Auto Show being held this weekend at the Kingman Airport. Photo: J.C. Amberlyn.

MARS has been in existence only six months and includes four families as its members. Russ Jungquist is the prefect, or president, of MARS.

Jungquist said that he has been interested in rocketry for 40 years and considers himself a born-again rocketeer.

MARS has launches on the first Saturday of every month at mile marker 36 as you head north on Stockton Hill Rd. Launch time is at 8 a.m. and usually lasts until noon, depending on the wind.

At mile marker 36, take a right and you will see the Red Lake dry lakebed. There is always a tent and an American flag to signify MARS' location.

The MARS booth at the air show had several examples of motors and rockets on display. The smallest motors, the Estes series, are able to lift rockets up to 2,000 feet. There is also the Aries motor series with the capability of traveling up to two miles into the air.

"The Raven rocket here, which is 6 feet long, has broken the speed of sound," Jungquist said. "It can go from zero to 750 miles per hour in one second."

Jungquist also said there have been homemade rockets that have gone as fast as Mach 2. He said that those rockets are made as light as possible and the motor barely slides in the rocket.

"We do have a motto for this: Yes, it is rocket science," Jungquist said.

Erin Southwick, 6, is a rocketeer and proud owner of the Rainbow Racing Stripe. "I like watching them go off," Southwick said. "I also like to chase them on my bike, but my mommy won't let me now because of the bumps." Southwick recently had the training wheels removed from her bike and used to chase the rockets when the training wheels were still on her bicycle.

"It's a fun sport for the entire family," Jungquist said. "The family can have a ball for the day."

The club offers a kit at the launch site for newcomers. It costs $8 and is good for three launches. After that, the motor will have to be replaced.

"It's also great for the kids," Jungquist said. "First, it teaches them patience. They have to wait for the glue to dry before they can launch the rocket. And, two, as they get older they will learn more about physics as a result of their involvement.

Copyright © 2007, Kingman Daily Miner.