Rocketry Planet

GERLACH, Nevada USA — A three-day festival gave more than 200 rocketry enthusiasts an opportunity to push the boundaries of explosive propulsion in the hands of private citizens this weekend on the Black Rock Desert.

Forget bottle rockets. Aeronautic devotees arrived from as far away as Australia and the United Kingdom to launch experimental rockets often 16 times larger than a common hobby rocket at the 17th annual Tripoli Rocketry Association National Experimental Launch Friday through Sunday.

Event organizer Mark Clark of Glendale, Ariz., said the barren landscape of the desert site about 100 miles north of Reno near Gerlach presents the ideal location for launches because of its lack of vegetation.

The 49-year-old Clark said he, like many at the event, enjoys making his own rocket motors because of the challenge.

"It's different from most hobbies because it's totally unforgiving," Clark said. "It either works or your effort over the last year is in little burning pieces."

The size of the rocket motor doubles for every letter of the alphabet. Q Motors are typically the largest at the event and are 6 inches in diameter and 8 feet tall, Clark said.

The rocketry at the event ranged from futuristic to farce.

Tony Lazzaro of New Mexico said his vibrantly striped pink, orange-and-white "Tiger Rocket" satisfies both the problem solving and artistic sides of his brain.

He said rocketry design presents an engineering challenge, and the end result of a giant column of fire soaring into the sky behind a powerful rocket is aesthetically pleasing.

The three members of Team Numb of Portland, Ore., decided to launch a full keg of beer 2 miles into the air with 60 pounds of "Alumaflame," a fuel they cook up with a slightly different recipe than NASA's fuel used in shuttle boosters. "Alumaflame" looks like gray styrofoam, but ignites in a violet flame.

"We wanted to combine our two favorite things — beer and rocketry," said Team Numb member Dave Babour, 32.

According to the team, getting the beer into the air is the easy part. Retrieving it from its landing place among more than 200 thirsty rocket enthusiasts will be the challenge.

"We heard the threat that while it's in the air, others will distract us and beat us to it," 45-year-old Pete Ekstrom of Team Numb said.

But Ekstrom said he's not worried. He has the keg tap under lock and key.

Copyright © 2008, Reno Gazette-Journal.