Whether you want to take your rocketry showmanship to the next level or just watch others do so, big launches are the place to go. If you are in Colorado, there are a number of excellent regional launches within a day’s drive of Denver. Starting close to home, the three clubs with high power waivers sponsor a half dozen big launches.
One of the oldest Tripoli Prefectures still in business is Tripoli Colorado, www.tripolicolorado.org. They have a very scenic launch site at about 8800 ft above sea level located on a buffalo ranch about 5 miles east of Hartsel, CO. Their Spring Fling is usually the third weekend in June and Fall Frenzy is the third weekend in September. Aside from mountain vistas, crystal clear skies and miles of recovery range, the ranch’s heard now features three white buffalo.
Northern Colorado Rocketry, www.ncrocketry.club, puts on Mile High Mayhem, High Skies in July, and Oktoberfest at its Pawnee Grasslands launch site 45 miles northeast of Ft. Collins, CO. NCR boasts almost 100,000 acres of treeless recovery range. Mile High Mayhem is around, but not necessarily on, Memorial Day weekend. High Skies in July is usually the weekend after 4th of July. And Oktoberfest is in the beginning of October.
Southern Colorado Rocketry Enthusiasts, AKA SCORE, www.scronline.net, has been host to two NARAMs and an NSL in recent years. Their annual regional launch, Chile Blaster, is usually scheduled around the end of July. Located 4-H property 15 minutes from downtown Pueblo, CO, they are probably the most accessible of any high-power capable club.
Going west on I-80, Utah Rocketry, www.uroc.org, puts on their Hellfire launch every August about 12 miles east of Wendover, UT on the surreal Bonneville Salt Flats. Although visual recovery is pretty easy on the pool table dry lake bed, the salt is hard and can damage rockets on landing.
South on I-15 through Utah, past Las Vegas and to the dry lake bed east of Jean, NV is where Tripoli Las Vegas, www.tripolivegas.com, does their Spring Fest in mid-March and Oktoberfest in mid-October. Although they constantly share the lake bed with a variety of other wheeled and flying things, there is plenty of room for recovery in this classic desert launch site.
Near Tuscon, AZ, Southern Arizona Rocketry Association, www.sararocketry.org, has a launch site in the Sonoran desert. Early April is when their Desert Heat launch is held.
At the end of September, Tulsa Rocketry, www.piedmontrocketry.shutterfly.com, puts on their High Frontier launch in the Oklahoma prairie.
Last but not least, with a 50,000 ft waiver, Kloudbusters, www.kloudbusters.org, hosts three regional launches every year from their site outside of Argonia, KS: KLOUDBurst in mid-April, AIRFest on Labor Day Weekend, and Distant Thunder in mid-November.
Rocketeers in the west tend to be very friendly, helpful, and open. Some launches might have special restrictions. Be sure to consult the club’s website before making the long drive to one of these launches.
Fly high, fly often, and have fun.