NARAM-48 Website Online

Come join the Superstition Spacemodeling Society in sunny Phoenix this summer for NARAM-48! Running from July 30 to August 4, you'll get to enjoy a spacious flying field, and the "dry" heat (actually, August is Arizona's monsoon season!). To beat the heat, the range will open at

6:30 AM and close by 11:30 AM, leaving the afternoon free for activities. With contest events like F Altitude, Scale, Science Fiction and Future Scale, B Helicopter Duration, B Boost Glide Duration, Random Duration, 1/2A Streamer Duration, B Eggloft Duration, 1/4A Parachute Duration, the Imagination Celebration, and more, it should be a lot of fun. For more details, check out:

Hope to see you there!

Matt Steele NARAM-48 Contest Director

Just curious why there is no flying on saturday ? if I recall naram history thatsd 25% of the entire events flying if not slightly more ?? Many attendees can only come for that initial weekend of sport flying. this combined with the very shortened flying hours would appear to greatly reduce the flying oppurtunities (and therby picture shots :-) hehe available at naram ??

2442 miles wow my longest trip yet :-) even this far with an estimated cost of $700 in gasoline roundtrip its still cheaper than flying ! :-)

Chris Taylor

Also what is a Silent Auction ? (with the manufacturer's forum)

One other thing although this flying schedule it going to make the picture taking really interesting (rush rush rush) It does have an advantage since you ALSO moved the activities back to earlier hours :-) I should not need to stay up till 2am doing the site :-) yippee :-)

Chris Taylor

2442 miles is one-way, isn't it? Even if it is, you need to save some bucks up for a new ride. That's a heck of a drive in something that can't even manage 20 MPG. On the bright side, you'll get to stretch your legs pretty frequently.

TK

Is this the field entrance ? drop these into google maps

33.232442,-112.401102

that road entrance like spot is 2.5miles from the turn as listed. is the white odd shaped space north of that entrance the launch site ?

as for my ride. that IS my new ride :-) hehe 92 Ford Club Wagon. WOW is it nice ! I can finally site straight up while driving without my head touching the ceiling and my legs are straight bend like sitting in a chair (I have longish legs)

TONS of space and cargo room ! its perfect for trips. I plan to get an

80's diesel mercedes or VW for my daily driving once I pay this off (in a month or so) since that will get 40mpg and I can tinker around with biodiesel.

but for trips I want space room and comfort and this has that in droves ! I get 15mpg average highway strict highway I am hoping for 17mpg if I can get 17 I will be quite happy.

round trip just to hotel and back is 4884 miles so figure 4900 with misc stops etc..

then around town is going to be at least 80miles a day OUCH :-) so figure 500 miles for the week so 5400 miles 5500 for reserve consideration. since the field is off I10 and so is the hotel I bet I will get my average highway of 15mpg for that. so to be safe figure

16mpg for the whole trip. 35 gallon tank so 560miles per tank (I bet I will get 600 but lets assume not) so 10 tanks of gas and it will already be full when I leave so thats a 500mile reserve. 350 gallons of gas assume $2.50 just in case a gallon $875 in gas (if I get 17 will be under $800) $700 if its $2 a gallon :-) I hope it is as it would be nice to have an extra $175 to spend with vendors :-)

its higher now because I was estimating 100-150 miles of driving DURING Naram not the 500 it looks like I am going to be doing in reality with a field 40 miles from the hotel.

Stopping every 500-600 miles is not a bad thing. helps keep me awake ! I can usually manage 1000-1200 miles my first leg but after that I can usually only manage 6-8 hours before I am just too tired each leg and have to stop and sleep (driving alone) so 4 tanks of gas each way plus

2 at naram. (35 gallon tank) I am figuring 3 days to get out there 4 days to get back (I am burnt by the time its time to come home and can never manage the same hours as going out) alas Oshkosh is just out of the question this year. just adds too many miles.

Airfare is $360 Minivan Rental or small SUV is almost $800 plus shipping if I can not squeeze all my gear including 2 tents onto my check in luggage. so it would cost me $1200 PLUS to fly out :-( because of the insanely long drive I was giving serious consideration to flying but its just soo expensive. even if I tried to fit everything into an econo car its still $600 for the week Plus 2 tanks of gas for the rental minimum ! if I can get the total for airfare and car rental below $600 I might seriously consider flying out instead. I just have to see how much it would cost to bring or ship my 2 tents and 2 tables minimum If I can find a COOLER big enough to put my tents INSIDE that would be nice then I can use the cooler as the shipping container for the tents. I imagine it would cost around $200 round trip to ship this stuff almost cheaper to just buy 2 tents there at $90 a pop

This is going to be a very expensive Naram and I hope to have a new Camera for this Naram so I can nab better pictures. I am just bumping into too many limits with my current camera not enough zoom not enough megapixels. I am hoping the new 10mp Canon SLR comes out before then and is relatively affordable like the 20D is ! the 20D is what I was going to get but now I will hold out and see what the 35D is like.

I am hoping to make it easier by finding interesting places to visit on the way home etc.. I plan to stop in ohio for the airforce museum again since I will be passing close to it etc..

Chris Taylor

A silent auction is one where bidders submit written bids. The current high bid is posted, and bidders can decide if they want to increase their own bid. The auction usually lasts several hours.

If you want the NARAM sport launch to be extended to Saturday, e-mail the organizer (Matt Steele) and let him know.

That is odd - I was considering coming out for just the weekend - I'll have to rethink that.

Dale Greene SPAAR 503

That's the entrance, and the launch site.

I see air fares for $259 PHL to PHX.

Kewl, the numbers make sense now. Have a nice drive; I wish I could be there but I'll be living it second-hand by way of your photos.

Go for the VW diesel, and if you can, aim for the late '90s or early 'naughts. The difference in technology is astounding. I saved my pennies for quite a while and have this year's Jetta TDI. For pure MPG, I'd have been better served by getting an '04 or '05 at 50+MPG. Nothing wrong with the 44+/- I get on gentle highway day in Benny though. Even at $3.00/g, 5K would run less than $300 for fuel but there's only room for four tightly-packed bodies in the trunk. . . more's the pity.

TK

I'll bet if you shop around you'll get it under $600. If you wait a little closer to July you should be able to get Southwest internet specials of $99 one way. And do you really need to rent a minivan? I'm looking at Payless rent a car at Phoenix right now, midsize sedan for

8 days is $282, full size $328.

Still don't know if I can afford it though!

Dale Greene SPAAR 503

The problem is I take a lot of gear with me to and from the field daily. Example I always have at least 2 EZ UP tents. these are mandatory not luxuries. I have extreme (And I dont use that word lightly) issues with sunburn. I have permanent scarring on my legs from sunburn and I was wearing spf45 at the time of the burn ! Cancer is a serious concern of mine because of how easily I burn thats is why you have never seen me in shorts at naram outside. I just cant take the chance :-(

I did not see any prices that cheap even close !! even the sedans were $500 ! I will have to check on that again. I will be amazed if the prices changed soo much since I checked ! I will definately be keeping an eye on my options and figure out what works best.

Chris Taylor

the prices seem very volatile ... I am going to have to keep an eye on it.

hmm just found airfare for $251 but teh car rental is weird it says Weekly rate $199 but shows $991 for the total ? what the hell ? thats a

5 weeks ??? I dont get it going to try each rental place seperately.

I think you missing things how are you getting those prices for car rental. enterprise wants

2 Days @ Daily $40.00 $80.00 1 Week @ Weekly $199.00 $199.00 CUSTOMER FACILITY CHARGE $40.50 Subtotal $319.50 AIRPORT ACCESS FEE $31.00 VEHICLE LICENSE SURCHARGE $15.50 STADIUM SURCHARGE $9.07 SALES TAX $31.31 *Total Estimated Charges $406.38

Boy they sure know how to "tac it on" with the extra's !! ouch and likely does not include any insurance !

Chris Taylor

No it doesn't - insurance is extra - BUT check with your insurance agent, most car policies include some coverage of rental cars

Dale Greene

Don't those Budget moving vans only go for $20 a day? Bet that would serve to move all your gear everyday, affordably.

Most municipal airports really tack on the fees to rental cars. The discount companies are usually off-site to escape the fees. This can save you several hundred dollars. In the case you post above, everything but the sales tax might vanish, and the sales tax would probably be half. That would make a weeks rental around $215 instead of $406.

when in doubt rent-a-wreck

shockie B)

We are not going to fly on Saturday, as the session would be limited from 6:30 AM until 11:30 AM. I don't forsee that many people showing up on Friday to take advantage of the flying session. It will be too hot to fly later than that on Saturday.

Matt

So, what you're saying, is that for all of NARAM, it will be too hot to fly in the afternoons..... (the weather is the same on days other than Saturday!)

Will there be non launch site activities to fill in the afternoons when, by your own words, "it's too hot to fly"?