[roc-chat] Re: Separate LPR area at ROCtober
- From: rtd@xxxxxxxxxxxx
- To: <roc-chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2012 12:03:03 -0700
On 2012-06-26 09:23, Richard Dierking wrote:
Just a thought; do you think setting up 4 pads per bank instead of
the
normal 6 would help?
Richard Dierking
Richard,
The number of pads is almost irrelevant. With a bit of discipline in
two areas (PM and LCO), all of the speed problems go away. the problem
is in enforcing that discipline.
Here's what SHOULD happen at each position:
PM
----
Anyone under 18 MUST only be assigned pads on the front row, except for
Jr. L1 flyers, who can fly off the middle row, but must be accompanied
by a certified adult flyer.
Assign up to "G" on the front row, up to "K" on the middle row, and up
to "M" on the back row or the "away" pads (if any).
(By preference, assign "M" motors to the left side, with the second
choice being the right side; last choice would be the center "side".
Doing it this way will minimize the number of banks that must be
unoccupied when firing the "M" motor, and will also maximize the chance
that the necessary banks will already be unoccupied when the LCO gets
around to firing the "M", avoiding slowdowns.)
Do NOT assign any pads unless those pads are already EMPTY. If there
is a rocket on a pad, DO NOT ASSIGN THAT PAD to anyone else. If there
are any people already heading out or loading rockets on a bank, DO NOT
ASSIGN any more people to that bank, even if there are empty pads on
that bank.
As soon as a side is open to load, send out *one and only one* batch of
people to each of the three banks to load their rockets, as a group. If
you have Pad Helpers, send them out with any groups that might need
help. NEVER send anyone else to a bank until it's been flown and is
open again, even if it has open pads.
If the LCO hands you a card for a misfire, put it back in the slot for
the pad to remind you that the pad is still in use, so you won't assign
anyone else there.
When the LCO finishes launching a "side", hand him the cards for the
next "side", arranged Front, Middle, Back. If there are any high
altitude windows needed for that "side", notify the FAA contact. If
there is anyone still prepping a rocket on that "side", have the LCO
tell them to exit the range and come back to it after it's open again
(pull their card out of the batch you hand the LCO).
LCO
----
Our pad distances allow for flying up to "K" motors even with all other
banks occupied. To fly "L" motors (off the back row), the adjacent
(middle) pad bank on the same control panel ("side") must be unoccupied.
To fly "M" motors (off the back row), all three of the pad banks on the
same side must be unoccupied, as must the back and middle banks on the
adjacent side(s).
Always launch and open for loading/recovery in the following order:
Launch Left Front, Left Middle, Left Back.
Open Left side for loading/recovery.
Launch Center Front, Center Middle, Center Back.
Open Center for loading/recovery.
(Launch away pads, if any.)
(Open away pads, if any, for loading/recovery.)
Launch Right Front, Right Middle, Right Back.
Open Right Side for loading/recovery.
Make any necessary announcements.
Lather, rinse, repeat.
For each bank you launch, check for Red cards before starting the bank.
Make sure you know why each card is Red: is it a cert flight? Is it a
high altitude flight? Verify that the appropriate witnesses are
watching any cert flights, and check with the FAA contact to ensure any
necessary high-altitude windows are open before launching those flights.
If necessary, SKIP a card, and hand it back to the PM to fly in the
next round. DO NOT HOLD UP LAUNCHING A BANK BECAUSE OF ONE FLIGHT THAT
ISN'T READY. Skip it, and give the card back to the PM.
If you're flying an "L" or "M" motor, make sure that the necessary
banks are unoccupied. Ask people to quickly move out of the way, if
need be. (They can come back as soon as the rocket flies.)
Check the sky for aircraft, and check the range for people who are
where they shouldn't be. If both are clear, count down and launch the
rockets. If you or your spotter see a rocket drift (or fly) over the
parking area, call "Heads Up!" and point out the location of the rocket,
repeating as necessary until the rocket is safely on the ground.
In the event of a misfire, LEAVE THE ROCKET THERE, and hand the flight
card back to the PM. The person whose igniter misfired will need to go
out with the next group going to that bank of pads to replace the
igniter.
-------------
If these procedures are followed by the LCO and PM, then there will
NEVER be a slowdown, and rockets will fly as fast as the cards can be
read and the buttons pushed. We've done it before, and it works VERY
WELL.
Unfortunately, we all get sloppy about enforcing these rules,
especially when the range isn't busy. This leads to LCOs and PMs who
don't know what to do when it DOES get busy, and who inadvertently cause
slowdowns by doing these things:
- Waiting until a pad bank is full
- Allowing "one more" person to go load on a bank after other people
have already finished
- Assigning people to pads in advance (even though there's no way to
predict misfires)
- Requiring people to PULL their rockets off the pad after a misfire
(consequence of previous mistake)
- Waiting until slow people finish arming their rockets, after
everyone else is done and the LCO is waiting on them, instead of asking
them to leave it as-is and come back so the rest can fly
- Launching sides and banks out of order
- Not enforcing range access rules (too many people on the range)
- Waiting until the LCO gets to a pad requiring a high-alt window
before notifying the FAA contact. (The FAA contact should be notified
AS SOON as the LCO gets the cards for that "side". Most high-alt
flights are from the middle or back rows, so the window will probably be
open by the time the LCO gets to it, minimizing waits.)
Cheers,
- Rick Dickinson
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