Reports & News

Launch reports and other DART news.


September 27, 2023

2024 Launch Dates

New launch dates have been obtained for 2024.  See the “Launch Calendar” page for more information.


December 1, 2022

2023 Launch Dates

New launch dates have been obtained for 2023.  See the “Launch Calendar” page for more information.


April 13, 2022

2022-2023 Launch Dates

New launch dates have been obtained for the remainder of 2022 and the early part of 2023.  See the “Launch Calendar” page for more information.


August 14, 2021

Return to Flight!

We received permits to resume launches at Fiesta Island.  Our first launch was held on August 14.  We had a good crowd, eager to fly some rockets after the long hiatus due to the COVID closure of Fiesta Island.

 


March 30, 2020

Update on COVID-19 for National Association of Rocketry

The National Association of Rocketry has extended the directive regarding launches, meetings, and other group activities to April 16, 2020. See https://www.nar.org/update-on-covid-19-for-national-association-of-rocketry/ for more information.

The DART launch on April 5 is cancelled.

The next DART launch will depend on future directives from the NAR plus orders from state and local government.


March 18, 2020

Update on COVID-19 for National Association of Rocketry

The National Association of Rocketry has directed that all NAR Sections shall postpone or cancel Section launches, meetings, and other group activities during the period of March 17 to April 1, 2020. See https://www.nar.org/update-on-covid-19-for-national-association-of-rocketry/ for more information.

The DART launches on March 28 and March 29 are cancelled.

The NAR will send an update on the policy on or before April 1.

Note: The DART launch cancellations on March 28-29 will not adversely affect TARC participants. All TARC practice and qualification flights are on nationwide “hold” until further notice (see https://rocketcontest.org/ for more information).


March 14, 2020

The weather forecast for Sunday has deteriorated (probability of rain all night until 10 AM). Also, Fiesta Island is probably in rough shape due to all of the rain this week.

The launch tomorrow (3/15) is cancelled.

Our next launches are the “TARC Extravaganza” back-to-back launches (3/28 and 3/29). This will also give time for the Covid-19 situation to mature.


February 25, 2020

Our last two launches (2/9 and 2/22) had to be scrubbed early due to rain. Surprisingly, Fiesta Island wasn’t already booked by another group for this Saturday, and we were fortunate to get an additional launch permit for 2/29 to help make up for the rainouts. This is a good launch opportunity for TARC teams to do practice flights prior to the TARC deadline of April 6. The launch is also open to general sport flyers.

-Chris Flanigan


January 17, 2020

We have acquired new launch permits for March, 2020 through January, 2021.  The dates have been posted to the Launch Schedule page on the website.

-Chris Flanigan


August 11, 2019

Summer hiatus is over, and we’re back flying!  We had a good launch today.  The weather cooperated with low winds before 10 AM and just modest winds (~8 MPH) by noon.

Remember that our altitude ceiling is 1,000 feet.  If your rocket will go over 750 feet, a streamer is highly recommended for recovery.

-Chris Flanigan


March 19, 2019

We have acquired new launch permits for August, 2019 through March, 2020.  The dates have been posted to the website.

DART goes on a summer hiatus from mid-June through the end of July. The Over The Line (OTL) tournament dominates Fiesta Island for most of July (and practice sessions in June), so availability for non-OTL events is severely limited.

After the summer hiatus, we will resume launches on August 11.

Fiesta Island is usually very busy on weekends but has great availability mid-week.  If you’re interested in a Thursday launch, that’s do-able.  Please contact me if you’re interested.

-Chris Flanigan


February 1, 2019

The DART launch scheduled for Sunday, Feb 3, is canceled due to bad weather. The forecast shows significant rain Saturday afternoon and evening, with continuing sprinkles and wind on Sunday. This will not allow for sufficient time for Fiesta Island to recover and dry out. Wet/windy conditions on Sunday are not good for safe flying.


August 26, 2018

We had a great sport launch today. Lots of attendees including several first-time rocketeers. The weather cooperated with low-to-moderate winds until ~11:30. We even had our first TARC team doing practice flights!


August 24, 2018

Following our summer hiatus, DART Rocketry is resuming launches. Our next launch is Sunday, August 26, from 8:00 AM to noon, on Fiesta Island. Discount Rocketry will be there with their mobile model rocketry store with a wide variety of kits, motors, and accessories.

-Chris Flanigan


March 24, 2017

The contest originally scheduled for January 28 (postponed due to poor weather) has been rescheduled to May 14. See the “Contest” page for more information.

-Chris Flanigan


March 14, 2017

We have acquired new launch permits for 2017-2018 and have posted the dates to the web site!

You’ll notice that we don’t have any launch dates in April and only one date in May.  Getting launch dates in April and May can be difficult for us due to timing. The NAR insurance plan renews April 1. We have to wait until that insurance is in place (typically ~March 15) before we can obtain permits for April and beyond (up to one year). By the time we can make reservations, dates in the near months (April and May) are sometimes already booked by other events. Also, no permits are issued by the SD Parks & Recreation department for major holiday weekends such as Memorial Day and Labor Day.

DART normally goes on a summer hiatus for June through August. The Over The Line (OTL) tournament dominates Fiesta Island for most of July (and practice sessions in June), so availability for non-OTL events is severely limited.

This year, we have scheduled two launches in August (instead of waiting until September to resume launches).  We’ll see how that goes.

Fiesta Island is usually very busy on weekends but has great availability mid-week.  If you’re interested in a Thursday launch, that’s do-able.  Please contact me if you’re interested.

-Chris Flanigan

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