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St.V-M prepares for nationals
By Rich Heldenfels
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Sunday, May 11, 2008
On Saturday morning, the sounds from sporting events at the Our Lady of the Elms Athletic Complex in Bath Township were occasionally interrupted by a sudden, seconds-long WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH.
Hundreds of feet into the sky rose a series of small rockets, each carrying two hen's eggs carefully wrapped in foam strips.
After peaking, the rockets fell back to earth, their way eased by small parachutes, and students from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School raced across the athletic complex track, or into the trees nearby, to retrieve the rockets and determine how the flight had gone.
Teams from St. Vincent-St. Mary were testing backup rockets they might need to use on May 17, when they take part in the 2008 Team America Rocketry Challenge in The Plains, Va., near Washington, D.C. (The best rocket had been carefully put away.)
About 7,000 students, from 643 teams in 43 states and the District of Columbia, competed this year for a piece of the $60,000 in cash and scholarships.
The competition involves far more than just seeing how high
they could send a rocket built from scratch.
While the goals vary from year to year, in 2008 teams' targets were 750 feet in the air (determined by an altimeter on the rocket) and a flight time of 45 seconds — without breaking the eggs. The closer you get to that, the better your score.
In 2007, when the goals were 850 feet and 45 seconds, Newark (Calif.) Memorial High School won with 851 feet and 44.14 seconds.
The top 100 student teams go to the nationals based on local tests. St. V-M has three teams, Alpha, Bravo and Charlie; Bravo and Charlie and their 11 students are going to nationals.
It's St. V-M's third trip to Virginia since the competition began in 2002. Its best previous performance was 10th place in 2004, said Gary Pitman of National Machine in Stow, an aerospace-industry manufacturer which sponsors the school's teams.
In all, seven Ohio teams qualified for the nationals, including Springfield High School, Dublin Scioto, Madison, Sylvania Northern and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force team from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.
Cali Pitman, Gary's daughter and captain of Team Bravo, said students meet about once a week for two to five hours, first working on design and then building and testing the rockets. There also are expenses to consider — just the motor for a single rocket costs $20 — which is one of the places National Machine lends a hand.
''Rockets are cool,'' said Tim Kananen, a St. V-M junior on Team Charlie, when asked why he took part.
Of course, like any challenge, this one has its rough moments. The eggs can break, especially if the rocket makes a hard landing. As one rocket seemed to head toward the athletic complex track, team coach Chad Kollert could be heard shouting, ''Hit the grass! Hit the grass!''
Sophomore Joe Chiarappa said parts also might fall off rockets in flight — including the precious altimeter.
But the challenges can lead down exciting roads.
Cali Pitman doesn't plan to make rocketry a career; she expects to study nursing at the University of Akron. Still, she recalled traveling to The Plains as a spectator a few years ago and what a thrill it was.
''There were tons of kids interested in the same thing you are,'' she said.
Rich Heldenfels can be reached at (330) 996-3582 and rheldenfels@thebeaconjournal.com
On Saturday morning, the sounds from sporting events at the Our Lady of the Elms Athletic Complex in Bath Township were occasionally interrupted by a sudden, seconds-long WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOSH.
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