SOUTH  EASTERN  VIRGINIA  ROCKETRY  ASSOCIATION

Beach Blast - July 5-6, 2014:

Beach Blast Logo Enjoy 4th of July at the Beach!
Bring the whole family for a holiday weekend at Virginia Beach, VA. The region offers many places to stay, eat, visit, and enjoy (Beaches, Golf, Fishing, Chrysler Museum, Busch Gardens, Historic Williamsburg and Yorktown, Shopping, and more). Watch the fireworks displays Friday night and then put on your own display Saturday and Sunday.

Beach Blast is a chance for our regional clubs to fly during the summer. Many of these clubs fly at farms with seasonal restrictions. It is also our way of saying Thank You to those clubs that hosted our members for the year our field was closed. Many trees were removed during that year, if you have not been to Fentress in a while it is much more open now.

Prospective fliers are asked to register with our Treasurer (see below) as Beach Blast will be limited to 50 fliers. These limited slots are available on a first paid, first served basis. Current SEVRA members also need to register for one of these limited slots by notifying a Board Member of your intent to fly at Beach Blast. You can also make arrangements to drop off trailers at the flying site Friday afternoon. There is no camping on site, but camping sites are available within 15 miles.

The SEVRA launch field is at NALF Fentress. Being an active airfield, it is a large flying site, but it does have some hazards such as concrete runways, taxiways, some trees, and crop land. Here are directions to NALF Fentress. We have made special arrangements for Beach Blast attendeess to sign in and sign out at the Registration table. We will have rocket vendors on site and food from SEVRA's CATO Cafe. We will have raffle prizes as well. While nothing is assured, SEVRA already has Navy approval of the use of Fentress for the weekend. Only bad weather or an unexpected military action could interfere with Beach Blast.

Flying commences at 9:00am both days and continues until 6:00pm on Saturday, 4:00pm on Sunday. Saturday will be a Tripoli Research Launch with a nominal 10,000' waiver. Sunday will be a NAR Launch with a 6,000' waiver. Altitudes may be lowered at the discretion of the LCO. This page will be updated more frequently as Beach Blast approaches.

There is also a Beach Blast FaceBook page. Let us all know who's coming!
Design of a Beach Blast T-Shirt is almost final and shirts will need to be ordered in advance. An image of the shirt and the final cost will be added here as soon.

Time until Beach Blast Begins:
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Who can Fly?
Kids and low-power fliers always fly for free at our launches. All high-power fliers and fliers launching rockets that would require an FAA waiver must be SEVRA members. High-power fliers must hold current membership in and be certified by either the NAR or TRA. Non-NAR/TRA members accept full responsibility for their flights as well as the safety of others and are expected to be self-insured.

Club Dues for full membership are $25 per calendar year and are due in January. Please fill out the Membership Application and indicate that you intend to attend Beach Blast. Send the completed application to Joe Vanlandingham, SEVRA Treasurer. The Treasurer will provide details on how to pay using PayPal upon reciept of the Membership Application.


There are several concrete runways so expect and plan for rockets to land on hard surfaces!

The Club's waiver at NALF Fentress covers flights up to 10,000' (TRA) or 6,000' (NAR). The RSO may require proof of performance for planned flights within 1,000' of the waiver altitude (either simulations or prior demonstration).

Visitors planning to fly L motors or larger need to contact a club officer no later than June 30th.


Launch Facilities:
We generally have a variety of launch pads including, 1/8", 3/16", and 1/4" rods, short (3') and long (8') 1010 rails, a 12'-long 1515 rail, and our Away Cell with 16'-long 1515 and Unitstrut rails.

If your rocket lands outside of the immediate launch area or lands in a nearby tree, you must contact a SEVRA Board Member or the RSO before attempting recovery. SEVRA has knowledge of the surrounding properties and has the equipment to enable the safe recovery of your rocket.


Weather Conditions:  NALF Fentress Weather   Weather - Hour by hour   Winds Aloft