You'll have a blast at CAPE Acahela!

No pun intended, but the model rocketry programs at Camp Acahela are really taking off! There are a wide variety of programs you can select from with a guaranteed fun time for all (including leaders and parents!). Best of all, this activity teaches the boys (and adults) a new hobby that they can participate in and get hours of enjoyment in the process. This hobby and what you can accomplish is a "keeper" and by that we mean that the model you craft with your hands can be kept as a souvenir after it's flying days are over. 10 years from now you can take it from the shelf and show it off. Try doing that with your best Play Station or X-box score!

New Launch Equipment for 2009

In preparation for the 2009 Summer Resident Camp season, we've been busy building a new launch complex for our model rocketeers. Included in the equipment is a new Launch Command Platform where the Ranger Officer and model rocketeer will control the launches from, a new 9 station launch trestle that has 7 standard and 2 heavy launch positions, and a new, portable model building kit we've recycled from an old chuck box. Each will let us conduct better classes, have better and more efficient launch control, and have a lot more fun doing it!

The new Launch Control Platform will be where rocketeers stand to launch their rockets
 at Camp Acahela's Lower Field

 

Acahela's new Launch Stand can launch up to 7 A to C class rockets with a
heavier-weight station on either end of the trestle

 

A repurposed Chuck Box will hold all the modeling tools and materials needed for the
new and expanded FS-RTD! model rocketry programs.

 

Participation Gallery

Troop 75, Cranford, New Jersey, Patriot Path Council
 and their Quest Payloader rockets earned the
Space Exploration Merit Badge for each of their participating members.

Click here for a larger print of this photo...

 

Troop 281, Dallas, Pennsylvania, NEPA Council also earned their Space Exploration Merit Badge and built their Quest Astra rockets.

 

Ranger Tim (right) and Jason Jolley (center) help Troop 281 Scouts
build their Quest kits at the Trailwood campsite

 

There wasn't an uninterested Scout in the group as Troop 281 assembles their Astra kits. It took about an hour on Friday night and another hour or two on Saturday to build these kits, even for new comers to the hobby.

 

Quest Aerospace will help you select the ideal model for your group, give you educational group pricing and ship your order  directly to Camp Acahela in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania. This makes the process very easy and convenient. In fact, for New Jersey units, it couldn't be easier. No special permits are required when the rocket engines are sent to and used at the Pennsylvania location. And there isn't any better way to "road test" this great hobby!

 

FOUR Great Ways to Enjoy Model Rocketry at Camp Acahela

There are at least four great ways you can enjoy the Model Rocketry hobby at Camp Acahela

• Build and fly a basic model rocket kit as part of the Space Exploration Merit Badge program
• Take the Basic Model Rocket Course without earning the Merit Badge just for the fun of it!
• Take the Eggstreme Lofting Challenge and build a Quest Courier and launch a raw egg as high as you can without turning it into an omelet. Compete against your troop mates and leaders!
• Take the Flight Design School and participate in the Altered States program where you learn how to
  tweak and modify basic kits to get the most out of your new hobby.

 

Contact Ranger Tim to set up any of these programs or to answer any of your questions. You can e-mail him at tbongard@nepabas.org or call him at 570-335-0283.