Derby Talk

I heard from one of my software customers that BSA will no longer be carrying the space derby kits. Can anyone confirm?

This customer was intending to substitute a model rocketry race. Basically, the longest rocket to remain in the air wins.

No one really knows what is or is not going to happen with products at the Scout Shop. Until the bankruptcy is finalized many if not all vendors will likely rethink going into a new contract.

Who knows


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This link will tell you why the Space Derby Program is no longer for BSA.
https://signs-up.ppbsa.org/2022/03/03/s ... y-program/

Never been a huge fan of the Space Derby. It's fiddly.

whodathunkit wrote: ↑Wed Apr 26, 2023 7:18 pmThis link will tell you why the Space Derby Program is no longer for BSA. https://signs-up.ppbsa.org/2022/03/03/s ... y-program/

Repeating the relevant content of Whoda's link in this thread, as it seems important and linked web-page content can eventually disappear...

Unfortunately, due to ongoing supply chain issues, Space Derby kits were eliminated by the supplier, and after reviewing membership participation over the last several years, the decision to retire the Space Derby program has been made by National.

So the impression is that there wasn't enough demand for Space Derby kits to make it worthwhile to contract a new supplier.

gpraceman wrote: ↑Mon Apr 25, 2022 2:52 pmThis customer was intending to substitute a model rocketry race. Basically, the longest rocket to remain in the air wins.

A very-long-duration to touchdown can be obtained with bigger engines and/or multiple stages coupled with a huge (high-drag) parachute. Although I like the idea, the problem is that without some limitations imposed, a high-altitude / high-drag rocket will travel out of sight, with the slightest winds aloft carrying it miles away as it floats down, so it becomes impossible to determine how long it remains in the air. Growing up, we would scoop sooty ash from the wood stove into the fuselage so when the ejection charge went off we had some hope of locating a gray puff at apogee that dispersed in the direction of the wind at altitude. But above one-half mile, it is easy to lose sight altogether: I once built a three-stage rocket as a teenager... for all I know it is still up there.