There's More Than One Way To (Launch) A Cake...

As you can plainly see from the other Aero-TV pieces that have been webcast recently, we certainly had a great time at TARC 2010. But... one of the most unusual aspects of TARC was its ability to draw all kinds of people together... like a famous chef, some cake ingredients and a high-speed delivery system. 'Ace of Cakes' Duff Goldman not only visited TARC, he launched a cake at TARC and you had to be there to understand what exquisite insanity this was... but for those of you who didn't make it, Aero-TV will show you what we mean.

The eighth annual TARC, the world’s largest rocket contest, took place Saturday, May 15, at Great Meadow in The Plains, Va. Qualifying teams of middle- and high-school students had the chance to earn $60,000 in scholarships and prizes. AIA President and CEO Marion C. Blakey, noted that, “It’s an exciting time for young people to be exposed to rocketry and all the aerospace industry has to offer. We’re seeing a real surge in our industry with TARC alumni taking advantage of exciting career opportunities with many of our member companies.”

TARC teams were challenged to design, build and launch a model rocket with a raw-egg payload to an altitude of 825 feet and achieve a flight duration between 40 and 45 seconds. The rocket must return the egg safely and unbroken without using a parachute. The goal of the contest was to bolster student interest in the Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields and attract more young people into aerospace careers. The STEM labor force is aging. Across all degree levels and fields, about 26 percent of workers with science or engineering degrees are older than age 50.

AIA co-sponsors the world’s largest rocket contest event with the National Association of Rocketry in conjunction with NASA, the Defense Department, the American Association of Physics teachers and more than 30 AIA member companies, with Raytheon once again providing a fully paid trip for the winning team to the air show in July. NASA also invites top teams to participate in its Student Launch Initiative advanced rocketry program. More than 50,000 youth have participated in the contest since its inception in 2003.

FMI: www.rocketcontest.org, www.aia-aerospace.org, www.nar.org/TAchallenge.html, www.aero-tv.net, www.youtube.com/aerotvnetwork, http://twitter.com/AeroNews