14AL 2000

14AL 2000

Contest Director

The results are in! Click on the link below to see the final results of this years 14AL contest. Many thanks go to all those that helped out this year to make this contest another success. We hope to see you all there again next year!

14AL-2000 Contest Results

14AL-2000 Photos

14AL Background and History

By Dan Wolf

NAR Sanctioned competition returns to Bong Recreation area the weekend of June 3-4. This year's contest is an historic event as it marks the 21st anniversary of the first time NAR competition was held at the Wisconsin recreation area. Back in 1979, on Memorial Day weekend, MWRC was moved to Bong for Sunday's flying. This was probably the first organized rocket launch ever held at Bong. Things have changed significantly since then at both Bong and in the hobby we call sport rocketry. Now, rocket launches at Bong occur as frequently as the weather changes in Wisconsin.

Around the same time that NAR competition began at Bong, a new NAR section was formed in Tomah, Wisconsin. Scott Zingler, a young teenage rocketeer, was able to catch the interest of his dad, Jim and his grandfather, Al Nienast in model rocketry and in particular in NAR competition. The Western Wisconsin Association of Rocketry (WWAR, pronounced war) appeared on the scene and helped establish the Midwest as a competition hotbed. In the 70s, NAR competition was primarily dominated by the east cost sections. WWAR helped change that trend and started a tradition of competitive NAR sections in the Midwest. This torch would later be picked up by NIRA and more recently Launch Crue. Even though Scott got them involved, Jim and Al jumped right in and started making noise at contests throughout the Midwest. By outward appearance, Al was a quiet, gentlemanly grandfather type. You would have never picked him out of a crowd as an ace NAR competitor. But, that's just what he became. Al was most famous for his love of swing wing gliders and he designed, built and flew them to perfection from 1/4A engine size through F engine size. Al was C Division National Champion twice, in 1979 and 1983. WWAR was the Section Champion in 1979 as well.

At the time I met "Uncle Al", I was barely 20 years old. It often frustrated me that this man old enough to be my grandfather was such a formidable competitor. But, I also came to respect and appreciate his approach to competition. Now as I look back, I see things from a different perspective. As I reflect on those Tomah contests, I recall Jim's wife (Al's daughter) running the range at the two regional meets that WWAR hosted annually. I also recall not only Scott, but Chris King (who was B Division champion in 1982), another of Al's grandsons competing. The thing that impresses me most about that now is that I was witnessing three generations of a family all participating together in NAR competition. There was no generation gap in that family, at least where rockets are concerned. I only hope that in the future, I can see three generations of my family participating at an NAR contest in Wisconsin.

It was a sad day a few years ago, when I saw NAR President Mark Bundick post a message on Modelnet that "Uncle Al" had passed away in his sleep. By that point, Chris and Scott were both grown up and gone from the rocketry scene and both Al and Jim had mostly dropped out of NAR competition (although Jim served the NAR as Midwest contest board chair). But Bunny's post brought back a lot of good memories of hard fought contests that both Al and I had been part of. That's why, when Steve Koszuta suggested the name 14AL (one for Al) for the first WOOSH contest held at Bong four years ago, it just seemed to make a lot of sense. What better name than 14AL? A tribute to the classiest NAR competitor from Wisconsin. I'm sure Uncle Al will be smiling down on us when competitors gather on June 3rd at 14AL-00.