The team shows off the rocket that won the international competition.

by Alison James

Alison.james@fct.wpengine.com

“World Champions is a pretty good title.”

That was Cristian Ruiz’, 16, first thought after finding out that he and his teammates – Niles Butts, 17; Andrew Heath, 17; Katie Burns, 13; Evan Swinney, 18; Cady Studdard, 14; and Chelsea Suddith, 15 – made up the winning team of the International Rocketry Challenge at the Paris Air Show in France last week, led by coaches Mark Keeton, Joseph Cole and mentor Tracy Burns.

The team achieved a winning flight score of 49.53 and logged an altitude of 824 feet, following a qualifying win at the Team America Rocketry Challenge.

Although the win ultimately came to RCS Engineering, the competition was far from smooth sailing.

“We had complications that morning,” explained Studdard. “We had rail buttons on our rocket that keep it sturdy on the rail. But our rail buttons didn’t work with the rail they had there. So we had to cut our rail buttons off and put the ones on that they gave us there. We were worried about drag … and then they said our rocket wasn’t stable enough because it has to go through this little checklist.”

Ruiz said he knew that just wasn’t true.

“We’ve launched like 40 times, I’m pretty sure it’s stable,” Ruiz said, recalling the thoughts going through his mind at that moment. “We still had to follow the rules, so we had to change some things about it.”

The rocket problems, however, didn’t begin in Paris. This was an almost-brand new rocket the team was working with, not the same one they had used for the national competition – the change necessitated by an unfortunate occurrence before they left for Paris.

“Four days before we leave, something goes wrong with the motor and it crashes,” said Suddith. “We have to build a new rocket. We don’t have enough data on it … So we were kind of panicking because we’re not sure how high this thing is going to go. We’re not sure the time it’s going to come down. We simply did not have enough data to make a good launch.”

The cardboard, plywood and plastic rocket was launched with a goal of reaching an altitude of exactly 800 feet within a 46- to 48-second flight window. This year’s contest required rockets to separate into at least two sections during flight. The main section, containing a payload of one raw hen’s egg and an altimeter, had to return to the ground safely with a single parachute as its sole recovery device. Scores were determined by how close the rockets approached the required height and time.

The RCS Engineering team said they had little real-time feedback to work with as the French and British teams also launched. They weren’t at all certain they had clenched the win.

“The time was way longer than we ever had before,” Ruiz said. “And it looked a little high. I was eyeballing it, and it looked a little high.”

Another new aspect of the competition was the presentation phase, which counted for 40 percent of the team’s overall score. The 10-minute presentation made to a panel of judges included a review of each rocket revision since the original design and was followed by an 8-minute question and answer session.

But when all was said and done, it was a day to be remembered for the city of Russellville, the state of Alabama and the United States of America.

“I expected them to win,” said Burns. “I never doubted they would win.”

Back home in Russellville, their supporters were finding out in different ways – through Twitter, Facebook, and news sources. Parents, like Lynn Swinney, learned of the news through a message board that had been set up to allow for easy communication among the parents, students and coaches.

“They have been sending pictures,” Swinney said. She said she cried when she first found out they had won.

Celebrations and recognitions will likely continue for months for these Russellville students, but the first one on U.S. soil was held at Russellville City Hall that afternoon. It was a chance for the city council, county commission and Russellville City Schools to congratulate the team, and along with the community, to celebrate being a Golden Tiger. A number of sentiments were shared, including these thoughts from Board President Jerry Groce.

“It goes without saying that the superintendent, school board, teachers, staff and the entire city are extremely proud of what these students have achieved on the state, national and now international level,” Groce said. “Their accomplishments have given them and the Russellville City School System recognition on the world stage. It all speaks to the dedication of the teachers, parents and so many others who have provided support to this team. The success of Russellville Robotics and the Rocket Team shows how new opportunities in education can give more students the opportunity to show their brilliance and be more engaged in the education process.”

Mayor David Grissom and the city council presented framed proclamations to the parents in attendance at the Friday meeting, declaring June 19, 2015, “Russellville City Schools Engineering Rocket Team Day.”

Swinney wiped away tears as Grissom presented the framed proclamations.

“I’m just a little overwhelmed and so proud of these kids,” she said. “They have worked so hard ever since they came back from D.C. They have worked long hours, day and night, building rockets and testing them … to try to win this thing.”

Councilman and county engineer David Palmer said the win, and the recognition, meant something especially for him, as an engineer.

“It’s very special to know that kids get recognized for more than athletics,” Palmer said.

Burns said if any other schools are interested in starting rocketry programs, he and Keeton are more than happy to share start-up tips. They can email mark.keeton@rcs.k12.al.us or tbmachine2006@yahoo.com.

By their own admission, this year’s RCS Engineering team has set the bar pretty high for the future of rocketry in Russellville.

“There is no room for failure anymore,” Suddith said.