This Year's Chip Can Challenge Contest

[Emma Humphries]

The Chip Can Challenge returns for the 2025 - 26 flying season! Folks who went to this year's LDRS at TCC will recognize the high power category, think of it as a peanut butter potato chip sort of thing.

These rules will be posted to the current competitions page at LUNAR.org, but are included here for your convenience. The first Brigantino Park launch is less than two weeks away. So start building.

Emma Humphries

LUNAR Board of Directors

NAR 27698, L2

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This year's Chip Can Challenge will be motor class based.

This year's classes are D motors and H motors.

The winner in each class will be the highest average altitude of a maximum of three qualifying flights over the course of the flying sason.

The flying season opens with the November 8, 2025 launch at Brigantino Park and ends with the March or April launch at Snow Ranch (whichever is latest.)

For H motors, all flights must be at LUNAR launches at Snow Ranch.

For D motors, all flights must be at a LUNAR launch at Snow Ranch or Brigantino Park.

Any LUNAR member can fly D class, but minors must be supervised by an adult.

LUNAR members with NAR L1, Junior L1, or higher certifications can fly H class (we will allow, but not necessarily recommend using a certification flight as a qualifying flight, it'd be funny though.)

LUNAR officers can compete, but cannot witness nor sign off on their own flights.

The rocket's airframe must be built from a single regular Pringles potato crisp can (approximately 75mm or 3" in diameter and 230mm or 9" in length.) The rolled paper rim at the top and/or the metal base may be removed from the can.  The rocket can have a boat tail no longer than 3 inches and a nose cone no longer than 6 inches. Therefore a rocket, with nose cone, and optional boat tail can be no longer than 18 inches long. The rocket must adhere to the NAR safety code (and the NAR high power rules for the H motor class.)

The rocket must be propelled by a single motor.

Different rockets in the same motor class may be used for qualifying flights, as long as each adheres to the Chip Can Challenge requirements. All competitors must fly rockets which they have built themselves.

To attempt a qualifying flight, the competitor should request a Chip Can Challenge Flight card and present it with the rocket for inspection to the Range Safety Officer or person doing pad assignments at the head of the range. The RSO/Pad Assignment person must confirm the rocket meets the Chip Can Challenge requirements above along with all LUNAR and NAR safety requirements.

When the Launch Control Officer has a flight card for a qualifying flight, they should announce it as a Chip Can Challenge flight, and make sure at least one club officer is watching.

Chip Can Challenge flight cards will be available at the registration desk at launches.

For a qualifying flight:

- The rocket must record the peak altitude of its flight on a commercially available altimeter
- The rocket must remain stable throughout boost and coast to apogee and recovery deployment, and be recovered in a flyable condition
- The rocket's must be accompanied by a Chip Can Challenge flight card
- A LUNAR officer needs to witness the flight, inspect the altimeter afterwards, write down the altitude on the flight card, and initial it
- The qualifying flight must be under the ceiling for the launch site: 15,000 feet for Snow Ranch, and 1,000 feet for Brigantino Park

LUNAR will maintain a publicly readable leaderboard during the contest.

Because we live in a barbarous nation we will record altitudes in feet, a.k.a. freedom units.

Questions about these rules should be referred to Emma Humphries, the contest coordinator. Her decisions, subject to the review by the rest of the LUNAR officers, are final.

[Will Lumpkin]

I have some questions about the Chip Can Rocket requirements.  The rules on the website differ from these a fair amount regarding chip can size, nose cone length, and overall rocket length.  Can the website be updated or will an updated set of rules be posted here? 

Thanks!

Will

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[Emma Humphries]

Thanks for reminding me, Will. I will update the LUNAR website. 

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/lunar-general/CANFuQNfxSfoJiUg2TVrJCezf_FwioDMYv9Z257V8Z5a%3Dk2B8wg%40mail.gmail.com.

[Emma Humphries]

The Chip Can Challenge rules on the LUNAR website have been updated to reflect the 2025-26 competition as described earlier in this thread. 

http://www.lunar.org/wiki/tiki-index.php?page=ChipCanChallenge

tl;dr

- Two classes, D motors and H motors (You must have at least a L1 or Jr L1 to fly in the H motor class.)

- Highest average altitude across three qualifying flights wins each class

- Rocket airframe must be a single regular sized (~ 9 inches) Pringles can 

- Total length of rocket with nose cone and (optional boat tail) is 18 inches

On Wed, Nov 19, 2025 at 10:03 AM Will Lumpkin <wlum...@gmail.com> wrote:

To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/lunar-general/CANFuQNfxSfoJiUg2TVrJCezf_FwioDMYv9Z257V8Z5a%3Dk2B8wg%40mail.gmail.com.