Each year, the TARC competition comes out with a new set of guidelines. This is in hopes of keeping teams always on their feet, as teams never have the possibility to reuse past designs or use same strategies. Whether it be changing the “time of flight” or the “amount of eggs”, no two TARC guidelines are the same.
2019-2020 Guidelines
- Altitude: 800 ft
- Time of Flight: 40-43 seconds
- Payload: 1 egg
One special note about this year’s guideline has to deal with the National Fly-Offs. Only the top 40 teams at the National Fly-Offs after the first round of flights are given a second flight to determine who is first. Previous years have had the second flight height altered by either 25 or 30 feet (plus or minus determined by a coin flip), but this year, the first flight height will be the one altered.
Click here for Official TARC 2019-2020 Guidelines
2018-2019 Guidelines
- Altitude: 856 ft
- Time of Flight: 43-46 seconds
- Payload: 3 eggs
This year’s challenge was drafted in commemoration of the Apollo Moon Landing’s 50th anniversary. Teams invited to National Fly-Offs were given the special challenge of creating the most accurate Apollo 11 Saturn V Rocket, with the winning team given $500. The target altitude of 856 feet is also no random number: it signaled the time of morning in Houston when Neil Armstrong touched down (at 8:56 AM). The 3 eggs, through proving to be an extra challenge and the most yet in TARC history, was a homage to the 3 astronauts that were a part of the mission.
Click here for Official TARC 2018-2019 Guidelines
The American Rocketry Challenge 