IF I HAD IT MY WAY, America would still be the strongly patriotic place that stirred the emotions of great men like Thomas Jefferson, operating on the same courage that caused them to take up arms to insure the freedoms so desirous in Revolutionary America. It would still require that government be a servant of the people, rather than appear to be visa versa. It would be a world without fear of reprisal for the desire to spread liberty worldwide.

But I don't have it my way, and this isn't the same place it was 200 years ago. My how things have changed. And, the world has gotten bigger than it was then, too. International terrorism was a concept yet to be born as it stands today.

How do we, as a reputable society, one that is called upon to lead the nations of the world, build a system that allows our freedom to remain somewhat intact but still contribute to personal accountability? Unfortunately, that can't happen without a compromise. It has always been stated that with freedom comes responsibility. We must look beyond our own interests and find solutions that allow us as much freedom as possible while being responsible to our fellow citizens.

Since our hobby intimately involves explosives, is there a way to build a system that allows us to fly relatively unrestricted while allowing the government to do as good a job as they can protecting the rest of the world from terrorism? Well, I have a dream! Not to diminish the work of real architects of change like Martin Luther King, I have a really good idea, in my opinion. It may never happen, but hey, this is my dream, ok?

I see a way where we could be responsibile yet still have the freedom to fly, which is what most people want anyway. The first problem for the government agencies is the ability to monitor people who use these types of materials. The current structure requires people who purchase explosives to either fill out some forms for in-state purchases or be registered and licensed with the ATF for out-of-state purchases. In either case, you have a paper trail.

I seems to me that for people who are interested in flying pre-manufactured rocket motors there could be an alternative system that still allows registration data to be collected for access by the governmental agencies. What if the NAR/TRA certification process were orchestrated with the government to allow access to pre-manufactured motors? Here's how I see it working:

We concede to let everything over an F motor be 'regulated' in exchange for organizational certification being a suitable replacement for a LEUP only for the purposes of purchasing pre-manufactured motors, ignitors and a small amount of black powder for ejection charges, say less than 2 pounds. If you want to purchase raw materials to make your own propellant, you must have a LEUP.

The NAR and TRA could work with the ATF to re-create the certification process to include special registration forms, an inexpensive registration fee structure, and the collective data would be held on whatever computer system deemed necessary to allow governmental agencies access to review and monitor the registrants while still allowing the organizations access to add and edit registrant data.

There could still be a tiered certification process allowing G through I motors for level 1, J through L motors for level 2 and M through currently N as level 3. Only motors that are pre-manufactured by properly licensed manufacturers and have passed jointly-agreed-upon motor testing criteria would be allowable. Anything outside of this realm would require a LEUP or LEMP. The governmental agencies would have their paper trail, the fliers would be able to fly and everyone should be happy.

So, what's wrong with the scenario? Well, unfortunately, the minute this proposal would get accepted, the ATF would have to prepare itself for other niche explosives groups who then ask for special treatment as well. Not that it's an unsurmountable hurdle, the criteria for getting approval to be a data registration/motor testing-type facility could be stringent enough to allow the ATF to say 'yay' or 'nay' about an organization seeking this type of arrangement. Codifying it would be a long, tedious process.

Anyone willing to volunteer?

Darrell Mobley is the editor of Rocketry Planet. You may reach him by email at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .