ORANGEBURG, SC REMAINS A FABULOUS PLACE to fly rockets, and the TRA local prefect, Jim Conn, a wonderful host. The recent "Small Balls" was a small, chummy launch, certainly not more than 50 people. Reminded me of high power rocketry 10 years ago, when everyone knew everyone else and the big question was, would your motor work right?

On the other hand, it was clear (at least, it was clear to me) from the number of failures that experimental rocketry ought to remain a restricted activity. I'm glad you have to be certified Level 2 to do this stuff, and I'm wondering if maybe there ought not to be another hoop to jump through. There were some grumbling about the rule that no children are allowed at the launch flight line. I personally am in favor of this rule, and of the double-distance rule for experimental flights. I was interested to note later that the grumbler's rocket showed, shall we say, inadequate construction to deal with its motor load... and he had griped about being told he had to use the away pad. Darned good thing Jim stood his ground and made him take the thing out there.

Which brings up the point that the ultimate bozo filter is the Range Safety Officer (RSO); if you have one with guts enough to say "no," you'll have a safe launch, and if you don't, all the rules you can write won't save you. I see that the National Association of Rocketry is developing a project to train RSOs. This is a good idea, for many reasons. For one, it would give RSOs some well deserved recognition. It would help to standardize practices, so the rules at one meet wouldn't be radically different from the rules at another. And it would give RSOs more clout to put behind unpopular decisions.

Maybe we could come up with a way of certifying RSOs at different levels. It would be good to have a cadre of people whose main motivation is to protect the sport. We all love this activity, and one of the big reasons I love it is that there's room in it for so many different interests, from mini rockets to mix-your-own. I'd hate to lose that because someone had something he just HAD to try, and no cooler heads stopped him.

I hope this doesn't come off sounding holier-than-thou... I had my share of screwups that weekend. Broke off a wire in a connector so I couldn't fly my flight computer, had a D powered model go unstable, and several other "Duh" moments. But I sought advice for things I wasn't sure about, I asked about the rules and followed them, and I had a great time. There were some who didn't do these things. There are some at every launch, and that disturbs me.

What do y'all think?

Doug Pratt is one of the most well known individuals in the sport of hobby rocketry, having written several excellent books. You may reach him by email at This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it .