RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

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2009 Archived News by RCS Institute of Experimental Rocket Technology

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

CEDAR CITY, Utah USA — The next RCS Institute of Experimental Rocket Technology (IERT) Advanced Propellant Formulation and Processing Course is scheduled to be held on March 14-15, 2009 at the PruneYard Plaza Hotel in Campbell, CA.

Presenter Gary Rosefield at a previous RCS motor class.

The course is taught by Gary C. Rosenfield, president of RCS, founder of AeroTech Consumer Aerospace and co-inventor of the reloadable hobby rocket motor. Gary will personally instruct course participants in the most important and relevant information concerning modern composite propellant formulation and manufacturing that he's learned in over 35 years of experimental, hobby and military/industrial rocketry experience.

This is not the typical "make it-take it" EX course, nor is it a beginner's course. It is intended for the more experienced experimental rocket enthusiasts who want to raise their knowledge of propellant chemistry and manufacturing techniques to an entirely new level. A mixture of theoretical and practical instruction will be emphasized, and the information provided will have direct application to real-world experimental rocketry activities. The two-day seminar is presented in both a lecture format at the course hotel and live demonstrations at selected locations.

Participants must be at least 18 years of age, have read and understood Terry McCreary's book "Experimental Composite Propellant", be NAR or Tripoli level 2 or 3 certified (this requirement waived for military or government participants) and be "U.S Persons" as defined in the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). Participants must not be affiliated with commercial hobby rocket propellant or hobby rocket motor manufacturing enterprises.

The course location will be the PruneYard Plaza Hotel, 1995 South Bascom Avenue, Campbell, CA 95008, http://www.pruneyardinn.com/. Their phone number is 800-559-4344. A block of 15 rooms has been reserved for March 13-16. The group room rate is $119.00 per night single or double and includes a daily "California" continental breakfast and free wired and wireless internet access. The class will be held in the upstairs "Orchard Room". Coffee and soft drinks will be provided in the conference room during course hours. When reserving your room, ask for the "RCS Rocket Motor Components" group rate. The hotel should be able to accept reservations for the group on or after 1/15. The hotel is near the San Jose International Airport with numerous restaurants and shopping venues nearby. See the hotel website for a map and additional information.

Course documents in PDF format may be downloaded from the "Classes" page on the RCS website at http://www.rocketmotorparts.com/. The deadline for returning the registration form and participation contract and making payment is February 14. The deadline for confirming reservations with the PruneYard Plaza Hotel is March 1st.

Reader comments:

#1 Re: Article: RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

Has anyone here taken the course in the past? If so what was your experience like?

Is there any plan to offer the course on the East Coast in the future?

UncleVanya on 01-20-2009 12:33 PM

#2 Re: Article: RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

Hey Brad, just in case your interested.....

Tom Henderson is having a Thunderflame class on Sat at the Feb launch. See our website www.tripolisc.org for the details. You mix on Sat. and fly your new motors on Sun. You leave with a 6 grain [I think 6> case ,you keep for future use, when done, and the ability to purchase chemical kits, for making more motors.

blackjack2564 on 01-20-2009 02:26 PM

#3 Re: Article: RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

Quote:

Has anyone here taken the course in the past? If so what was your experience like?

Is there any plan to offer the course on the East Coast in the future?

The course was reviewed in the May 2004 issue of Extreme Rocketry magazine. I'll hold the course anywhere in the country if there's enough interest.

Garoq on 01-20-2009 05:28 PM

#4 Re: Article: RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

Quote:

The course was reviewed in the May 2004 issue of Extreme Rocketry magazine. I'll hold the course anywhere in the country if there's enough interest.

How about my Sarasota facility? It would be fun and we could do lunch and be friends.

Anthony J. Cesaroni
President/CEO
Cesaroni Technology/Cesaroni Aerospace
http://www.cesaronitech.com/
(941) 360-3100 x101 Sarasota
(905) 887-2370 x222 Toronto

Anthony Cesaroni on 01-20-2009 06:37 PM

#5 Re: Article: RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

Quote:

I am interested. Tom has forgotten about me and not emailed me

but I will try to be there. I'll ask some others in my club if they are interested as well. I don't want to drive the topic off into this area however. The class Tom offers seems to be a different sort of class than the one Gary is teaching.

UncleVanya on 01-21-2009 10:21 AM

#6 Re: Article: RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

Quote:

How about my Sarasota facility? It would be fun and we could do lunch and be friends.

Anthony J. Cesaroni

The problem with that Anthony is that the course guidelines prohibit employees / owners of another propellant manufacturing company from participating. I'm not sure why since the course also states that RCS proprietary formulas will not be covered - but Gary can speak to that if he wishes.

UncleVanya on 01-21-2009 10:22 AM

#7 Re: Article: RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

I took this class in 2004 I think. I thought it was a very good class. I was required to sign an NDA that slo stated I was not to produce motors commercially for I think seven years.

The NDA was because we used Aerotech's facility and saw stuff not normally shown on tours. The class might be even better without the Aerotech facility as you might see the equipment an average EX motor maker uses.

belfert on 01-21-2009 04:07 PM

#8 Re: Article: RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

Quote:

I took this class in 2004 I think. I thought it was a very good class. I was required to sign an NDA that slo stated I was not to produce motors commercially for I think seven years.

Had you taken (or have you since taken) a "typical" ex make and take class? If so, were there aspects of Gary's class that made it worth that much more and without breaking the NDA can you allude to them?

UncleVanya on 01-21-2009 04:23 PM

#9 Re: Article: RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

Quote:

I suspect the restriction has something to do with who may show up. I guess I could fire myself for the duration of course to satisfy that part of the NDA. I�m not interested in Gary�s formulas or methods anyway. It would make for a neat course venue though. I was just hoping to finally meet Gary and take him to lunch.

Anthony J. Cesaroni
President/CEO
Cesaroni Technology/Cesaroni Aerospace
http://www.cesaronitech.com/
(941) 360-3100 x101 Sarasota
(905) 887-2370 x222 Toronto

Anthony Cesaroni on 01-21-2009 05:48 PM

#10 Re: Article: RCS Advanced Propellant Course to be held March 14-15

Quote:

I was just hoping to finally meet Gary and take him to lunch.

Anthony J. Cesaroni
President/CEO
Cesaroni Technology/Cesaroni Aerospace

Uh... it never occurred to me that you had not met in person. Dang. Find a common venue at a big launch and go for it. Better yet setup a dunking booth and take turns spilling the other in for charity -THEN go for a beer or other beverage without any hanger's on.

UncleVanya on 01-22-2009 12:11 AM

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