Rocketry Planet

WORLD WIDE WEB — High fliers of the Tripoli Rocketry Association have had a lot to digest since the Federal Aviation Administration put a new application process in place this past February for amateur rocket launches that are greater than O class impulse. The new ruling became effective on February 2, 2009.

The new FAA guidelines created two new classes of amateur rocketry: a Class 3 Advanced High Power rocket class, which includes any amateur rocket that exceeds 40,960 N-s of total impulse, and a Class 4 Other category which includes any unmanned rocket that is not an amateur rocket. The new Class 3 is the most controversial new classification for hobby enthusiasts, in that all Class 3 flights have to apply for their own FAA waivers individually, making it much more difficult for participants of these larger amateur rockets to get past the regulatory red tape.

Agent 99, an amateur rocket shooting for 99,000 feet, will fly on a P8900 staged to an N2100 at XPRS today.

Tripoli, in an attempt to streamline the process somewhat, created a committee to ease the pain of getting a waiver for a Class 3 flight.  Called the "FAA Class 3 Review Committee," the committee is manned by some of the most knowledgeable individuals on high altitudes and FAA relations, including Chuck Rogers, Dick Embry, Pat Gordzelik and Gene Nowaczyk, who himself flew a rocket to 93,324 feet at Balls 15 back in 2006.

The committee has been working on a waiver application template and will soon release this documentation to assist you in your pursuit of Class 3 flights, as well as arming you with a list of waiver application requirements and a sample of an approved Class 3 application to use a guideline.  The committee will also provide you with the required 6 degrees of freedom 3-sigma dispersion analyses that you will need to submit with your application.

The committee's first approved Class 3 project is due to fly today at XPRS, being held at the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada.  Agent 99, an amateur rocket shooting for 99,000 feet, will fly on a P8900 staged to an N2100. The Agent 99 team consists of: David Cummings, Steve Kendall, James Marino, Ross Ohmen, David Raimondi, Craig Saunders, Cliff Sojourner, Charlie Wittman, and honorary member Mike Pettipiece.

More information about Agent 99 can be found on the team's website: http://home.earthlink.net/~rohmen/id8.html

Reader comments:

#1 Re: Article: First efforts of new TRA committee see fruition today

Assisting with a Class 3 application is a useful asset. Doing the splash run for the team is something that will make such applications more frequent than otherwise. I would like to see them offer this to NAR members as well as part of their cross-certification treaty for users and motors.

TRA and NAR should seek a "technical corrections" change to the FAA regulation to increase the Class 3 lower threshold back to 200,000 pound seconds where it was before. An "O" motor may seem big to a tiny club of 4000 large rocket consumers, but is a dribble and drab to most traditional amateur rocketeers who have been doing their stuff since 1943 not 1984.

Jerry

Just Jerry on 09-21-2009 12:50 PM

#2 Re: Article: First efforts of new TRA committee see fruition today

Thanks go out to Chuck Rogers, Dick Embry, Pat Gordzelik and Gene Nowaczyk, for all of there continuing hard work. TRA and the HPR rocket community is truly blessed to have these knowledgably individuals working for the betterment of our hobby.

Thanks,
Fred Wallace

frederocket on 09-21-2009 02:00 PM

#3 Re: Article: First efforts of new TRA committee see fruition today

NAR members won't be flying any class III flights until there is a certified P motor as NAR does not allow research/EX.

I'm too lazy to look right now, but is a production/certified P motor even allowed under safety code and NFPA codes? Would NAR rules allow a P motor flight if someone made a certified P motor?

belfert on 10-14-2009 06:37 PM

#4 Re: Article: First efforts of new TRA committee see fruition today

Quote:

NAR members won't be flying any class III flights until there is a certified P motor as NAR does not allow research/EX.

Unless a NAR member flew a cluster of O motors or other complex flight that exceeds the Class 2 ceiling.

Steve_Shannon on 10-14-2009 06:42 PM

#5 Re: Article: First efforts of new TRA committee see fruition today

Quote:

NAR members won't be flying any class III flights until there is a certified P motor as NAR does not allow research/EX.

I'm too lazy to look right now, but is a production/certified P motor even allowed under safety code and NFPA codes? Would NAR rules allow a P motor flight if someone made a certified P motor?

Quote:

Unless a NAR member flew a cluster of O motors or other complex flight that exceeds the Class 2 ceiling.

Wouldn't a CTI PRO 150-40K 40960O8000-P ( 40960 0Ns) White Thunder motor plus any other motor including an Estes Estes ½A3 ( 1.1 Ns) be a class III.

Sailorbill on 10-14-2009 07:06 PM

#6 Re: Article: First efforts of new TRA committee see fruition today

Quote:

Wouldn't a CTI PRO 150-40K 40960O8000-P ( 40960 0Ns) White Thunder motor plus any other motor including an Estes Estes ½A3 ( 1.1 Ns) be a class III.

Is it certified? I don't find it on the NAR, TRA, or combined lists or on Thrustcurve. If it's certified, then yes that would qualify. It's just another complex rocket.

Steve_Shannon on 10-14-2009 11:19 PM

#7 Re: Article: First efforts of new TRA committee see fruition today

Quote:

Is it certified? I don't find it on the NAR, TRA, or combined lists or on Thrustcurve. If it's certified, then yes that would qualify. It's just another complex rocket.

Steve?

Last motor on the combined list: http://www.nar.org/SandT/p...binedMotorsByImpulse.pdf

O8000-P

UncleVanya on 10-14-2009 11:45 PM

#8 Re: Article: First efforts of new TRA committee see fruition today

Quote:

Steve?

Last motor on the combined list: http://www.nar.org/SandT/p...binedMotorsByImpulse.pdf

O8000-P

You're right. I confused myself.

Steve_Shannon on 10-14-2009 11:57 PM

#9 Re: Article: First efforts of new TRA committee see fruition today

Quote:

You're right. I confused myself.

I'm going to guess you saw the P?

UncleVanya on 10-14-2009 11:58 PM

#10

Exactly right.

Steve_Shannon on 10-14-2009 11:59 PM

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