Rocketry Planet

WORLD WIDE WEB — Last December, an article reporting on the use of recovery ejection charges in Canada brought to light an exemption provided by the Explosives Regulatory Division of Natural Resources Canada, or ERD, for members of the Canadian Rocketry Association (CAR).

Like their U.S. counterparts, Canadian fliers find themselves limited under Canadian law with regard to their use of black powder for ejection charges, but unlike the U.S. regulatory agencies, Canadian ERD grants an exemption allowing unlicensed individuals to use small quantities of black powder for the express purpose of making ejection charges, provided certain conditions are met.

Mike Dennett, acting as regulatory liaison to CAR, applied to ERD in 2006 seeking a blanket exemption for CAR members to use black powder in hobby rocketry ejection charges at sanctioned CAR launches.  ERD granted the exemption to CAR in a letter dated July 21, 2006, a copy of which is located on the CAR website.

In 2008, Anthony Cesaroni of Cesaroni Technology Incorporated (CTI) placed a request to ERD, seeking to extend the CAR black powder usage authorization to include the Tripoli Rocketry Association and National Association of Rocketry members.  As a motor manufacturer, and a member of CAR, TRA and NAR, including serving as a TRA prefect and TAP member, Cesaroni felt it would be beneficial for the two American groups to gain access to prepare and use ejection charges at Canadian launches should their members cross the border for launch events.

In Cesaroni's original submission to ERD, he asked if he could act on the behalf of NAR and TRA, asking ERD to issue exemptions to each organization. ERD asked for confirmation from each organization, authorizing him to make the request in that capacity.  As an alternative, each organization could make the request on their own.

Taking the lead, Trip Barber, president of the NAR, submitted his request on behalf of all NAR members in October of 2008.  ERD granted NAR's request, issuing a letter of authorization on December 30, 2008, allowing NAR members to prepare and use black powder ejection charges at CAR launches in Canada. 

NAR doesn't currently host any launches in Canada, however U.S.-based NAR members close to the Canadian border do on occasion cross the border and participate at CAR launches.  Tripoli, on the other hand, has active prefectures in Canada that hold their own launches as well as participates at CAR launches and could benefit more from an exemption than NAR.

Following up on last year's inquiry, Cesaroni contacted ERD again by email on behalf of Tripoli on November 16, 2009. An approval was granted for the organization the same day:

November 16, 2009

File XP0600-2

Mr. Ken Good, President
Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA)
P.O. Box 87
Bellevue, NE
68005 USA

email: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Re: Authorization for the assembly of ejection charge devices

Mr. Good,

The Explosives Regulatory Division acknowledges receipt of the email dated November 16, 2009 sent by Anthony Cesaroni on your behalf and TRA requesting an approval for the on-site assembly of ejection charge devices for use in rockets that utilize electronic recovery system deployment. This request is being made for TRA members doing this operation at TRA (Tripoli Rocketry Association) and CAR (Canadian Association of Rocketry) events.

We concur with your request under the following conditions:

• the ejection charge devices may only be assembled at the point of use; if unused, they must be disposed of in a safe manner;
• the devices must be assembled with authorized explosives only that are to be transported to the point of use in their approved packaging;
• this approval is limited to TRA members for TRA and CAR events;
• the allowed explosives are black powder (type FFFG or FFFFG) or smokeless powder and with typical charges of 2 to 5 grams per device.
• This approval is valid for an unlimited period of time, but may be rescinded if, for example, above conditions are not met by TRA members.

Best regards

Dr. C.G. Watson
Chief Inspector of Explosives
Explosives Regulatory Division
Tel: 1 613 948 5170
Fax: 1 613 948 5195
/jla

The approval allows TRA members to assemble and use ejection charges at TRA and CAR launches in Canada, which is an important exemption as Canadian explosives regulations state that sport rockets cannot contain pyrotechnical payloads, rendering electronic recovery useless without the exemption.