Tripoli South Florida

The group is really growing in size! With this kind of participation we are going to need to delegate some responsibilities to our active members. Tripoli national requires that we think like a club with an organized leadership and so forth. With this in mind  we should start planning something that hasn’t happened in a long time – elections. January seems like a good time for these kind of events so start thinking now of who you want to be responsible for YOUR club.

I’m going to put the burden of the election on Marc S’s shoulders as far as making and counting ballots. Hey, he volunteered to be secretary! We’re going to need a Prefect, President, VP, treasurer, secretary and various minions who are willing to act as LCO, RSO, fee collector, membership keeper, etc.

Also, I have put a poll up about money; this is typically a touchy subject so having a poll means I don’t have to go around asking uncomfortable questions. TSF is obligated to pay TRA $100.00 annual charter fees that help to pay the TRA insurance. Annual dues to our small club will now cover this easily.  Additional funds can be used for cert flight H motors or whatever the leaders decide. Maybe a party, a gift for Mr. Strano our gracious land owner, or contest prizes.

The choices are self explanatory. You can vote on multiple items so if you say non-members you can also choose a dollar amount.

Have you seen the Facebook page?

The third Sunday seems to be the day that works best for the folks on the poll.  So with that let’s schedule for October 18th. This is likely to be another low power launch if we don’t get any info from the FAA. We will pass on any information when it becomes available.

UPDATE – 10/1/09 – I talked with Pete Acevido from the FAA this morning and he has verbally approved our waiver. I am expecting an emailed copy as well as a hard copy in the mail very soon. SO this month should be ok to do high power!

September 20th turned out to be a very nice day with a big crowd of launchers. Be sure to check out the links to pictures from Rey and Rick.  There are some excellent captures.  The spirit of camaraderie was tremendous with everyone out to fly and have fun.

Congrats to Jose C and Joe D for taking the written part of the level 2 test and passing with ease.

We had some new comers to the launch. Wes joined us with his splendid little flying saucer and there was a father and son, Omar and Richard, passing by who stopped to watch for a while. Martin K was nice enough to let him launch a small rocket, his very first.  Also, Manuel L. has paid in and joined the Prefecture.

Mark S has volunteered to do Secretary duties for the club. I’m not sure what all that entails other than preparing and officiating an actual election at the beginning of 2010. Mark has also said he would put together a facebook page for TSF. That sounds like a link!

Looks like a good time to launch will be Sunday September 20.

We do not have a “Class 2 ” high power waiver so this will be restricted to G and below impulse.

The August launch was one of the best attended events in a very long time! We had 2 certification flights.  Congratulations to Mark and Joe on achieving  cert one level. I’m sorry that Jose could not certify because we were missing an aft closure on the 29mm cesaroni motor. I know I  saw people taking pictures at the field but no one has sent them in or posted links. If you have pictures be sure to upload them somewhere and post a comment link for everyone who wants to see.

Unfortunately, the next few launches will be low power only. I applied to renew our FAA waiver this spring and since then there has been no response in spite of emails, phone calls and letters. This past weekend they removed our waiver information and we must completely reapply. I have found some new (to me) information and will be sending in the paperwork this coming week. There will be a minimum of 45 days and probably 60 before a response – hopefully an approval- is expected putting us solidly into October and likely November before we can lawfully Hi-Power launch again.

Also, I have emailed Ben Russel for permission to schedule all our launches as research launches. This should allow people who want to make their own motors and commercial motors to be used at the launches. This brings up a number of issues for younger flyers as under 18s are not allowed to fly during a research launch. Only Tripoli members are allowed to fly launch.. Non members may not. And for sugar motor Martin, PVC is not allowed. Maybe he can cast them in a liner and put it into a non-frangible,  i.e. aluminum,  casing.

We may be required to state our upcoming launch dates for the year or 18 months ahead. Anyone want to comment on that? Do you want to pick dates or should we have a fixed weekend schedule? See polls. Should we make every other launch a research launch?

For a very long time TSF has been a relaxed, uncomplicated group. Rules have been very lax because they could be, but now with the club getting bigger it is going to have to establish and enforce some rules. I am calling out for some volunteers to help with these kinds of duties. We need to get together and come up with some guidelines for club membership fees, flight fees, RSO and LSO activities. Someone will have to act as secretary and will be required to conduct an annual Prefect election.

September 20 looks like a good day for a LOW POWER only launch. G power and below.

We have a new member in Tripoli South Florida, Joe Dejesus of HobbyShop World. He sounds very interested in high power, electronics and all things rocketry. His website isn’t quite filled out yet; I’m sure he is looking for ideas and input on what to carry in stock.  Click on the Link and check out the shop. Send him an e-mail and let him know what you’re looking for and he’ll be able to get it.

He asked me what altimeters to carry and I suggested Adept because they have always been reliable and easy to move from one airframe to another without any confusion or fuss.  You might have other ideas and so I put on a new poll to get him some easy information. 

Joe should be at our launch in August. If you talk to him NOW maybe he could bring some things out to the field.

With new rocket people joining the club there are several new members who want to certify for L1. Tripoli members should be able to buy one H-load from an actual rocket vendor like Giant Leap when they are ready without any trouble. And now storage requirements are relaxed it should be even easier. I have spent some of our club dollars from dues and donations to purchase some Cesaroni H-class hardware and loads for club sponsored L1 certs. We currently have 3 motors on order from Wildman; one 29mm H and two 38mm H’s.

UPDATE: The motors are in. We have a 29mm 4-grain H170 blue streak. this motor is already spoken for by Jose a new member. The other motors are both 38mm 2-grain loads. One is an H152 Blue streak and the other is an H125 Classic. Mark and Tom have dibs on these loads and will have to sort it out between themselves who gets which.

It is my thought that the club would keep possession of the hardware and certifying individuals would make a donation to the club so we can replace the propellant. After the flight, the hardware would return to the “officer in charge of these things”. If the casing should become damaged or lost during a flight, the flyer would have to replace it as well.

I chose Cesaroni because they are very easy to assemble and light very reliably. If you use motor ejection you had better run a sim to determine the optimum delay for your rocket. Cesaroni delays are adjustable using a drill like device to remove some of the delay grain. By drilling out the delay element it can be configured to the individual flight profile. If you want to use one of these motors you must know your delay time! And you’d better include a positive motor restraint, friction fit / masking tape retention will not be allowed. A sheet metal screw in the base ring with a wire hook isn’t ideal but it will be allowed.

Comments welcome

Good news to the crews! I called Wildman Rocketry once again today (7-31) and Heather answered. She said they just made it back from LDRS and were finally receiving some cesaroni goods to ship out orders. That means we should be getting 3 – H motors and casings for certs.

How about a launch on the 16th of August? This is technically the 3rd weekend of the month.

Keep looking up

John

I was away for most of June, I hope a launch took place because I’ve heard its been raining daily here and it looks like it is going to be a rainy weekend for the beginning days of July. Anyone want to suggest a date for the next launch? How about the 21st?

A big thanks to Ray Rodriguez who sent me a huge stack of flight cards with his radikal rockets  design (permalinked in hardware on the left) on them. Now we can gather some data on our launches. One thing nice about cards is we can get serious with flight fees. How about $1 per card for H and above impulse including clusters? No HP flights without a launch card. That way flyers can buy some cards and use them whenever they fly rather than just having a one time daily fee. Good Idea? Should we charge everybody $1. per flight card regardless?

Comments are appreciated

Our last launch on May 17th was a real great day.  A huge turnout with lots of great launches and some friends I haven’t seen in a very long time.  Ray Rodrigues has some cool T-shirts, cups, and other gear if fpr sale on his cafepress site here.  I will be away for the upcoming launch which will be officiated  by Paul W.

Joint Statement on the BATFE Litigation

May 18, 2009

Since the U. S. Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms & Explosives has not appealed the decision of the Federal District Court of March 16, 2009, which ordered the agency to vacate their classification of APCP as an explosive, and the period for their ability to do so has expired as of May 16, 2009, on advice of counsel, we believe that the judgment is considered final although we have not received confirmation from BATFE. Accordingly, members may operate under the understanding that APCP rocket motors are no longer regulated as an explosive material by BATFE, and no longer require the permits formerly required by the agency to buy, sell, or possess such motors.

Members possessing a LEUP are advised that they should evaluate their individual situation based upon whether they possess (or plan to possess) and store materials that are still considered regulated by BATFE. While APCP rocket motors are now no longer regulated under the requirements of the “Orange Book” and are not subject to requiring a LEUP, other materials may be subject to these requirements.

Members are also reminded that both TRA and NAR safety codes stipulate what motors they may possess, depending on their level of flyer certification. These rules still apply to our members. We likewise strongly encourage vendors of hobby rocket motors to continue to work cooperatively with the rocketry community to only sell rocket motors to customers who possess flyer certifications commensurate with the motors they wish to purchase. Ensuring we maintain our strong level of self-regulation will be an essential element in our ability to retain this freedom from overregulation by outside agencies.

Members should immediately contact the leadership of TRA or NAR should they encounter situations where any BATFE personnel conduct themselves in a manner inconsistent with the final judgment of the Federal District Court.

Ken Good

TRA President

Trip Barber

NAR President

Pop go the champagne corks! And today I just got my renewed LEUP. Smack – sound of hand hitting forehead  X^O