Late introduction / where can I launch - Washington State.

My name is Bill and I am not really new to the forum as I have been a lurker here off and on for years. As a boy my dad and I would build and launch rockets together and had a great time. I have never really gotten it out of my system. Then I became a dad and I wanted to do the same with my son. Life was pretty complicated and I was always scraping by to make ends meet however we were able to build a few rockets and have a few launch outings but nothing that would have put it in a hobby category. So now that he is a father and I still have a couple of kits I decided I wanted to build one and see if he is interesting in doing some father/son bonding time. He is game and the plan is to do a few builds and find a place to go and then as time goes by we can build it into a hobby and his son will grow older ( he is three months old now) and then we can all go together. So I have recently become an actual member of the forum and I am learning a lot from all the good people here.

So anyway I live in the Kitsap county area of Washington state and I am looking for a good launch sight. I have asked at the local hobby store which has a decent selection of rockets so I would think that there must be at least a few repeat customers. However none of the employees I have asked so far have been able to tell me of an area that is good. Are there any members from Washington that can help me out?

Thanks!

Bill

The nearest site of any size that I know of to you is the one the Olympic Peninsula Rocketry 4H group flies out of over by Discovery Bay. They put on one big launch a year in August but fly other times as well (they did today, actually). Info here: https://4hrockets.blogspot.com

Other upcoming events include "Missile Mayhem" at BMR next weekend - but it's about six hours' drive for you. Info here: https://www.bmr615.org/bmr_launch_schedule.htm

Another Eastern Washington club to fly with is TCR - they have a marvelous site on a sod farm just north of Pasco: https://www.tricitiesrocketeers.org

And Washington Aerospace, which is based in the Seattle/Tacoma area has winter launches in Redmond and their big event in Mansfield, Fire in the Sky, is Memorial Day weekend. Info here: https://www.washingtonaerospace.org

Of course for low power rockets there may be other opportunities nearer you, but since I'm in Auburn, I don't know about those.

Come fly with us anytime Warix, TCR's launch site is a few hours from you but we usually have a 10k waiver and motor up to K impulse without pre approval, L motors have to be approved in advance (at minimum a week). Its nice open country with few rocket eating trees (not that the winds usually blow that way). BMR has a good site too, and they have 5k waiver iirc, both clubs have websites.

https://www.tricitiesrocketeers.org/

https://www.bmr615.org/

All the clubs info is posted as are flight rules on the websites. TCR usually has at least 2 individuals qualified to do L1 and L2 certs, we usually have a pretty good turnout of fliers.

Welcome Bill!

My name is Bill too, and I'm also a new member of the forum, but not to rocketry.

The United States is the model rocket capital of the world! There are clubs everywhere, and a lot of them are in Washington.
try to find a club to shoot near to, or even shoot with the club. You will find a lot of hobby launch/fly areas too, however, in the state of Washington illegally
flying is a big deal, (flying in a restricted area) and I wouldn't recommend you get caught in that mess.

I hope this helps!

-Bill

Well Bill if you happen to be in South Eastern Washington and want to fly rockets, we have a monthly launch and June is our June Swoosh 3-day event.

Thanks, BEC, rharshberger and RocketryBill for all of your replies. I really appreciate the links as well as the invites to come fly. I will be looking into the Olympic Peninsula 4H as Discovery Bay is just a little over an hours drive and Fat Smittys is one of my all time favorite burger places. I love the idea of going over there to see some launches and maybe fly a little as well. My job is going to keep me busy the next couple of weekends but I can see maybe getting out there by August.

BEC said:

The nearest site of any size that I know of to you is the one the Olympic Peninsula Rocketry 4H group flies out of over by Discovery Bay. They put on one big launch a year in August but fly other times as well (they did today, actually). Info here: https://4hrockets.blogspot.com

Other upcoming events include "Missile Mayhem" at BMR next weekend - but it's about six hours' drive for you. Info here: https://www.bmr615.org/bmr_launch_schedule.htm

Another Eastern Washington club to fly with is TCR - they have a marvelous site on a sod farm just north of Pasco: https://www.tricitiesrocketeers.org

And Washington Aerospace, which is based in the Seattle/Tacoma area has winter launches in Redmond and their big event in Mansfield, Fire in the Sky, is Memorial Day weekend. Info here: https://www.washingtonaerospace.org

Of course for low power rockets there may be other opportunities nearer you, but since I'm in Auburn, I don't know about those.

Click to expand...

RocketryBill said:

Welcome Bill!

My name is Bill too, and I'm also a new member of the forum, but not to rocketry.

The United States is the model rocket capital of the world! There are clubs everywhere, and a lot of them are in Washington.
try to find a club to shoot near to, or even shoot with the club. You will find a lot of hobby launch/fly areas too, however, in the state of Washington illegally
flying is a big deal, (flying in a restricted area) and I wouldn't recommend you get caught in that mess.

I hope this helps!

-Bill

Click to expand...

Thanks Bill! I hear you on not getting into trouble. That is one of the reasons I am asking about where to go. There is a lot of Navy property around here that might look great for flying but I am sure it would be a big no no! Trouble is not something I want to deal with.

rharshberger said:

Well Bill if you happen to be in South Eastern Washington and want to fly rockets, we have a monthly launch and June is our June Swoosh 3-day event.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the invite! I would love to come! I am an Audio Tech and I have a few graduation ceremonies to do in June so if it falls on a weekend I am not working I will see what I can do.

Bill
You are welcome to come fly with us anytime . We can support model, mid-power and high power under FAR 101 up to 3,000', with up to 20 pads at the present time.
Our club launches are the 2nd. Saturday 10:00-2:00pm of each month weather permitting.

Pasture Blaster 2016 is August 21,22,23 2016

Come join the fun.

Thanks for the invitations, but I don't live in Washington, I'm a Texas boy.

Bill

I second the recommendation for Olympic Peninsula Rocketry. We had a great time at Pasture Blaster last year. Really nice people, a good field, and as close to free as you can get. If you're going to fly over a thousand feet or so, you probably want to come early in the day. In the afternoon, the winds pick up towards the rocket eating trees and power lines.

My other club launches are with WAC in Redmond and Mansfield (a little east of Chelan). The 60 Acres site in Redmond works well for flights to 1500 or 2000 feet or so, but the trees are close there as well. Mansfield is in the middle of nowhere and has a 14,000 foot ceiling for Fire In The Sky. My family will probably be at both FITS and PB this year.