Will you get Level X?

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I was more referring to business ethics.

The reigning (and only) winner of the USRC just coincidentally happens to be the alma mater of the last two contest directors. First guy designed and built their inaugural entry to the competition before graduating and becoming the first competition director. Also... I can't find any record of there ever being a waiver called in for the field they launch from. I doubt that field would have ever been granted a waiver for 7k+. Several occupied buildings on the property, and all within 1500 feet.

That said, the FAA NOTAM archives are about as reliable as a motor retainer made from dried pasta so there's not much that can be done to prove anything.

On the Engineering ethics front, yeah, don't get me started. Non-ballistic recovery of the booster was "optional", and only counted as a five point deduction from open-ended number of possible points.
 
My club has a series of local “LPR certificates” you can get on your way to L1 that requires you to know, build and fly a variety of things like:

...

- safely eject something other than a recovery device

...

.

Well, that is intriguing. What kinds of things do folks eject? And what counts as "safely"?
 
I ejected a Major Matt Mason figure once from a "D" powered rocket, complete with his own parachute. Worked like a charm, and it was big fun. I think I was about 11 at the time. My dad said that it was the last test of NASA's "Man High" effort. :)
 
Done that too!!

Dollar store parachute men, parachute pigs even! I put about 3 or 4 in one rocket.. had me an invasion force!!
 
A rover or simulated probe that descends under its own recovery system.

SNRKL wrote that these were LPR certifications. Which raises another question: Where do Australians draw the line between LP and MP?

As opposed to a rover descending withOut its own recovery system, similar to what we witnessed a couple weeks ago :cool:

I guess I missed something?

I ejected a Major Matt Mason figure once from a "D" powered rocket, complete with his own parachute. Worked like a charm, and it was big fun. I think I was about 11 at the time. My dad said that it was the last test of NASA's "Man High" effort. :)

It has occurred to me to try to build a Matt Mason re-entry glider as a working boosted glider. In my memory it was decently stable when thrown -- although it had the glide ratio of a brick.
 
ebay-roundup-20071227.html


The Major Matt Mason XRG-1 Reentry Glider was made almost entire of styrofoam and plastic. It flew well only with a MMM astronaut figure in the cockpit, otherwise the CG was all off. It did have about a 2:1 glide ratio. I've long wanted to make a suitable HPR rocket based on an MMM-Theme. Mattel's Man In Space was my favorite toy as a kid--and started a lifelong interest in space, rocketry, etc. Gotta love the Good Major!
 
ebay-roundup-20071227.html


The Major Matt Mason XRG-1 Reentry Glider was made almost entire of styrofoam and plastic. It flew well only with a MMM astronaut figure in the cockpit, otherwise the CG was all off. It did have about a 2:1 glide ratio. I've long wanted to make a suitable HPR rocket based on an MMM-Theme. Mattel's Man In Space was my favorite toy as a kid--and started a lifelong interest in space, rocketry, etc. Gotta love the Good Major!

The glider in my memory belonged to a classmate. I have no clear memory of the condition of the toy, although I do believe that we tried to launch it with a catapult intended for some other flying toy. I am trying to figure out how old I would have been when I handled it, but I was an airplane modeler from too young an age, which may have made me an unsympathetic critic of flying toys.
 
SNRKL wrote that these were LPR certifications. Which raises another question: Where do Australians draw the line between LP and MP?



I guess I missed something?



It has occurred to me to try to build a Matt Mason re-entry glider as a working boosted glider. In my memory it was decently stable when thrown -- although it had the glide ratio of a brick.

From memory:
LPR: sub A to D
MPR: E to G
HPR L1 H and I
HPR L2 J-K
HPR L3 L-O
>O = research requiring govt approval

I’m a little fuzzy in he top of LPR and the bottom of MPR - E and F BP motors are something I’ve never seen from local vendors so I never played with them. Jumped straight from BP D’s to Composite F’s.
 
DHbarr I may have to take you up on that sometime. I'm planning on heading to the NASA Houston launch on the fifth.
 
I skipped some responses so not sure if anyone mentioned but Tripoli does have the Mentor test - that is a decent L1 test of sorts, my son took it at Airfest and at 13 yrs old he learned a lot studying for that. Wouldn’t be bad move to look at that as an L1 test or consider Tripoli Mentor prior to L1.

The Tripoli Mentor Program is a great thing, plus the NAR Jr. level 1 program. At ROCtober (the annual youth launch in October at Lucerne California) we have a JR. level one program, a full tutorial on how to build a Madcow DX3, special instructions on simulation, and even what kind of glue (adhesive) to use, special price on a motor when they try their cert. A bunch of kids have done the program, all successfully. We will be doing it again this year at ROCtober, plus if any clubs are interested I would be happy to share all the write ups about the program. https://jrlevel1.com for the website.

Mike K
 
This is so true. The rockets you have built, the motor hardware and reloads you have bought do you no good if it is impossible to attend a launch.
 
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