+1 on not poking the bear. We have our answers, no point asking again, unless NAR/TRA wants to formally take up the matter. Given the protracted and expensive bout with the BATF, I kinda think they're inclined to let sleeping dogs lie.
The responses that Chuck got were based on common sense. Believe it or not, most regs that the "government" have are. The FAA's job is to regulate the safe use of airspace. In the context of hobby rocketry, ceiling restrictions and ensuring that we don't invade a TCA make sense. They could care less about what kind of radios we use, that's not their job. The rules relating to the use of portable devices (laptops, cellular, MURS, FRS, etc.) aboard passenger aircraft are designed to prevent interference with the instruments, and thus promote flight safety. If there are no instruments (i.e. VFR rules on GA, or hobby rocketry) then there is no issue, which is why they allow the use of cell phones on GA aircraft under VFR with the pilot's permission. It's prohibited on commercial flights because you can't have 400 passengers asking the flight crew for permission to use their cell phones, that would be nuts. Interference with the aircraft's nav system has apparently never been proven, but the FAA is erring on the side of caution, which is a good thing, because you wouldn't be able to tell which of the 400 passengers' devices was causing a problem. On a Cessna, the pilot can just turn around and tell the passengers to turn the damn things off.
The FCC's job is to regulate the use of the radio spectrum. As long as whatever we're doing has no adverse effect on anybody else, and we are using products for their intended purpose as defined by the FCC (i.e. not putting 60' towers on a portable device to boost its range) then they don't care if we put in in a rocket, on a dog, on a falcon, or anything else. As long as you're not violating the spectrum rules (frequency, power, type of antenna, type of modulation, type of transmission, etc.) then it's legal as far as they're concerned. THEIR rule prohibiting cell phones on aircraft [hijack apology...] was to prevent cell towers from being overloaded by 400 cell phones simultaneously switching from one tower to another as the plane moves, and thus interfering with the communication infrastructure. Since hobby rockets basically go straight up, and there is only one device, this is not gonna happen; in fact, you probably would never switch towers unless you drifted a few miles under chute.
