Questions from a yankee

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jeffgeraci

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I actually live here in southern California, but I was curious what the world of rocketry was like across the pond. Do you guys fly high power? If so, up to what class motor, and do you apply for aviation waivers? I don't imagine there's a lot of open land where you are either, so do you have to drive far to get to a launch? Lots of questions, but if you don't ask, hey:confused2:
 
I actually live here in southern California, but I was curious what the world of rocketry was like across the pond. Do you guys fly high power? If so, up to what class motor, and do you apply for aviation waivers? I don't imagine there's a lot of open land where you are either, so do you have to drive far to get to a launch? Lots of questions, but if you don't ask, hey:confused2:

Hey questions are good.

England isn't that small. The IOM is smaller being 12/24 miles. Okay here you might say 5+ farmers fields to one of yours.

Yeah we fly HPR. A team at a club called EARS had a O hybrid flight recently. M'a are about although expensive. L's and K's are common.

Every other motor combo that is here on sale is used.

Waivers are all over the place. For me I'm in Bristol so have Bristol airport, an MOD test path, an MOD base, Cardif airport is near by. 3000 ft NOTAMS are at the club but higher can be requested.

The landscape of the UK changes per location. I'm pretty lucky. I can go 30 mins and it's flat but the London guys need least a good hour plus to get out.

Check out google maps. Use the views.


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30 minutes is great. I wish it only took that long; the dry lake we launch from is about 1 hour 40 minutes from my house. I'm surprised the general waiver is about 3k feet; even an H motor will probably exceed that ceiling. When the kids get older, and we take a trip to Europe, I'm definitely gonna check out a launch. Thanks for the info!
 
30 minutes is great. I wish it only took that long; the dry lake we launch from is about 1 hour 40 minutes from my house. I'm surprised the general waiver is about 3k feet; even an H motor will probably exceed that ceiling. When the kids get older, and we take a trip to Europe, I'm definitely gonna check out a launch. Thanks for the info!

3k is where I fly currently. There are lots of other locations club wise that allow higher.

Travel will vary to where you are and want too go. In just lucky. I walk the dog in the morning and can look across to see the location I fly at.

Let me know where your this side of the pond. Treat you to some English beer


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The UK and in particular England is a good and big place to fly. I'm relatively new to the hobby but have already encountered the bouquets and brickbats that are regularly reported on, here on the forum.

Price of rocketry kit is a problem. In general the £ sterling cost of components in the UK is roughly equivalent to the $ price in the US.

The popularity of the hobby in the UK is much less than that in the UK. This seems to limit the number of suppliers and probably explains the high costs in the UK.
On the other hand, the ingenuity, innovation and engineering "know how" is typically British so there is lots of advice on hand for the beginner and expert alike.

Pete's point on field size is correct. Generally much smaller. I'm lucky in that my house is surrounded by fields. Having put a gate in the back garden fence, I can walk through it and am ready to launch. The small size of the fields and the tree lined hedgerows give me a challenge. Given an accurate guess on wind strength and direction however, I can launch and plan a flight over two or three fields. On most occasions it works. It certainly adds another dimension and a big challenge. But very satisfying when it does work and the rocket comes down in the right place.

If you're going for a pint you won't do better than travelling to East Anglia. We have some great breweries in the region and some great beers. Mainly malted barley beers however, we don't do grain or corn beers (much). Recommendations available on request.

SO.
 
I spent a couple years in East Anglia. Seems if you are not in a city, you are in the country. Fields on fields of wheat and mustard. Many fond memories of Chelmsford, Ipswich, Gorleston, and east London.
-Ken
 
The UK and in particular England is a good and big place to fly. I'm relatively new to the hobby but have already encountered the bouquets and brickbats that are regularly reported on, here on the forum.

Price of rocketry kit is a problem. In general the £ sterling cost of components in the UK is roughly equivalent to the $ price in the US.

The popularity of the hobby in the UK is much less than that in the UK. This seems to limit the number of suppliers and probably explains the high costs in the UK.
On the other hand, the ingenuity, innovation and engineering "know how" is typically British so there is lots of advice on hand for the beginner and expert alike.

Pete's point on field size is correct. Generally much smaller. I'm lucky in that my house is surrounded by fields. Having put a gate in the back garden fence, I can walk through it and am ready to launch. The small size of the fields and the tree lined hedgerows give me a challenge. Given an accurate guess on wind strength and direction however, I can launch and plan a flight over two or three fields. On most occasions it works. It certainly adds another dimension and a big challenge. But very satisfying when it does work and the rocket comes down in the right place.

If you're going for a pint you won't do better than travelling to East Anglia. We have some great breweries in the region and some great beers. Mainly malted barley beers however, we don't do grain or corn beers (much). Recommendations available on request.

SO.
I'd love to find some imported beers from there. There is the rub. A lot of pubs back in the day had their own local suppliers so it was never bottled. To this day I'm taunted as I let my beer warm up a bit before trying to freeze my tongue to the roof of my mouth-I guess that's how they keep you from tasting the nasty stuff and make you think it's 'refreshing'! I grew up in Hemmingford Grey, and got around a bit with my chums later on. So Alconbury, Huntington, Cambridge, Bury St Edmunds and Ipswich used to be familiar. Went to several stage plays and musicals in London. Much fun to be had at Great Yarmouth, especially if you got to see a rumble between the Mods and Rockers, tho' it was a bit scary. East Anglia wasn't so crowded 45 years ago!
 
Always wanted to go to England,being a cyclist of 34 years,I always wanted to peddle all over England and see all of your country.But for now I bury myself in a Jack Higgins book.
 
Just stay the Hell away from Brill Hill in Buckinghamshire. The winds there are a serious pain in the neck... I know... I made British National News there when I crashed w/my kite (a small number (8 Flexifoil Stackers), only 192ft^2 of sail, 336ft^3 volume (nowhere near Chicago's Hook and Ladder affair (153 Flexifoil Stackers) 3672ft^2 sail, 7344ft^3 volume (see article here (page 64)). The British press fouled up the story, and made it sound like I jumped from my base in Oxfordshire and ended up crashing in Bucks. They didn't take into account the £38 cab fare I paid to get to Bucks, the return to base was free thanks to England's socialized medicine.

As it stands now, I'll just stay away from England altogether... I'll leave it to Her (my ex-fiance)... She gets England, Scotland, Wales, the rest of Europe, and Malaysia. I get Ireland (she can't have my ancestral home), the US, China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. The Middle East goes to her other ex-fiance (he can have it for all I'm concerned). Africa, Australia, Antarctica, and South America is unclaimed.
 
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FYRWRXZ :- When I occasionally get to travel with work, to amuse myself I try to find my favourite English beers, which are by Fullers in London.
When in LA I found them stocked by an astute outlet called "Bevmo"
Going down in strength, they brew Golden pride, ESB, London Pride, and others. Bengal Lancer is their IPA and may be to your taste as it is hoppy like Sierra Nevada.
I would recommend ESB or London Pride as examples of U.K beer, plus Bevmo are likely to stock those.
The bummer for me was the prices for a 500cc bottle was a lot cheaper than we pay over here!!!
Fullers marketing team must be on the ball because I have not failed yet. China, Germany, Italy, Dubai, LA, and New York!
New York and Dubai even had keg draught options, although everywhere, it is served far too cold. It should be 13 degrees C which is pub cellar temperature.
Also search out "Kwak" (a bottled beer from Belgium.) It is simmilar to Golden Pride.
I will be helping the Grandson build a small rocket over Christmas! (Just put that in as it is a rocket forum after all !!!)
East Anglia isn't crowded now! Last time I looked there was a tractor, a turnip, a sugar beet and a Skarecrow.
 
Hi. I run the club where Pete flies. The airspace over the southern UK is quite crowded with several airlanes and Class D climb/descent areas. Some clubs are located in unclassified airspace which lets them launch to over 18000 feet based on NOTAMS. We don't have a waiver scheme like the USA as our regulatory environment for rockets is different to yours.

Our club, which mainly flies G and below, is in complex area of airspace with a 4000ft floor. This is plenty for model rocketry. We aim to stay at 3000ft to allow some wriggle room for overshoots. Our farm costs the princely sum of two bottles of wine a year to rent, and we have a village pub at the edge of the range. All meetings conclude at the bar.
 
The club is called "Fins Over Gwent" (FOG) because our launch site is on the Gwent Levels. The website is https://www.fogrocketry.org.uk/

The Rose Inn doesn't have a website. They do good beers and pub meals, and the postcode is NP26 3DU.
 
FYRWRXZ :- When I occasionally get to travel with work, to amuse myself I try to find my favourite English beers, which are by Fullers in London.
When in LA I found them stocked by an astute outlet called "Bevmo"
Going down in strength, they brew Golden pride, ESB, London Pride, and others. Bengal Lancer is their IPA and may be to your taste as it is hoppy like Sierra Nevada.
I would recommend ESB or London Pride as examples of U.K beer, plus Bevmo are likely to stock those.
The bummer for me was the prices for a 500cc bottle was a lot cheaper than we pay over here!!!
Fullers marketing team must be on the ball because I have not failed yet. China, Germany, Italy, Dubai, LA, and New York!
New York and Dubai even had keg draught options, although everywhere, it is served far too cold. It should be 13 degrees C which is pub cellar temperature.
Also search out "Kwak" (a bottled beer from Belgium.) It is simmilar to Golden Pride.
I will be helping the Grandson build a small rocket over Christmas! (Just put that in as it is a rocket forum after all !!!)
East Anglia isn't crowded now! Last time I looked there was a tractor, a turnip, a sugar beet and a Skarecrow.
Silverbrewer-LOL! Sounds like things haven't changed a bit over the years! I still can't believe we ate raw sugar beets and thought them wonderful! Thanks for the tip on Fullers-we have a Bevmo locally I'll have to check out! Straight smoke and good chutes!
 
I still can't believe we ate raw sugar beets and thought them wonderful!

East Anglia has changed a lot in recent times, but you're right, things haven't changed a bit as far as the locals are concerned. They certainly saw you coming!
How did they persuade you to do that? Was it the local brew maybe? :lol:

SO.
 
..........Price of rocketry kit is a problem. In general the £ sterling cost of components in the UK is roughly equivalent to the $ price in the US......

Yeah, but you should see the prices in canada. 30 $ for a pro 24 motor as opposed to 23 $ for the US. It's not that rocketry is unpopular in canada, but the dollar has a really low value right now. :(
 
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