I Want To Start a Club - Where to Start?

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

rugger09

Returning to the hobby
Joined
Oct 13, 2013
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Hello all, I would like to start a rocketry club in Timmins, Ontario. There are a few of us up here launching about twice a month, mostly low power stuff but I have launched mid power rockets as well. The main thing we need before 'getting the word out' for members is to get third party liability insurance. This will also allow us to launch on one of the local farms which would be much better than where we launch now. Launching at a large sod farm would be awesome!

I have lots of questions. Can anyone suggest who to contact? I emailed someone on the executive of CAR but did not receive a reply.

Cheers

Shannon
 
Hello all, I would like to start a rocketry club in Timmins, Ontario. There are a few of us up here launching about twice a month, mostly low power stuff but I have launched mid power rockets as well. The main thing we need before 'getting the word out' for members is to get third party liability insurance. This will also allow us to launch on one of the local farms which would be much better than where we launch now. Launching at a large sod farm would be awesome!

I have lots of questions. Can anyone suggest who to contact? I emailed someone on the executive of CAR but did not receive a reply.

Cheers

Shannon

Hi Shannon,

Start with your regional rep who is Gregory Parent. If that doesn't pan out go for Tim Remple. He will point you in the right direction for sure. If you need an email address for Tim shoot me a PM. You could also put a post up on the CAR Forum or the CAR Yahoo group.

If you're flying mid power, be ready to be sucked into high power! ;)

Jason
 
Hello all, I would like to start a rocketry club in Timmins, Ontario. There are a few of us up here launching about twice a month, mostly low power stuff but I have launched mid power rockets as well. The main thing we need before 'getting the word out' for members is to get third party liability insurance. This will also allow us to launch on one of the local farms which would be much better than where we launch now. Launching at a large sod farm would be awesome!
I have lots of questions. Can anyone suggest who to contact? I emailed someone on the executive of CAR but did not receive a reply.
Cheers
Shannon

Hello Shannon,
I sent you a private message concerning your question about creating a club with CAR-ACF affiliation.
More information will be forthcoming.
Stay tuned.
Thanks
Greg
 
I Sharron, to start a club, you need a field, and if you want to launch High Power, you will need an RSO

With the CAR you need an CAR RSO and you have no one in Ontario aside of Anthony Cessaroni ( Yes Cesaroni motors ) but he leave in Florida and he is associate with a Tripoli club in Toronto. The closest one is Pierre Laurendeau in Montreal, but with 4 launches in Quebec, I'm not sure he will want to travel.

If you have a field you best chance will be to talk with the NAPAS guy, they are still looking for a field. here a link to their web page and the list of directors and their emails.

https://www.napas.net/

You also have someone in this forum who start a NAR club in your area, I have no idea about their RSO requirement,

You can look at Tripoli too, with Tripoli ( in our case) it's very simple, any Lev 2 can be RSO and getting a Launch Authorization was quite simple too, if you choose this direction you can ask me I will put you in contact with the right person, but first I will look at NAPAS if I was you, Bob Pouliot their Prefect is a very friendly guy.
 
I Sharron, to start a club, you need a field, and if you want to launch High Power, you will need an RSO

With the CAR you need an CAR RSO and you have no one in Ontario aside of Anthony Cessaroni ( Yes Cesaroni motors ) but he leave in Florida and he is associate with a Tripoli club in Toronto. The closest one is Pierre Laurendeau in Montreal.

If you have a field you best chance will be to talk with the NAPAS guy, they are still looking for a field. here a link to their web page and the list of directors and their emails.

https://www.napas.net/

You also have someone in this forum who start a NAR club in your area, I have no idea about their RSO requirement,

You can look at Tripoli too, with Tripoli ( in our case) it's very simple, any Lev 2 can be RSO and getting a Launch Authorization was quite simple too, if you choose this direction you can ask me I will put you in contact with the right person, but first I will look at NAPAS if I was you, Bob Poliot their Prefect is a very friendly guy.
 
The information for chartering a NAR section can be found here: https://www.nar.org/find-a-local-club/section-guidebook/

As far as I am aware, there are not particular requirements for a NAR RSO; however, it is highly recommended that a member of your club (or more than one) go through NAR RSO safety training. This can be done at your own pace and is only emphasized if your club gets into high power.

If your club has an interest in model rocketry competition, the NAR offers a complete rule book (here) and guide (here). As far as I am aware, neither Tripoli nor CAR have such a program. If you and your club members have an interest, let me know. I am the Northeast Contest Board Chair, which for NAR purposes includes Canada.
 
Another option besides CAR, NAR, and TRA is MAAC. They do provide insurance for Space Modeling which is limited to low and mid power rockets. [ A-G but not H and above] and as with the others members must have personal membership in the chosen organization. To register a club requires 3 MAAC members, a field with owners consent and a $25 fee. [same as the others I believe] There are MAAC clubs all over and contacting them will get you started. Get in contact with the Zone Director and he should assist you.

https://www.maac.ca/clubs/clubs.php?zn=6


Richard
 
Gents, thanks very much for the push in the right direction. Greg Parent has reached out to me and I made contact with the NAPAS group. The rocketry community is very helpful!
 
Gents, thanks very much for the push in the right direction. Greg Parent has reached out to me and I made contact with the NAPAS group. The rocketry community is very helpful!

Hello Shannon,
The details of how to start a CAR-ACF affiliated club were sent to the email address you provided.
Thanks for your interest.
Greg
 
I started SWARM in Chatham as an NAR club (#752). We pay no charter fees and have already received a $250 US grant for a PA system. We are up to 10 members (all NAR members, too) and held our first sanctioned contest in October. Insurance covers property damage and personal injury. I think CAR insurance only covers property. I would love to see another NAR section!
 
I nearly chartered the appearantly defunt CRS back in 08 when I was running it. Talking to Trip Barber at a FAI Spacemodeling contest he indicated how easy it was to do. I had thought NAR didn't do outside US boarders but as you have found thats not the case. Good on you!


Richard
 
Just following up on how things are going. I live more to the south, near Barrie. I am a CAR Member LV 2 and happy to help out from time to time. How big a field do you have? The area appears fairly open and might be good for high power if you want to go that route. While its winter it is a good time to get club paperwork on the go.

Andrew
 
Andrew, thanks for the interest. We will be submitting the paperwork to CAR-ACF executive this week to get our club approved. I'm not sure how long this will take but I do not think it will be too long (two weeks maybe?). We have one last very important milestone to hurdle - making sure our club name lends itself to a very cool acronym!

Our project plan is to get this club officially established (almost done) and then talk to local land owners about allowing our club to use their land. Perhaps this is the highest hurdle to navigate. However, the wintertime in this area lends itself to large tracks of frozen lake that are large enough for high power launches. But first, we need to get some members certified L1 and L2! Perhaps I can travel down to one of your club launches to do my certifications.

To grow our membership, we will partner with the local science organization (Science Timmins) to very quickly grow interest in our activities and very likely grow the membership. Also, the local air cadets fly model rockets at the local RC Airplane field which is not ideal for them - rockets lost the the thick bush is in the 20% to 25% range. Our first few launches will be targeted at model rockets to gain interest with a few mid-power rockets used for shock and awe.

The executive at CAR-ACF have been extremely helpful and our local rep - Greg Parent is very responsive and can get things done. I'll keep everyone posted once our club passes a few of the above project milestones.

Again, thanks for the interest and Cheers

Shannon
 
The old question of finding a place to launch. I am at CFB Borden which is near Barrie and having the same challenges. One problem I face being military is that moving every 2 years gets in the way with building those relationships. I was making progress in Petawawa on my last posting. The mood here is less receptive unfortunately. I also hope to link up with NAPAS in Toronto who also don't have a field to my knowledge at this time. It is easier for us to hop south though. Quebec clubs are active and I have made long drives east a few times. Finding places is really a challenge. Farmers fields are great but it's also their livelihood, I understand their reluctance. And when it's not farmed, it's covered in trees.

Andrew
 
Great news... TAMRA (Timmins Area Model Rocketry Association) is an officially affiliated CAR-ACF club! I would like to thank the executive team and the Canadian Association - very knowledgeable and responsive! I look forward to helping them out in the future. Now the hard yards: getting that field. Personal networks are the most efficient mathod to the goal. Andrew, I've moved several times and know how difficult it can be getting some effective networks built, but the two year rotation must be a killer for something like this. I hope to update you folks again soon with positive news.

There are plenty of frozen lakes in my area - some are big enough for high power with no dwellings or major roads anywhere. I'm assuming these lakes would be crown land? How would I go about getting permission from the Feds for launching several times per winter? Anyone done this before?

Thanks

Shannon
 
Interesting that I was asking the same question. Not so much here. I will keep you posted as I figure more on this out.
 
........

There are plenty of frozen lakes in my area - some are big enough for high power with no dwellings or major roads anywhere. I'm assuming these lakes would be crown land? How would I go about getting permission from the Feds for launching several times per winter? Anyone done this before?

Thanks

Shannon

All true the lakes are Crown lands. only the the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence River are under federal control, the small lakes are under the control of the provinces. You will need to spend quite few $$$ in lawyers fees to get the proper paper works.
 
How about letting me know what the proper paperwork is or where to begin to look for it and the process? I may have provincial contacts in my network that could help, especially if some jurisdictional areas are municipal and not provincial!

Many Thanks in advance

Shannon
 
How about letting me know what the proper paperwork is or where to begin to look for it and the process? I may have provincial contacts in my network that could help, especially if some jurisdictional areas are municipal and not provincial!
Many Thanks in advance
Shannon

Here's a few links from Transport Canada to start you off. The source; https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/menu.htm

The statutes (602.44, 602.45); https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-96-433/page-180.html#h-781

Authorization application; https://www.tc.gc.ca/wwwdocs/forms/26-0659e_0711-03_e.pdf

For special events - may or may not have some bearing on your situation; https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/opssvs/general-policyletters-ga0107-416.htm

Service Standards Activities from Transport Canada; https://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/civilaviation/publications/tp14984-without-02-2731.htm

CLSO# from the Requirements for Launching High Power Rockets in Canada; 204-984-7286

I would give them a call and see what they can offer.

Good luck and please let us know how it goes.

Threemorewishes
 
Whew... Thanks TMW. It looks like I now have a project! I'll keep you all posted on progress. Wish me luck!
 
I don't want to hijack this thread but depending on what transpires in my life this summer, I may be interested in trying to start a club here on the Miramichi.
 
I found the CAR-ACF executive to be very responsive. Best place to start is with your local rep. In your case it is Mark Roberts.

Shannon
 
Back
Top