watermelonman
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Hello,
I turned 18 this past Saturday (finally!) and would love to obtain certification to launch bigger motors and rockets!
However, I was planning on trying to Certify for Level 1 and Level 2 on the same launch day, February 7th. I have already built my Level 1 rocket, a LOC Vulcanite, and will finish building my Level 2 Giant Leap Vertical Assault 3.0.
I plan on doing both flights on lower impulse motors of their respective categories, and motor ejection for both flights as well. This is due to cost and simplicity for me.
This presents my question, which is in the title: Is this realistically possible? Of course it requires the the passing of the first flight, and then taking the written test before proceeding with the L2 flight, but considering my circumstances and experience with rocketry, does it seem do-able?
Some quick background info: I have been launching rockets for 10+ years, including designing, simulating (Rocksim), building, and launching custom rockets. I have also assisted in several high power launches at monthly launches of the club I participate in, which has a 15,000 feet ceiling. I also assisted in a N5800 project to 20,000 feet this past summer at my first time at Black Rock Desert.
Thank you for any and all advice, I greatly appreciate it!
caruolo
I am not sure about NAR rules, but Tripoli does not require L1 to take the L2 test, so that made it a little easier. I took the test weeks before flying then ran an H120 followed by a J290 in a Nuke Pro. Time can definitely be a concern, as is availability to equipment. Mike at Bay Area Rocketry knew what I was up to and kept my two orders ready to rock for when I first showed up in the morning, and the gap between flights. Of course if you have someone that can buy your motors and lighters beforehand that will not be a concern. I was not able to obtain lighters or test my tracker much beforehand, so I used my L1 flight to "ground" test both, using a full parachute at apogee and firing the second at low altitude. This way in case of failure, all I had to do was abort the L2 attempt and reevaluate rather than recover a core sample. Then for L2, I removed the full size apogee parachute and let it rip.
Of course, as others ask, why? Simply burning through certification levels as fast as possible is not the best goal. Heck you will be out of them soon! Myself, I am primarily into rockets for electronics, and needed unrestricted access to long burn motors. Heck if someone made H and I motors with 8 second burns I probably would not have bothered. Definitely keep safety in mind at all times, especially while building, and especially when making judgement calls on the range. We only get to keep doing this because we have such a great track record.