Aerotech Notification question

[MikeCr]

On AT's site it says that their kits no longer require ATC notification. Why would this be? Because they're lighter and therefore under the 16oz limit or is it something else? Even the smallest of the AT kits I've built were always slightly over the limit.



Mike

 

[WillMarchant]

The rules changed earlier this year, Mike. https://www.nar.org/cabinet/waiverinst.html has a summary.

 

[MikeCr]

Hey thanks for the reply!

I noticed that 14CFR 101.22(a) specifies a maximum propellant of 125g. I wonder if this means that a person could launch small high power rockets w/o a waiver. I remember a while back, most notably after 9/11 when we couldn't get waivers, some were launching small H motors claiming that you didn't need a waiver.

If memory serves, the FAA differentiated between 125g total propellant, 62.5g per motor, but the NFPA did not. NFPA said just 125g total propellant as the difference between mid power and high power. For me right now it doesn't matter as I let my Tripoli membership lapse in 2002 (I'm now with NAR) so I lost my level 1 cert and can't buy HP motors anyway.



Mike

 

[shreadvector]

This is in the first sticky thread in the info forum, but here it is again:
https://www.doug79.com/stuff/HPR_metric9c.pdf

Hey thanks for the reply!

I noticed that 14CFR 101.22(a) specifies a maximum propellant of 125g. I wonder if this means that a person could launch small high power rockets w/o a waiver. I remember a while back, most notably after 9/11 when we couldn't get waivers, some were launching small H motors claiming that you didn't need a waiver.

If memory serves, the FAA differentiated between 125g total propellant, 62.5g per motor, but the NFPA did not. NFPA said just 125g total propellant as the difference between mid power and high power. For me right now it doesn't matter as I let my Tripoli membership lapse in 2002 (I'm now with NAR) so I lost my level 1 cert and can't buy HP motors anyway.



Mike

 

[MikeCr]

Thanks for the link to the PDF. That's pretty much what I remember. Some of the limits are moot points, i.e. the 320Ns total impulse. You'll never achieve 320Ns and stay within the 125g limit of propellant, at least not with any BP or AP motor I'm aware of.

It would appear that, unless the rules were different 8 years ago, people were picking and choosing the rules they wanted in order to interpret the rules to allow 125g motors to be flown w/o a waiver. Like I said, I'm pretty sure NFPA rules only mentioned a total propellant weight and that's what the guys were using to justify launching small H motors with only ATC notification.

It's good to know I can launch my mid power stuff w/o the ATC notification because my launches are usually spur of the moment depending on the weather.




Mike

 

[bobkrech]

Thanks for the link to the PDF. That's pretty much what I remember. Some of the limits are moot points, i.e. the 320Ns total impulse. You'll never achieve 320Ns and stay within the 125g limit of propellant, at least not with any BP or AP motor I'm aware of.

It would appear that, unless the rules were different 8 years ago, people were picking and choosing the rules they wanted in order to interpret the rules to allow 125g motors to be flown w/o a waiver. Like I said, I'm pretty sure NFPA rules only mentioned a total propellant weight and that's what the guys were using to justify launching small H motors with only ATC notification.

It's good to know I can launch my mid power stuff w/o the ATC notification because my launches are usually spur of the moment depending on the weather.




Mike

Mike

The FAA didn't care how many motors were in a large model rocket, they were only concerned about the total propellant weight.

Under the old FAA rules you had model rockets and large model rockets. These two model categories have been combined into what is now called Class 1 rockets.

It was legal, and still is legal, to launch an H-impulse motor without a waiver in a rocket not weighing more than 1500 grams provided the total propellant weight in the rocket does not exceed 125 grams, however you still have to comply with the 1500' minimum field dimension requirement, the 100' separation distance required for H-impulse motors and you still need to be L1 HP certified to launch H-impulse motors or single motors with more than 62.5 grams of propellant.

Bob