Can You Launch Whenever/Whereever?

[AKPilot]

Something struck me tonight and wanted to pose the question . . .


With the exception of launching on your own property, do people have access to launch when ever they want? Meaning, if you get an itch to launch one evening, can you just go out and launch then and there?

Or, do you have a set day/time each month that you have to launch with a group of people or your club?


Here's my thought, back up in Alaska, I had access to a public park and would launch on a moments notice whenever I felt like it. That was up until the city found out.

Where I'm at now, while a great blessing, we have to get park permits for a given day & time; meaning if I feel like launching on a Tuesday evening, Thursday morning, etc. I just can't go do it. I have to wait until our appointed day and time.

With my AMA/RC club, I can go to the flying field any time they're not mowing the grass - or at night. So I can fly my planes anytime I really want, for the most part.

So what do others do?

I know people on this board who have their own land and can do launches any time they want, but for the majority of us this isn't possible.

So if you don't own your own land, can you simply go out and launch when ever you want or must you wait for a specific day/time of the month?

 

[COrocket]

In Colorado, where I fly High Power in the summer, our site is situated on Forest Service land with a permit, so you can only launch on club days.

I don't really fly low power anymore, but when I was a kid usually going to a large park did the trick, as long as the ground wasn't too dry. I never got in trouble, but its definitely a good idea to comply with local ordinances.

 

[paul.nortness]

Here's my thought, back up in Alaska, I had access to a public park and would launch on a moments notice whenever I felt like it. That was up until the city found out.

So technically, you didn't have the ability to launch whenever you wanted to....heck in that case....any of us can launch whenever we want to.

I don't think it really has much to do with where you are. I think it's just a sign of the times. Back when I was a kid, I could walk down to the school and launch on their field whenever I wanted to. Now, that field is gone and there are 15 houses there. As the population grows and house demands grow things like model rocketry get pushed further and further out of the area. Another sad fact is society has shifted. Back in the 80s when I was doing rocketry as a kid, people were different. Back then, people didn't bother you. Now everyone is so concerned and paranoid about everything.

 

[CF-105]

Our club uses a farmer's field outside of town. He's been an enthusiastic supporter, and probably wouldn't have a problem with us "just showing up" whenever. The reality is we'd never do that (we have called him the night before, though).

 

[Bazookadale]

Something struck me tonight and wanted to pose the question . . .


With the exception of launching on your own property, do people have access to launch when ever they want? Meaning, if you get an itch to launch one evening, can you just go out and launch then and there?

Or, do you have a set day/time each month that you have to launch with a group of people or your club?



So if you don't own your own land, can you simply go out and launch when ever you want or must you wait for a specific day/time of the month?

Our club has 3 fields - the primary site is the athletic fields of a local Middle School.We do not have to schedule individual launches but if we show up and football scrimmages are being played we must stand down. This has only happened during summer football camp. Our second site which we use 3 time a year is a military site, we must schedule ahead of time,must jump through some military hoops and generally is only available holiday weekends.

Our newest site is a township park which is quite a drive for most club members. One local member has gotten permission for us to fly there but we still notify them ahead of time - if another group schedules it first we are out of luck

 

[JPVegh]

I can launch on my property any time I want to. All the way up to a micromaxx motor.:grin:

 

[shockcorder]

Wow, I find it difficult to properly reply without speaking of politics in this matter. Simply put, show me a place where you can carry a .357 on your hip and I'll show you a place where you can launch when ever you wish. Hint: it ain't New Jersey.

 

[MarkII]

I can and do launch rockets at the local school district's athletic fields whenever the mood strikes as long as it doesn't interfere with school activities. I have been doing this for 7 years and many people have seen me there, and no one has ever questioned or objected to my launch activities. I have never been asked to do so, but I refrain from going to the fields to launch when I know that other scheduled activities are being conducted there, and I stay away during school hours. The fields are open and are freely used by many other townspeople for a variety of spontaneous activities, especially during the summer months. They are about a mile from my house. They are located at the edge of town, adjoining a very large, heavily forested wilderness area. The fields are not vast but they are usable. I have launched rockets on up to E motors there. I could launch G motors there, but I haven't done so. The only attention that I have ever attracted there has been appreciative. I live in a small village with a population of about 3,700, off by itself in the middle of the forest in a large, sparsely populated region in northern NY. As best I can tell, I am the only person in town who launches model rockets.

When I first go started in model rocketry as a kid in western Michigan in the 1960s, my friend and I would go over to a large vacant, undeveloped field at the edge of our development. I made my very first rocket launches there. A few houses bordered the field on two sides, but no one ever challenged us or even paid any attention to us.

So I guess maybe I have been spoiled. I have always had fields available nearby that I could freely use whenever I wanted to make launches during both periods that I was active in the hobby (40 years ago and now). But there were many places where I lived in between those two periods where it would have been more difficult (but not impossible) for me to launch rockets.

 

[edwinshap1]

you gotta check local and state regulations regarding contacting the land owner, or city.

otherwise, as long as you're not in California or Indiana, you just have to follow the national safety code for model rocketry, and you're golden

 

[Zeus-cat]

I usually go to a local park and launch for low and mid power. I have never asked permission to use the park, but I have had Park Rangers watch me launch several rockets including one on an F39 with dual deploy. After the flight I showed the rangers the reload case and the altimeter and one of them was a former rocketeer and was quite interested in my hardware.

I refrain from launching if there are people riding horses in my area of the park or if there is a Gaze Hounds (dogs that hunt by sight) event going on.

If people are flying RC planes I make sure we coordinate activities so as not to get in each others way. I usually wait for them to land before I launch.

 

[MarkII]

Wow, I find it difficult to properly reply without speaking of politics in this matter. Simply put, show me a place where you can carry a .357 on your hip and I'll show you a place where you can launch when ever you wish. Hint: it ain't New Jersey.

I have no idea what the gun laws are where I live but I suspect that obtaining permission to walk around with a big revolver on your belt would require quite a bit of paperwork. But as I said above, I can launch here in upstate New York whenever I want.

My club is located 150 miles away in a completely different part of the state. We hold club launches in a couple of privately-owned farm fields and we have no use of them other than on those scheduled days. My fellow club members also do their own launching outside of scheduled events in the areas where they live, but I don't know any of their specifics. (Our membership is dispersed over a wide geographic region.)

 

[luke strawwalker]

you gotta check local and state regulations regarding contacting the land owner, or city.

otherwise, as long as you're not in California or Indiana, you just have to follow the national safety code for model rocketry, and you're golden

What about Indiana?? I've flown rockets there with my nephews and not had any problems...

The Peoples Republik of Kalifornia (sieg heil!) I can understand, but Indiana??

later! OL JR

 

[MarkII]

The Peoples Republik of Kalifornia... I can understand, but...

Most of us are fortunate to not live in a place that routinely gets devastated by massive wildfires, I suppose...

 

[El Cheapo]

I live in a rural area but you definitely don't want to launch here. There isn't a tree or bush that doesnt have thorns on it. Takes its tole on chutes.

There are two parks in close proximity of the kids school (in town) that are specifically for RC and rocketry. They are big retention basins w nice green (for AZ atleast) grass and few trees.

That being said, I have never been harassed by park rangers or the fuzz at any park here.

We don't need anyone's permission to carry a pistola on the hip either. Concealed requires permit.

 

[edwinshap1]

I live in a rural area but you definitely don't want to launch here. There isn't a tree or bush that doesnt have thorns on it. Takes its tole on chutes.

There are two parks in close proximity of the kids school (in town) that are specifically for RC and rocketry. They are big retention basins w nice green (for AZ atleast) grass and few trees.

That being said, I have never been harassed by park rangers or the fuzz at any park here.

We don't need anyone's permission to carry a pistola on the hip either. Concealed requires permit.

hehe, and AZ passed a law making it legal to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.:bangbang: my grandma lives there, and she was livid this weekend lol:bangpan:

 

[Marc_G]

you gotta check local and state regulations regarding contacting the land owner, or city.

otherwise, as long as you're not in California or Indiana, you just have to follow the national safety code for model rocketry, and you're golden

I live in Indiana and have never had a problem (Carmel, just north of Indianapolis). I looked over the city's website and didn't find any regs that would seem to be a problem. Lots of people use the same park I do for launching with some regularity. If there is some sort of general permit requirement in this state, nobody I've ever asked is aware of it...

 

[Rocket_Man]

well i believe no matter where you are if the area is under a burn ban, and honestly which area isnt during the summer, you can be ticketed for violating that law.

 

[Tronman]

hehe, and AZ passed a law making it legal to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.:bangbang: my grandma lives there, and she was livid this weekend lol:bangpan:

I think that law was struck down by the governor. Personally, I don't see a problem with legal, concealed weapons on campus. It does mean that a law-abiding citizen will follow the law, but a criminal who wants to do some damage will just walk on campus with whatever they wish, even a gallon of highly flammable gasoline and a match.

 

[dave carver]

BLM land is real close, about 5 miles from my house. There's a large cleared area where the motorcyclests park and stage to ride in the desert. It's about 3 acres of dirt and paths going everywhere creating firebreaks. The land around is choked with cheat grass and no sage due to a lighting strike years ago but the fire bypassed many patches of sage. A little further out Plesant Valley Rd. is the Military training area. It's not restricted but not a good idea to go out there when the range is in use. There are many cleared stageing areas that are nice to fly from

 

[rdbones]

Wow, I find it difficult to properly reply without speaking of politics in this matter. Simply put, show me a place where you can carry a .357 on your hip and I'll show you a place where you can launch when ever you wish. Hint: it ain't New Jersey.

Come to Arizona - We are a LEGAL Open Carry State!

hehe, and AZ passed a law making it legal to carry concealed weapons on college campuses.:bangbang: my grandma lives there, and she was livid this weekend lol:bangpan:

The Governor vetoed it. While I agree with the will defend the right to keep and bear arms, I do feel that there, as with anything, is a time and a place. with *most* college kids concealed carry would not be a problem, but I dont really think that in the class room is the right place.

 

[Solomoriah]

Our club uses a farmer's field outside of town. He's been an enthusiastic supporter, and probably wouldn't have a problem with us "just showing up" whenever. The reality is we'd never do that (we have called him the night before, though).

I can fly small rockets in my back yard (A's or less), though I have enough trees that I prefer to stick with streamer recovery. I can often launch in the back yard of Justin and Jaclyn's parents, where C's are cool... generally, it's not a matter of permission but rather whether or not the back part of the yard has been mowed (their yard is big enough it gets baled sometimes). Finally, we launch on a nearby farmer's field, and as with CF's experience, he's an enthusiastic supporter. I called him just an hour beforehand a week ago and arranged a launch for that day. His field is also baled, so availability depends on how tall the grass is.

I wouldn't fly when a burn ban is in effect, but that's pretty rare here.

So, I guess I can answer "yes, with some conditions" to AK's question.

 

[ClayD]

In my state county burn bans dont limit rocket activity. It just means if you do something that starts a fire, you go to jail for arson.
That means i dont fly rockets, but i could "legaly", but now for when it is safe to fly:
Mostly, since Low power is off the shelf at any hobby shop or hobbylobby, even walmart.
I would figure it "safe" to go and launch at any park without looking at any "local" regs. Better yet... I have routinely gone to my school to do that on weekends in the parking lot baseball field...R/c planes too...
the coaches, frown on the distraction if you fly rockets during baseball practice:neener:
Schools are good shelters for low power rockets... if i loose them on a building, i just call the maintenence crew on monday...
If you do this at a school, you need to be carefull, you may inadvertantly spark up a club, or at least some new "followers". and if the science teacher catches you... you will be doing some comunity service.

 

[chrisudy]

I can launch pretty much whenever I want - I use a New York State park, and got a special use permit that allows me to do whatever my AMA insurance will cover. The park has two little league ball diamonds on half of the land, but otherwise there is very little activity.

 

[El Cheapo]

Our burn ban is simple: too darn hot to fly rockets in the summer. Maybe I ought to diversify and try water rockets.

Roy, I helped transport a couple of your birds this weekend. I'm really liking that PoleCat Thumper.

 

[MrGneissGuy]

I live in Indiana and have never had a problem (Carmel, just north of Indianapolis). I looked over the city's website and didn't find any regs that would seem to be a problem. Lots of people use the same park I do for launching with some regularity. If there is some sort of general permit requirement in this state, nobody I've ever asked is aware of it...

I too live in Indiana (Yorktown, just west of Muncie) and last year when me and my girls first started building I did some digging. I couldn't find anything in the state laws, concentrating most of my research in laws under the State Fire Marshal, limiting model rocket launching and I think there was even specific language separating model rocketry from fireworks, which has some laws (mostly ignored) requiring permits and/or limiting use to particular designated areas (at least it used to, seems those laws change every year, or just become more ignored).

There is a local park nearby our house that has enough room for launching low power (though I'd limit it to B motors myself). Digging through local regulations, I saw nothing prohibiting launching in the park. To be safe and courteous, I sent an email to the parks department explaining what I wanted to do, pointing out it would be limited to low power, and mentioned membership in the NAR and following the NAR safety code. The response was that I could launch there when I wanted as long as I took care not to pose a danger to other people in the park (implying that if there are a lot of people, or they are close by to maybe reconsider and come back later). So we can go there anytime we want and launch with no issues. I have yet to go there though.

Not really applicable to many others, but the National headquarters of the AMA is located in Muncie and through a little research there and speaking with individuals in the headquarters, AMA membership does include some (albeit limited) model rocketry discussion. I was told that I could (for low power at least and assuming I had a membership) use the flying site for launching model rockets. They recommended that I call ahead of time to see what other activities were going on, as scheduled activities may make it so I cannot launch, or limit what areas in which I can launch. I ended up joining, and have gone to the flying site with my daughters to launch rockets. That also happens to be where my club launches, which is nice. I've often wondered how receptive local AMA chapters (many of which have their own flying site) would be to rockets. I know that when I have had the occasion to speak with AMA folks, they've really been interested in the rockets and enjoyed watching us launch.

 

[Solomoriah]

Airplane guys use their fields differently than we do. Tends to lead to issues if both groups try to fly at the same time, unless the field is really large.

 

[mkadams001]

BLM land is real close, about 5 miles from my house. There's a large cleared area where the motorcyclests park and stage to ride in the desert. It's about 3 acres of dirt and paths going everywhere creating firebreaks. The land around is choked with cheat grass and no sage due to a lighting strike years ago but the fire bypassed many patches of sage. A little further out Plesant Valley Rd. is the Military training area. It's not restricted but not a good idea to go out there when the range is in use. There are many cleared stageing areas that are nice to fly from

When I visit Boise that's where I go to fly and shoot. If your passing tanks on the way out you know there is training going on out there.

 

[Delta-IV]

Its a bit of a drive (~35 miles) but this unfinished housing area is available at anytime (when its not too dry). Just have to stay away from the RC'ers. I do most of my "not for public - embarrassment" test launches here.

 

[mjennings]

D-4 man I miss the ol Rocket Ranch!

There's a middle school just up the street from my parents house that when I'm in town I still fly on with the nephew and nieces. Never had any issues. Also Creve Coure Park used to have a set of soccer fields that was a great flying field. You just had to watch for planes taking off from the Creve Coure Airport (untowered GA with a lot of old restored planes). But they put a huge parking lot down the center of it about 6 years ago and it's not so good anymore.

 

[hcmbanjo]

I'm fortunate that I have a soccer/multi-purpose field nearby.
In the past I would walk over with range box in hand to find soccer players on the field. More recently they haven't been there.
I found out they were kicked off the field. None of the players lived in this neighborhood. That field is part of our homeowner's fees.

Once when setting up my launcher I was asked by an employee where I lived. I showed them my driver's license with address and I was allowed to stay and fly.

Granted the field is small, I fly MMX and up to C engines in a saucer.
Still, I can fly the small stuff pretty much when I'd like.