Yes. Sorry I didn’t include that in the announcement.
GO Coronavirus measures by Tripoli - Return to Flight
- Thread starter Steve Shannon
- Start date
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I said this on the Facebook group as well. Steve and Tripoli BOD have my upmost thanks for taking prudent measures in this difficult time. Nobody is happy with what's happening. I pray that all of us come out on the other side of this in good health and ready to fly again when the time comes. I know there are a couple of large regional events that I've hand on my calendar for several months now and I've got my fingers crossed that things improve enough that I can attend them. But at the end of the day, this is my hobby so it takes lower precedence than health.
If this is not too personal to post here; I would ask if there is a way to set up a mechanism so those of us that are lucky enough to not be economically affected by this can help who have been hurt economically. I consider myself *extremely* lucky to be able to switch to 100% remote work. I'd like a way to spread my good fortune to some who are not as lucky as I and still want to participate in our hobby. I have no idea how that would work, but sign me up if such a thing exists.
Thank you very much for your first paragraph and thank you even more for your second paragraph.
I’ve been advocating to do whatever we can to help people by buying and sending gift certificates, discreetly sending a check to your barber or hairdresser (it’s not charity; your hair WILL be longer next time you see them), and not cancelling motor orders. Some of our rocketry vendors are hurt as badly by this as anyone. Any business is better than none.
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I'm with Steve - this is a great time to be buying gift certificates, kits, etc from vendors. They're all small, private businesses and the lack of launching activity is definitely putting a crimp in their income.
-Kevin
MClark
Well-Known Member
Yesterday Robin and I picked up some tubes from AMW.
Keep separated, passed over the fence, looked like a dope deal!
M
Keep separated, passed over the fence, looked like a dope deal!
M
jbsommerfeldt
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moved
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dshmel
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There is a public group on fb for rocketry vendors that you can post on:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/301460020776115/
Speaknoevil
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Good for all except people like me that swore off FB when they started down the deviant path.
Continuing the recommendations of the CDC relative to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Tripoli Board of Directors has extended the moratorium on group Tripoli activities until either April 28 or until state and local governments begin lifting “Stay at Home” orders, whichever comes first. This restriction now allows Tripoli members and their children from a single household to launch from their backyard or nearby open space as long as the activity complies with local orders regarding travel and gathering size for recreational activites. Until “Stay at Home” orders are lifted unnecessary travel or gathering in groups with persons from other households is still strongly discouraged in compliance with the spirit of the governmental guidelines.
When the Tripoli board first imposed a moratorium on launches we decided that memberships would be extended for the length of that moratorium. Memberships will be automatically extended by two months.
Yesterday, April 16, 2020, President Trump unveiled “Guidelines for Opening Up America” which can be found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/openingamerica/. The board of directors has not had a chance to fully review this document, but feels that it should be used to determine the conditions when Prefectures within the United States may resume launches, paying close attention to the limitations on travel and gathering sizes allowed. The board will be studying this document over the next few days.
Finally, because of the financial hardships some of our members may be going through as a result of the shutdowns imposed by our countries in an effort to slow the spread of COVID, the Tripoli board of directors voted unanimously that high power certifications will not expire for members who may not be able to renew their memberships during the financial recovery period. This pause on certification expirations is temporary and intended to help our members as they deal with circumstances beyond their control. The board will review this decision annually, but at least for now our members should not have to worry about this one aspect of their lives.
When the Tripoli board first imposed a moratorium on launches we decided that memberships would be extended for the length of that moratorium. Memberships will be automatically extended by two months.
Yesterday, April 16, 2020, President Trump unveiled “Guidelines for Opening Up America” which can be found at https://www.whitehouse.gov/openingamerica/. The board of directors has not had a chance to fully review this document, but feels that it should be used to determine the conditions when Prefectures within the United States may resume launches, paying close attention to the limitations on travel and gathering sizes allowed. The board will be studying this document over the next few days.
Finally, because of the financial hardships some of our members may be going through as a result of the shutdowns imposed by our countries in an effort to slow the spread of COVID, the Tripoli board of directors voted unanimously that high power certifications will not expire for members who may not be able to renew their memberships during the financial recovery period. This pause on certification expirations is temporary and intended to help our members as they deal with circumstances beyond their control. The board will review this decision annually, but at least for now our members should not have to worry about this one aspect of their lives.
rocketman328
Well-Known Member
It seems like most governor's have no common sense. I think most are just on a power Trip right now.
I want to send 2020 back; I know I'm past the 90 test drive deadline, but need to cancel...
Stay safe all!
fm
Stay safe all!
fm
How does this affect Tripoli? I was under the impression that the largest expenditure is insurance, which will still have to be paid, I guess. Is there a way to opt out of this free extension, preferably without causing too much organizational overhead at TRA HQ?
Reinhard
Rheinhard,
For a senior membership, the income is equivalent to U.S. $5/month. So, you could opt out, the savings to the organization would amount to $10. I should know, but offhand I don’t how many senior members we have. I’ll look it up later.
Having HQ manually handle each account would probably cost more than the savings, plus creating the opportunity for an error compared to a single database update that extends everyone’s information. Although I greatly appreciate the offer, I would not want to ask Deb to have to handle a bunch of custom inputs. Easiest would be to just add a donation to make up for it, if you wish.
Our flight insurance is paid annually in advance. We pay for it in December. It works out to almost $96,000 - $100,000 per year or $8000-$8500/month (very rough estimates from memory). We made our junior and student memberships $10 each last year, which basically subsidized those classes of memberships, so it’s difficult to calculate off the top of my head the cost for insurance per person per month, but figure roughly $3 for senior members, so an average cost of $6 per senior member for the two month extension. So, if you wanted to donate $16 when you renew you could, but I really wouldn’t worry about it. We have been looking for ways to give back to our members. That’s why we have increased our a Prefecture Improvement Program funding, cut our Prefecture fees, and reduced our junior and student memberships. At the same time the ATF battle taught us the lesson that having a large war chest is a good thing.
Again, I want to emphasize that I’m working from very rough numbers that could change significantly as people drop their memberships based on employment issues. The organization can afford the two month extension. We discussed some other options, but they would have hurt us financially.
Return to Flight - Tripoli
On Tuesday, April 28th, the Tripoli Rocketry Association moratorium on group activities expires. As we slowly and carefully resume our rocketry activities, please consider the following:
Prefectures must follow all local health department rules applicable to their location. The local health department is just another AHJ. In order to make sure all local health department rules are followed, Prefects or Launch Directors should contact their local health department for clearance before holding their first launch. Please help them understand that:
· Our hobby should be considered as an Outdoor Recreation which easily supports Social Distancing.
· Our launches are not a Public Assembly.
Be sure to document the name of the person you speak to and the date and time of your conversation. If possible get them to send you an email granting you permission to proceed and listing any restrictions they impose.
We all have a responsibility to keep common surfaces clean that might transfer the coronavirus, such as interiors and door handles of porta-potties, surfaces of inspection tables, and launch equipment. Although flyers are expected to bring their own masks, cleaning wipes, and hand sanitizer, Prefectures should plan on having extras.
If it's possible to avoid or even eliminate common contact surfaces, that's even better. For instance, it’s not necessary for rocket inspectors to touch rockets during inspection. Inspectors can direct the flyer to demonstrate whatever is needed. Also, find ways to safely transfer flight cards. This may require sanitizing your hands before and after handling them.
Make a list of attendees (spectators and flyers) to enable contact tracing if an attendee is later diagnosed as positive for Covid-19.
Prefects or Launch Directors should communicate the following rules and any other rules required by the local health department (such as number of persons allowed) to your members before the launch. You should also reinforce them during the launch with onsite signs:
1. Social distancing is required.
2. Masks must be worn when social distancing cannot be ensured, such as working with a pad manager.
3. At the Prefect's, Launch Director's, or RSO's discretion, people who fail to protect others by using Social Distancing or masks may be sent away.
4. Sanitize hands frequently, especially before and after touching surfaces that may be touched by others.
5. Anyone who does not feel well, or those who are at-risk individuals, or who have at-risk members in their households, should not attend.
On Tuesday, April 28th, the Tripoli Rocketry Association moratorium on group activities expires. As we slowly and carefully resume our rocketry activities, please consider the following:
Prefectures must follow all local health department rules applicable to their location. The local health department is just another AHJ. In order to make sure all local health department rules are followed, Prefects or Launch Directors should contact their local health department for clearance before holding their first launch. Please help them understand that:
· Our hobby should be considered as an Outdoor Recreation which easily supports Social Distancing.
· Our launches are not a Public Assembly.
Be sure to document the name of the person you speak to and the date and time of your conversation. If possible get them to send you an email granting you permission to proceed and listing any restrictions they impose.
We all have a responsibility to keep common surfaces clean that might transfer the coronavirus, such as interiors and door handles of porta-potties, surfaces of inspection tables, and launch equipment. Although flyers are expected to bring their own masks, cleaning wipes, and hand sanitizer, Prefectures should plan on having extras.
If it's possible to avoid or even eliminate common contact surfaces, that's even better. For instance, it’s not necessary for rocket inspectors to touch rockets during inspection. Inspectors can direct the flyer to demonstrate whatever is needed. Also, find ways to safely transfer flight cards. This may require sanitizing your hands before and after handling them.
Make a list of attendees (spectators and flyers) to enable contact tracing if an attendee is later diagnosed as positive for Covid-19.
Prefects or Launch Directors should communicate the following rules and any other rules required by the local health department (such as number of persons allowed) to your members before the launch. You should also reinforce them during the launch with onsite signs:
1. Social distancing is required.
2. Masks must be worn when social distancing cannot be ensured, such as working with a pad manager.
3. At the Prefect's, Launch Director's, or RSO's discretion, people who fail to protect others by using Social Distancing or masks may be sent away.
4. Sanitize hands frequently, especially before and after touching surfaces that may be touched by others.
5. Anyone who does not feel well, or those who are at-risk individuals, or who have at-risk members in their households, should not attend.
WooHoo. Maybe South Carolina will open up in time for Freedom Launch in May.
I called our public health nurse’s office last week. After explaining my questions to the person who answered the phone I was transferred to the boss. After explaining to her a little about what we do she felt that we fell under the category of “organized event” and that we would have to wait until Phase 2 to have a launch. That didn’t seem right to me, so I got ahold of the official document she was working from. “Organized Event” doesn’t even appear in the official document as a classification, but “Public Assembly” does.
I wrote an email to her late Friday expressing my interpretation that we should be considered “outdoor recreation.” She got back to me yesterday and said that she would accept our interpretation classifying our activities as “outdoor recreation.” I asked if there was a higher authority who might give an official interpretation and she said that it was up to me to do the interpretation. While we are in Phase 1 we are limited to no more than 10 people in attendance, but that’s larger than our typical launch anyway. We started Phase 1 yesterday. In two weeks, if we are still decreasing active Covid-19 cases, we may go to Phase 2 and then we have a 50 person limit. I hope that’s the case.
One surprising condition that I hadn’t counted on is that for someone to come from out of state to our launch that person must be quarantined for two weeks first. Our club secretary is from Idaho.
Steve
I wrote an email to her late Friday expressing my interpretation that we should be considered “outdoor recreation.” She got back to me yesterday and said that she would accept our interpretation classifying our activities as “outdoor recreation.” I asked if there was a higher authority who might give an official interpretation and she said that it was up to me to do the interpretation. While we are in Phase 1 we are limited to no more than 10 people in attendance, but that’s larger than our typical launch anyway. We started Phase 1 yesterday. In two weeks, if we are still decreasing active Covid-19 cases, we may go to Phase 2 and then we have a 50 person limit. I hope that’s the case.
One surprising condition that I hadn’t counted on is that for someone to come from out of state to our launch that person must be quarantined for two weeks first. Our club secretary is from Idaho.
Steve
Steve, glad to hear that things may change. Agree with all of the social rules. But what if you do not have any of the supplies available? I ordered masks over a month ago, they will be delivered on June 22nd. Cannot find wipes any where. If our club also cannot find these things, would you have any suggestions? Also, maybe CW might have some ideas. Thanks, Dave.
David,
Masks, wipes, and sanitizer can be easily made. A bottle of everclear provides the ethyl alcohol base for sanitizer. My local industrial cleaning supplies had gallons of sanitizer come in this afternoon. By the way the TP aisle had a full selection today at the local grocery store. The baby wipes you use for cleaning your motor cases work as wipes or you can use a dilute bleach solution and rags. If we cannot clean common surfaces then you simply must find a way to avoid or eliminate them. If you show up without a mask and the Prefecture doesn’t have enough for you, you may need to go home until you make one or find some. I know that sucks, but it really could be a matter of life or death for someone at the launch or a member of their family.
Agreed Steve, just wanting ideas of what can be used instead of. The shelves are bare here of all of the items needed.
Hopefully that will change by the time your state begins reopening. I’ve been trying to go to the grocery store no more frequently than every other week and yesterday there were a lot more full shelves, so it looks like they’re starting to catch up.
As far as a mask, a bandana or mask cut from an good enough. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Our CVS yesterday had disposable dust masks for sale for $1.99 each yesterday. I never did see empty baby wipe shelves here.
dekitte
Jebediah
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A little disappointed that we had to cancel our June launch for today.
Following the phased reopening of New Mexico, our club officers thought that we could return to flight, too. Of course in keeping with all CDC guidance and other club’s protocols.
Devils in the details. We (myself included) should have read the public health order (PHO) Twice. Turns out It’s a blanket ban on ALL gatherings of 5 or more. The “reopenings” append the ban by making special provisions for certain activities but otherwise it’s still in place. Pretty opaque but ...
Several people kindly informed the board of our legal responsibilities, and that was the end of that.
Sigh. Take the whole family to Olive Garden or shop with the crowds at Lowes but too much red tape for a club sanctioned launch.
We are going to reach out to the Governors office but that process takes time.
Any one else’s club off to a false start?
Following the phased reopening of New Mexico, our club officers thought that we could return to flight, too. Of course in keeping with all CDC guidance and other club’s protocols.
Devils in the details. We (myself included) should have read the public health order (PHO) Twice. Turns out It’s a blanket ban on ALL gatherings of 5 or more. The “reopenings” append the ban by making special provisions for certain activities but otherwise it’s still in place. Pretty opaque but ...
Several people kindly informed the board of our legal responsibilities, and that was the end of that.
Sigh. Take the whole family to Olive Garden or shop with the crowds at Lowes but too much red tape for a club sanctioned launch.
We are going to reach out to the Governors office but that process takes time.
Any one else’s club off to a false start?
Ours was cancelled for today also. MN says that no more than 10 may gather outside. But I just came from a funeral where the indoor limit was 55. Guess I am not very smart as I thought an indoor gathering would be at much greater risk.
rharshberger
Well-Known Member
Just call it an "Autonomous Launch Zone" and you can have a regular launch.
dekitte
Jebediah
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Sorry to hear yours got scrubbed too.
10 people is a little better than 4.
Thinking out loud, if your club was expecting a crowd of say 30 would you take an “all or nothing” approach I.e. return to flight when all paid members can attend?
versus the lottery approach allowing 10 based on a criteria?
When we had our first launch we stipulated paid members had priority and if we got too many people we would ask the non-paying folks to leave. But we also defined groups as real groups, not just numbers of people attending a launch. People who came in a single car or with friends were a group.
The Public Health Nurse tried to interpret us as some kind of public gathering, which wasn’t allowed to happen yet. I said I interpreted us as an outdoor recreation, which was allowed. I asked who was authorized to make that interpretation and she said that I was responsible for the interpretation. Based on that we had our first launch last month and our second today. Today we scrubbed because of high winds.
Not disagreeing with the rules. Just don't understand the reason they use to make them. We have a 100 or so people at a launch.. Everything I hear says outdoor gatherings are ok using the 6 foot rule. But then the service today was inside, elbow to elbow in some pews.
True. the club sent a notice that maybe July might happen. Want to change it to all weekend instead of just Saturday. Which is great. You get one of the two days to attend and then if to many sign up will do the lottery thing. So hope the state will allow that to take place. With winter coming in Sept. we don't have many more months to go
dekitte
Jebediah
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Hi Steve,
Appreciate your response. I guess what I am beginning to see is that each state has such a different COVID-19 response.
We haven’t called in yet, but I really doubt that we will get the same latitude you asked for (No “outdoor recreation” Clause per se but other things about parks, gyms etc):
I’ve been in the club leadership for a couple years now and it’s just so hard for me to turn 26 people back home (30-4=26)
Especially because we have sooo much room to practice safe distancing...,
Even if they’re allowing 10 people max, turning our flyers away is a joy kill for me to do.
Thanks for being a listening ear.
-D
Appreciate your response. I guess what I am beginning to see is that each state has such a different COVID-19 response.
We haven’t called in yet, but I really doubt that we will get the same latitude you asked for (No “outdoor recreation” Clause per se but other things about parks, gyms etc):
I’ve been in the club leadership for a couple years now and it’s just so hard for me to turn 26 people back home (30-4=26)
Especially because we have sooo much room to practice safe distancing...,
Even if they’re allowing 10 people max, turning our flyers away is a joy kill for me to do.
Thanks for being a listening ear.
-D
I agree; in some cases holding off until you can handle a larger group is less of a problem for the club. Thank you for continuing to work at this. As you say, every state is different and in some localities it’s different by county.
