FAA waiver advice

[KevinDunn]

I am president and chief bottle washer for HOVAR, a section of NAR in central virginia. I am L1 and we have another member building his L1 project (planning to certify at Battle Park). So far, however, we have launched only MPR at our local field because of the proximity of a highway and farmhouse. In response to several inquiries on TRF I am considering the possibility of HPR launches with FAA waiver from a specific spot on the field that meets the distance setbacks. I have been consulting the instructions at the NAR website. Our main reason for requesting a waiver is that we would like to launch some rockets heavier than 3.3 lb.

The attached site plan shows the HPR launch site 1500 ft from both house and highway. Because of the setbacks, the launch site is near the western treeline--we would have to angle our rail and/or launch HPR when the winds were generally from the west.

My questions:
a) are there obstacles to HPR launches from this site that I have not anticipated?
b) I plan to request a waiver to 6000 ft (4 times the distance to house and highway). Any problem with this?
c) We have an MOA in the airspace above the field that is active only on weekdays. We are requesting a waiver only for weekends. How best to express this?
d) The positions of the flight line and LCO will depend on the wind direction. Do I need to show them on the site plan? (perhaps multiple plans for different wind directions?)
e) I would like to file for an annual blanket waiver. How best to explain that we will launch only on weekends to avoid the weekday MOA activity?

 

[KevinDunn]

The sectional map shows that we are more than 5 mi from airports. Green circle is 5 mi radius around launch site. Also shows the MOA (active on weekdays according to sectional map). (14 CFR 101.25 says 5 nautical miles from airport boundary. What does this mean?)

 

[troj]

Your best bet is going to be to pick up the phone and call your FAA contact that your waiver application gets submitted to.

Ask them how you'd like the application worded, in regards to the MOA, and other aspects. They can pull up sectionals and discuss with you what can and cannot be done.

As far as the airport boundary goes, my understanding is it's the fenceline around the airport -- the border of the airport itself.

-Kevin

 

[degreaser]

Kevin - I'm very interested in what you find. Please post a summary as the process progresses. Also - I'd be concerned about where your green circle intersects the class E airspace surrounding the Farmville airport as indicated by the magenta circle. Class G extends only to 700' AGL in that region.

 

[MarkII]

The sectional map shows that we are more than 5 mi from airports. Green circle is 5 mi radius around launch site. Also shows the MOA (active on weekdays according to sectional map). (14 CFR 101.25 says 5 nautical miles from airport boundary. What does this mean?)

Sorry for this clueless off-topic question.

MOA?

- Mall of America?
- Large Prehistoric New Zealand flightless bird?
- Municipality of Anchorage?
- Military Officers Association?
- Michigan Osteopathic Association?
- Swedish indie recording artist?
- Denver-based architectural firm?
- Manufacturer of firearms?
- BYU's Museum of Art?
- Montana Optometric Association?
- Master Overclock Arena?
- Museum of Outdoor Arts?

(These are the results of my Google search.)

 

[degreaser]

MOA?

Military Operations Area. Think - supersonic fighters real close to ground.

 

[troj]

Military Operations Area. Think - supersonic fighters real close to ground.

Basically, training areas for the military -- standard rules regarding speeds, altitudes, and aircraft proximity don't apply, which allows them to practice combat, refueling, aerobatics and many other things.

-Kevin

 

[lmt56]

The sectional map shows that we are more than 5 mi from airports. Green circle is 5 mi radius around launch site. Also shows the MOA (active on weekdays according to sectional map). (14 CFR 101.25 says 5 nautical miles from airport boundary. What does this mean?)

For my waiver I had the same two issues.
1. Within 5 mile of an airport.
2. In MOA area
Working with the FAA we were able to work around both issues.
I lucky to be able to work with a great guy. Mark M. out of Kansas City.
Working with him is a pleasure not a hassle.
Hope you have as good of luck.

 

[bobkrech]

I am president and chief bottle washer for HOVAR, a section of NAR in central virginia. I am L1 and we have another member building his L1 project (planning to certify at Battle Park). So far, however, we have launched only MPR at our local field because of the proximity of a highway and farmhouse. In response to several inquiries on TRF I am considering the possibility of HPR launches with FAA waiver from a specific spot on the field that meets the distance setbacks. I have been consulting the instructions at the NAR website. Our main reason for requesting a waiver is that we would like to launch some rockets heavier than 3.3 lb.

The attached site plan shows the HPR launch site 1500 ft from both house and highway. Because of the setbacks, the launch site is near the western treeline--we would have to angle our rail and/or launch HPR when the winds were generally from the west.

My questions:
a) are there obstacles to HPR launches from this site that I have not anticipated?
b) I plan to request a waiver to 6000 ft (4 times the distance to house and highway). Any problem with this?
c) We have an MOA in the airspace above the field that is active only on weekdays. We are requesting a waiver only for weekends. How best to express this?
d) The positions of the flight line and LCO will depend on the wind direction. Do I need to show them on the site plan? (perhaps multiple plans for different wind directions?)
e) I would like to file for an annual blanket waiver. How best to explain that we will launch only on weekends to avoid the weekday MOA activity?

Kevin

The purpose of a waiver is to permit an entity to do something that is prohibited under normal circumstances by law. Under normal circumstances, launching high power rockets is prohibited, so that's why you have to request a waiver, or exception to the law, to launch high power rockets.

The folks at the FAA are tasked to permit everyone equally to use airspace in a safe and legal manner. Provided that you request and receive a written waiver, and your launch is conducted within the waiver conditions, you're fine.

The NAR website has this page to help you fill out the FAA waiver form.

https://www.nar.org/cabinet/waiverinst.html

A narrative similar to this is all you have to add. https://www.nar.org/pdf/attachment-far10129.pdf You don't need to be overspecific.

If you have a question, call your local FAA office for advice.

Bob

 

[KevinDunn]

We received a blanket waiver to 6000 ft for weekend launches from April 1 2011 to March 31 2012! The process was not as intimidating as I would have imagined, and our FAA contact was friendly and helpful. Because the HPR launch site is at the western end of our field, we plan to launch HPR only when the winds are westerly (NW, W, SW) or calm enough to ensure the safe recovery of our rockets. We tried out the HPR site last month with some G motors and winds from the SW. One of the 3 rockets landed in a tree, but was easily recovered. I expect that with experience we will learn to avoid the trees.

As far as the mechanics of getting a waiver, our contact asked us to scan the forms and submit them by email. I followed up with a phone call to discuss the nearby airports and the MOA active on weekdays. A few weeks went by, and just as I was going to call to inquire about progress, our waiver arrived by email. Anyone contemplating a waiver request is welcome to visit our waiver page, where I have documented ours.

 

[sylvie369]

Nice. Thanks for making a useful thread out of this.

 

[cwbullet]

Thanks for sharing your process.

 

[KevinDunn]

We have our waiver, as noted above. The next step was to file a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) with Lockheed Martin Flight Service Station using the phone number given on the waiver. Apparently, the FAA had not sent the waiver to them, and LMFSS asked me to fax it. I then called back for about a 3-minute phone call to file the NOTAM. A few minutes later, our NOTAM could be seen at https://pilotweb.nas.faa.gov/PilotWeb/:

04/156 W81 AIRSPACE UNMANNED ROCKET 2 NMR LVL323027 6600/BLW WEF 1104171600-1104172200

04/156 is the NOTAM ID number, W81 is Crewe airport, the nearest to our launch, 2 NMR is two nautical mile radius around our site.
LVL323027 is the vortac heading that identifies the site, 6600 is the ceiling in feet above MSL. 110417 is the date (April 17 2011), 1600 is the zulu starting time (noon EDT), and 2200 is the ending zulu time (6 PM).

So far, so good. The next step will be to call FAA Washington Center two hours before the launch and then 15 minutes before the launch. We are looking at our first HPR launch on Sunday if the weather forecast is accurate.