Continued...
-- There has to be some organizational responsibility-- someone who's "in charge"... otherwise "NO one's in charge". As the landowner, ultimately you're responsible for what takes place on your property. If your club is going to be organized around kids, they can certainly be recruited to do a lot of the legwork things (with proper oversight and supervision to make sure it gets done and done correctly) but there will still need to be an "over-arching authority" who has the "last word" on things, who says what goes and what doesn't. This is especially important at launches, because kids can get some pretty wacky ideas, like flying mice or varmits, flying "warheads" or other unsafe schemes, climbing trees or power lines to retrieve their favorite rocket after a wayward landing, running like the football team downrange going after a pass to retrieve a rocket coming down under parachute, tilting the pads or launch rods over at obscene angles trying to "hit targets", fly rockets they designed which would be completely unstable, dangerous, etc... As a landowner and club organizer, you'll need to have a GENERAL UNDERSTANDING and UNCONDITIONAL ACCEPTANCE that YOU, as a responsible adult, have the FINAL say-so on what goes on during a launch on YOUR property. Anyone who cannot abide by that simple rule SHOULD LEAVE. Be unambiguous on this point. Realize that, especially with kids, who get easily enthused, come up with some wild ideas, and often don't know the ins and outs of why things work, why they don't, why some things are a terrible idea, dangerous, or whatever, you're GOING to have some of this sort of thing crop up from time to time. Realize that you, as the ultimately responsible party, WILL have to play the "bad guy" once in awhile and reign in or pull the plug on such activities before they happen. It's not easy and not pleasant, but NECESSARY for everyone's safety as well as your own. When folks relent on things they KNOW aren't a good idea, is usually when something pops up to bite you in the butt... For instance, a club in north Texas didn't allow sparky motors to be flown on their field, but a group of students who had been TOLD NOT to buy/use sparky motors for their contest launches, ignored the advice of their rocketry mentor, and bought ALL sparky motors for their launches. They arrived at this N. Texas field to conduct a certified contest launch attempt for official points, after driving several hours and a couple hundred miles, with their field-prohibited sparky motor, and then wheedled and begged to be allowed to launch, despite the ban on sparkies on this field, and the organizers relented over their better judgment, since it was the last opportunity before the deadline for them to launch (they required a waivered launch due to size/power of the rocket). They flew their sparky, started a grass fire that burned off a good portion of the pasture, which was bad enough, BUT the fire very nearly incinerated a neighbor's standing dry wheat field that was almost ready to be harvested... had the fire not been stopped at the last moment by the fire department, it would have razed the neighbor's entire wheat field and burned several hundred thousand dollars in standing grain! The neighbors got together and approached the landowner and the club lost their field... and the kids who did it learned NOTHING, because they went on to the contest in Alabama where they were AGAIN told sparky motors weren't allowed, and wheedled and begged their way into being allowed to do it AGAIN (thankfully this time with no fire). The BEST lesson they could have learned was FOLLOW THE RULES OR GO HOME! It's not easy saying "NO, you can't fly that" when some kid comes up with some weird amalgamation of tubes and parts with no fins in the back and big fins up front and wants to fly it, that's CLEARLY unstable and will part someone's hair if it flies, especially when they're SO proud of their creation, but they have to be made to understand WHY certain things work and others don't, and WHY it's not a good idea, unsafe, or dangerous. That's where the responsible adult, the "ultimate authority" comes in. YOU have to know why things work and why they don't, what's safe, unsafe, what will hold together and what won't (you glued your fins on with HOT GLUE??
) and why... You need a good solid foundation in the "how's and why's" of rocketry-- you don't have to be an 'expert' but you DO need a good foundation. There are Range Safety Officer training programs and such, but basically they just augment having a good solid foundation in the how's and why's of rocketry-- they don't replace it.
-- There is an "all kids" run club-- Blue Mountain Rocketeers (hope I got the name right, going from memory here). They elect their own officers, the officers organize and run the launches and other club activities, and they operate under a system that maintains discipline and "reigns in" the wilder impulses kids can often have. They have oversight from an adult(s) who ENSURE that everything is done right and safely, and that the "authority" of the student officers is respected and obeyed by the other kids that fly with the club... Kids don't often respect the decisions of other kids put in authority over them-- they see them as peers, not as having authority or greater knowledge or responsibility, ESPECIALLY in a "loose knit" group. This is where a knowledgeable ADULT advisor is PARTICULARLY important-- to back up the good decisionmaking of his responsible student officers, and to ENSURE that his student officers ARE well informed and making good decisions and not caving in to peer pressures or their own lack of knowledge or kid desires of wanting to "see something cool" despite it being unsafe. It CAN be done, but it requires DISCIPLINE and an understanding and agreement by ALL INVOLVED to abide by certain rules and authority... and anyone who can't agree to do that should move on...
-- From what you described, this would be a rather "loose knit" group, and so a 'misfire alley' launch system would probably be chaotic and unsafe... kids don't like "waiting" for authority to launch-- if they have their rocket on the pad, with their key in one hand and their launch controller in the other, it's a MIGHTY BIG temptation to launch when THEY want to, regardless of whether it's safe to do so or not... (small plane overhead, kids running out to the launch pad, unapproved/unsafe/unstable rockets, warheads or "target launches" or other weird unsafe stuff). Fortunately, setting up a centralized launch system doesn't HAVE to be expensive and difficult. A central launch pad with several launch rods can be constructed from PVC pipe, folding sawhorses, etc. quite easily (there are plans online) and a centralized launch control station CAN be as simple as having LABELED CONTROLLERS (with the pad or launch rod number CLEARLY WRITTEN on a piece of tape on the controller and ALSO on the launch leads out by the pad a few inches below the microclips, attached to the wires, with the matching number of the launch rod labeled on the pad itself prominently below the rod. So long as these controllers are REQUIRED to remain on the launch table, overseen by the "RSO" (responsible launch control person, IE YOU most likely) who will ensure that the keys are out of the controllers and the rockets have been inspected and approved for flight (safety-wise-- there are checklists for RSO's posted online that can be followed) and everything is maintained in a safe condition while the kids load their rockets on the rods/pad, and then ensure that everything is safe for launch (no low-flying planes over the site, everyone is back behind the launch control table, rods all within 30 degrees of vertical, etc.) then the kids can even launch their own rocket using the appropriate controller, under the supervision of the launch officer, at the appropriate time. Multipad "club" controllers CAN be built or bought, but they aren't necessary right away... they're "nice haves" once the club is successful and likely to continue.
These are the main things that I'd suggest you take a look at. Realize if you're dealing with "disadvantaged" kids you're probably going to have to offer a lot of help and financial support-- often these kids don't have money for rockets, motors, supplies, etc... they often have no support or interest from their parent(s) and may well depend on you for transportation to/from rocket club activities. They'll also probably rely on you for eats while they're in your charge... (heck a lot of this applies even if they're NOT "disadvantaged"! Some parents are just in their own world and don't do much of anything for thier kids!) Be prepared for this and the financial and time burden it imposes, and the responsibility (liability) it also puts on your shoulders... that's why I'd suggest a GOOD core support group of other responsible, willing, and able ADULTS to help you... even if it's only one or two additional people... You can handle 5-6 kids or so by yourself all right, but when it gets to be more than this, you're GOING to need help.
Good luck and keep sharing your ideas! We'll all help where we can!
Later! OL JR
