Kirk G
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2012
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Hey guys,
As a low power kinda guy, the whole discussion of launch heights limited by (or permitted by) the FAA is kinda fuzy for me.
I know certain motors are expected to be able to reach certain heights, and therefore, if your club launch is limited by the waiver or the FAA, above a certain size motor cannot be allowed.
Is there a chart somewhere that describes heights reached or expected by motor size or class? (Hope I'm describing this correctly. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K and upward?)
So, hypothetically, if you had a motor or rocket that was promoted as able to reach, say, 6000 feet... and your elevation above seal level launch point was 700 feet... does this mean you could only launch if the FAA waiver read permitted up to 7000 feet?
Or am I doing this backwards? Would an FAA waiver up to 7000 feet then exclude the use of any motor or rocket expected to exceed 6,300 feet above your 700 foot MSL launch point?
I've also heard that the clearance area around the launch point must be at least a quarter of the expected elevation reached by the motor/rocket. In this example, a motor expected to reach 8000 ft would then require at least 2000 ft clearance on the ground to any inhabited building?
Is there a simple primer for calculating this or educating oneself on what the formula/restrictions on height is/are?
Again, I'm just picking numbers out of the air here. I have no idea if these values are possible or even accurate.
As a low power kinda guy, the whole discussion of launch heights limited by (or permitted by) the FAA is kinda fuzy for me.
I know certain motors are expected to be able to reach certain heights, and therefore, if your club launch is limited by the waiver or the FAA, above a certain size motor cannot be allowed.
Is there a chart somewhere that describes heights reached or expected by motor size or class? (Hope I'm describing this correctly. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K and upward?)
So, hypothetically, if you had a motor or rocket that was promoted as able to reach, say, 6000 feet... and your elevation above seal level launch point was 700 feet... does this mean you could only launch if the FAA waiver read permitted up to 7000 feet?
Or am I doing this backwards? Would an FAA waiver up to 7000 feet then exclude the use of any motor or rocket expected to exceed 6,300 feet above your 700 foot MSL launch point?
I've also heard that the clearance area around the launch point must be at least a quarter of the expected elevation reached by the motor/rocket. In this example, a motor expected to reach 8000 ft would then require at least 2000 ft clearance on the ground to any inhabited building?
Is there a simple primer for calculating this or educating oneself on what the formula/restrictions on height is/are?
Again, I'm just picking numbers out of the air here. I have no idea if these values are possible or even accurate.