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JonRunningMouth

New Member
Joined
Nov 26, 2022
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Oak Harbor, WA
Hi, new member living on Whidbey Island in WA. Flying everything from Bertha's to Andromeda's to Minie-Maggs. Well, building them anyway. Does anyone know of a place around here I could launch a few? Anyone nearby interested in doing a level 1 certification test? We're building a fleet to have a big rocket day in the spring and I would love to get certified before then. Any help on either/both issues much appreciated. Thanks
 
60 Acres is too small for H power, but it's great for anything up to G. You can just show up and fly any time that it's not soccer season (usually May-October). I don't know if the Puget Sound Rocketry club can support H launches either. They're Class 1 only, (no FAA waiver) so the most you'd be able to fly is a baby H with less than 125g of propellant. For HPR, I usually go east of the mountains to Gorge Rocketry Club in Goldendale or Tri-Cities Rocketeers outside Pasco.
 
JonRunningMouth said:
Hi, new member living on Whidbey Island in WA. Flying everything from Bertha's to Andromeda's to Minie-Maggs. Well, building them anyway. Does anyone know of a place around here I could launch a few? Anyone nearby interested in doing a level 1 certification test? We're building a fleet to have a big rocket day in the spring and I would love to get certified before then. Any help on either/both issues much appreciated. Thanks
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At the moment, there aren't any clubs that host high power launches west of the mountains. Like Boatgeek mentioned, Tri Cities Rocketeers in Pasco is an excellent club, and is very welcoming. I obtained my L2 and L3 certs at their field over the past few years. Gorge Rocketry in Goldendale is another great club from what I have heard. I haven't been able to attend a launch there yet, but I have heard nothing but great things about that group. I believe they are hosting launches in early January and February.

In the meantime, enjoy flying at 60 Acres, and you should attend some of the organized launches there hosted by WAC through April.
 
SolarYellow said:
It seems like somewhere on the Skagit flats would be great for some HPR, but working out landowner (farmer) permission could be difficult. You might get one farmer who was cool, but who knows about his neighbors?
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I’ve wondered about the possibilities of somewhere in Skagit, but also wonder what the ceiling would be. With Everett’s airports south and the naval air station on Whidbey to the west, that might be a concern.
 
Highly recommend Tri-Cities Rocketeers near Pasco. They helped me get my L1 last year.
 
I haven’t launched there myself, but I’ve found info indicating school groups have launched at South Whidbey Community Park, near Langley, which has a football-sized field if I remember correctly. Might be okay for smaller rockets. My family occasionally rents a farmhouse in central Whidbey and the farmer/owner allows me to launch when the cows are out of the fields: typically October through March or so. We’ve been going there for years and he trusts us quite a bit, but mentioning it to say it’s possible that you might find someone who would allow you to fly between seasons. As you probably know, Whidbey is windy: I usually fly bigger rockets with a JLCR or full dual-deploy and let it drop to 300 ft. or so before opening the chute. Otherwise you may be in for quite a hike. We live in Seattle, so 60 Acres is the go-to spot otherwise.
 

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