#11
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I never even knew who the property owners were in both cases (I only discovered who owns my former flying field here in Alaska after the fellow who was the tenant user died last year, in February--the family trust that owns it was mentioned in his obituary). Where I lived in northern Georgia, and here in rural Alaska, there was/is an "allmansratten" (if I'm spelling that correctly) attitude, like in Scandinavian countries--as with Robert Goddard's rancher neighbors in New Mexico, no one cared/cares what other people do on their open land as long as it doesn't cause any problems. Regarding launch controller batteries in the cold:
I don't know if those rechargeables can fire many rockets at 20 degrees, and for folks who take their rocket gear onto such open land on foot, they might be a bit bulky. (If the launch controller wouldn't fit in a pants pocket or a jacket pocket with such batteries, I wouldn't be interested in lugging it around, and I definitely wouldn't carry a big wet-cell or gel-cell battery or battery pack around.)
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
#12
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I'd like to know how an accident claim could be denied due to violation of MRSC due to fuse ignition.
Unless one has video evidence (or a RAT witness that attended the launch) you have PLAUSIBLE DENIABILITY that this occurred especially if you have an electric controller at the launch. No, I'm NOT kidding.
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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!! Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't ! Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY. ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC ! |
#13
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Fuse use in NAR contests
Back in the 60s and 70s (IOW, probably forgotten by now) there was a rash of NAR altitude entries based on the boosted dart concept that had been used by NASA.
The booster stage was electrically ignited on the pad. The booster burnout/blowthru ignited a pyro fuse at the base of the upper stage, which was an unpowered, slender, aerodynamically optimized dart. The booster burnout event also separated the upper stage with an extra little push. The dart coasted to apogee where the fuse (hopefully) finished burning and ignited a small ejection charge to deploy the recovery system. That's right, a small, separate, not-built-into-an-Estes-motor ejection charge. A small quantity of loose BP, just like the high-power guys use now, but this was in a MODEL rocket, and the practice was accepted and approved by NAR. But we can't do that now, for some reason. (sarcasm) |
#14
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Quote:
I'm afraid that the NAR has, whether intentionally or unintentionally, served to stifle much of the experimentation that model rocketry was intended to foster. As GH pointed out above, home-made motors were once allowed in the NAR Safety Code, as were fuses. The availability of pre-loaded, commercially-made motors and electrical igniters wasn't intended to take the place of home-made motors and fuse ignition, but to provide demonstrably safe alternatives for [1] those areas that had strict fireworks laws, and [2] individuals and teachers who were more interested in developing payloads. I have read G. Harry Stine's early writings about amateur rocketry (he also covered it in his 1957 book "Rocket Power and Space Flight"), and he didn't oppose it at all--in fact, he wrote numerous "How-To" articles for doing it safely in the magazine "Mechanix Illustrated." In addition: The NAR, like other private organizations such as the Elks (I like the Elks; I'm just using them as an example here because their local lodge across the Chena river made me think of them), is a strictly voluntary organization, which exists at the pleasure of its members and therefore has no power or authority over its members. (Governments have power, but not authority--but that's another story...) The only "power" that the NAR or the Elks have is to throw out members, but then they lose those members' financial support. (I know that losing one's NAR membership means losing the insurance coverage that goes along with it [which can also happen if a member contravenes the safety code in an incident that results in property damage or personal injury], but since only a tiny percentage of model rocketeers are NAR members, the lack of NAR insurance is obviously of no importance to the vast majority of model rocketeers.) Therefore: The notion that "We can't do X (or can't do it anymore) because the NAR forbids it" is a form of operant conditioning, like what Pavlov did with dogs and B. F. Skinner did with monkeys. (I am *not* accusing the NAR of engaging in brain-washing; rather, I'm just describing the effects that occur between all power structures [even perceived ones] and those they have or seek power over.) We don't have to obey *any* power structure (although there are, of course, costs for refusing to obey some power structures, such as government or--in certain times and places--some religions). But the NAR, like the Elks, isn't in this category. One doesn't have to have the NAR's permission to fly model rockets or even to form a model rocket club (many school, 4-H, and Scout model rocket clubs--and perhaps most of them--have no affiliation with the NAR). So: Those who wish to make, use, and experiment with motors, devices, and techniques that the NAR forbids should *not* refrain from doing so "because the NAR says so." They *should* exercise common sense and observe all of the safety precautions that the responsible amateur rocketry experimenters (such as the RRS [Rocket Research Society]) have and do, because all rockets, even the tiniest ones, are potentially dangerous. (Even a larger water rocket could kill someone or do great damage to a vehicle or a building if it hit one.)
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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see: http://www.lulu.com/content/paperba...an-form/8075185 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6122050 http://www.lulu.com/product/cd/what...of-2%29/6126511 All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com. NAR #54895 SR |
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