Certifying HPR with NAR and/or Tripoli

Both NAR and TRA will recognize certification levels 1 and 2 from the other organization, but not level 3. You can leverage this in two ways. You can join both, certifiy with one organization, and get accepted at that level by the other organization without having to go through the other certification process (they are slightly different). You can also just join one or the other, and most clubs affiliated with only one organization will let you fly as a "guest" level 1 or level 2 if you have a valid certification from the other organization. You'd have to check with the specific club to be sure. The exception is that you cannot fly EX at a TRA launch if you only have a NAR membership.

Typically you join TRA if you want to eventually do experimental rocketry (make your own motors).

Typically you join NAR if you want to do contests.

(Note that those are not mutually exclusive).

There are some insurance differences - NAR is secondary insurance.

NAR used to be cheaper, but I think they are close to the same price per year now.

If none of those make a difference, then you just find the nearest club and pick the organization that the club is affiliated with.

I certed NAR level 3 at LDRS this year and TRA accepted it, got my card the next day, right from TRA themselves.

Joel

kewl, I even heard the NAR would do the same for TRA certs

Yes they will

Joel

snip of a good explanation.

At 665 we're going to be both soon, NAR & Tripoli, so we can try to offer everything to our membership in one club. There will of course be some differences and it will require us to have separate launches at times, depending on what the members want to do or fly at a particular time.

Try to find a club close enough that you can be involved with both if you choose.

Randy

Since when?

The big difference in NAR insurance is that it covers the club and the site owner (primary) even if non members are flying. THis is critical to us whren we do youth outreach events. TRA insurance does not allow non members to fly at their events.

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!

I haven't heard of any changes planned... at present it is true that if you have a certification with one organization, you can fly under that certification at launches of the other, and can join the other organization with the same level.

As for which, I'd go by what club is holding the launches you will be certifying at. (TRA cert flights need to be witnessed by a TRA prefect; NAR flights by one or two members depending on their cert level and the level being attempted: one level

(Does anyone have more details on this "could change in the future?")

-dave w

The NAR website says that you can grandfather from an equivalent Tripoli certification level 1 or 2.

-- David

I did just this a few years back. Did my L3 with TRA. I was a member of both TRA and NAR, and all I had to do was forward a copy of my TRA paperwork or a copy of my TRA card with L3 on it to NAR, and got a NAR card with L3 in a couple weeks.

I know a number of folks that L3'd with one org and as a result become l3 in both orgs and never heard of any issue with cross-certing.

When I joined TRA I had a NAR l2, and the procedure was much the same - sent a copy of my NAR card with the TRA application, and became TRA l2 right away.

It very well might be a practice, not a rule.

Thanks for all the responses. It so happens that I am geographically halfway between an NAR club and a Tripoli club. Well, as far as where they launch from. I just started going to events and I like both sets of members. Everyone has been so nice and I would like to launch at both when they have launches. It looks like it is best to join both. I suppose I will join one first and get certified then join the other.

Thanks again for all the info.

Mike

I "grandfathered" from NAR to TRA with Level 1, and from TRA level 2 to NAR level 2. Now I have TRA level 3, I'll have to try it with NAR... I always thought from their website it wasn't allowed, but we will see!

Brings to mind the chicken or the egg situation. Who were the 2 people to certify the very first flyer? : )

Randy

I was offered certified status initially by NAR. I presume so I could certify others as I did for many in TRA. I declined for personal reasons.

Jerry

Wrong again. You were offered no such thing. I know because I sent the letters out in 1991. You were offered a list of NAR certified members so you would know who you could sell motors to.

TRA has designated people (prefects, mfgrs, dealers) who could certify others. NAR never did it that way, and until relatively recently it took 2 senior NAR members to sign off on someone elses cert.

Bottom line, until you were an NAR member, you could not NAR certify any one. Once you were, you could only be half of a cert team, with the relatively recent exception that if you are NAR L2 or above you can be a sole signature for an L1 cert.

Bob Kaplow NAR # 18L TRA # "Impeach the TRA BoD" >>> To reply, remove the TRABoD!

So that still leaves the "chicken and egg" problem: how did the witnesses to the first NAR cert flights get "certified?" AIUI, this would have been back when TRA had one level - "Confirmed Consumer" - and NAR's certification program involved a witnessed flight for each letter category from G on up... once you flew a successful, witnessed G flight, you could then go ahead and use G motors, and were then allowed to attempt a "level H" certification flight...

So the question seems to be: "who flew the first 'legal' G?" - i.e., the first one that was considered a "legitimate certification attempt" by NAR? And who witnessed the flight for the cert form?

(Had I written the rules, I would have put in the initialization provision that someone with dual membership and CC status in TRA could witness flights (up to the impulse level that they had flown at TRA events) for other NAR members if were not yet any NAR members available who had the necessary level... but that might have made too much sense.)

-dave w

Hmmm, has someone taken liberties with the truth again?? (:-)

You can join both, then have the other honor your certification after the fact, as well. Just send a photocopy of the NAR card indicating your level to TRA HQ, or send a photocopy of your TRA paperwork indicating your level to NAR HQ, and you're good to go.

-Kevin

Ask Pat Miller.

Half, yes.