Rocket Builders - WIVB television item

Spotted this item:

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an hour from now at 5pm EST Mon 24 May, if I read it right.

Rocket Builders

(May 24, 2004) - - The model rocket hobby is a blast for everyone from kids to scientists and engineers. But one man's fun is Uncle Sam's fear.

The federal government would like to enforce the regulations requiring permits - even going so far as to fingerprint rocketeers.

Could this really keep someone from "launching" a terrorist device, or is this a countdown to the end of a popular hobby?

Buffalo Rocket Society President Lloyd Wood said, "Yea, they may be big and yea they may go up high, but they are very lightly constructed, they don't take a lot of abuse, and to make them into a weapon would be next to impossible."

Monday night on News 4 at 5, George Richert introduces us to the rocket builders who are fighting to keep their sky high dreams from being grounded.

Reply to
Lloyd Wood
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Let us all know if they continuously use the term "Model Rocket" to talk about "High Power Rockets".

-Fred Shecter NAR 20117

Reply to
Fred Shecter

To the average Joe on the street, it's all the same thing. What we call "high power rockets" are really just big models.

Reply to
RayDunakin

I'd rather they think of them as big models than small missiles any day.

Mark E. Hamilton NAR #48641-SR ARSA #418

Reply to
Mark Hamilton

Besides, "High Power Rockets" is a confusing term to outside-the-hobby folks who may have at least encountered Estes-size stuff but aren't familiar with the history of the development of larger sport rockets. After all, "high power" rockets are basically rockets too big to officially be "Model" rockets (as formally defined within the hobby) but too small to be anything else.

(Actually, I've found that "high power model rockets - like the little Estes ones, but larger" does a pretty good job of communicating a reasonably accurate impression to "outsiders").

-dave w

Reply to
David Weinshenker

Speaking of model rockets, why do we call them model rockets? It's not that I'd want to change the name - it's way too well established in the lexicon - but they're _real_ rockets, not models of real rockets (except in the case of scale rockets).

When I hear the term "model car", I expect it to be a model of a real car, but not a functioning automobile. OTOH, our model rockets are indeed functioning rockets. I can't think up a better term, but "model" seems misleading.

Doug

Reply to
Doug Sams

Yeah, that's how I prefer to describe it too. Especially since "high power" tends to bring up connotations of "danger". Adding the word "model" negates that somewhat -- it clues people in to the fact that it's not NASA or military grade stuff.

Reply to
RayDunakin

So it's closer to the accurate term "model aircraf tparts".

Sport Rockets. Civilian Rockets Hobby Rockets.

"Model Rocket" has become a "legal term".

Reply to
Jerry Irvine

I agree. I've got a lot of pictures of rockets on my screen saver at work, from my 2X Mars Lander to a 1:1 scale Ariane. People's first question is invariably 'Are they real rockets?' Well, yes, they are, followed by a long explanation. (Most people at work have learned not to get me started talking about rockets, unless they've got an afternoon to kill ;) )

Heck, all of us here could build a 1:1 scale Arcas, and a few could probably get similar performance characteristics from it. But, calling them model rockets is probably better, image wise.

Mark E. Hamilton NAR #48641-SR ARSA #418

Reply to
Mark Hamilton

Before the term HPR, the terms were MRT (Model Rocket Technology) and Experimental.

Experimental has been munged by TRA-EX so badly it is now polluted and nearly unuseable for anyone anytime.

Model Rockets has been expanded to include heavier rockets and G motors so it is a logical step for it to ascilimate what we now call HPR into a unified civil/sport/consumer rocket field.

The only opposition to that would be from the "traditional model rocket" companie, who have always hated HPR, who can continue to call themselves "traditional model rockets" and continue to publish cheater versions of the safety code that only discloses the existence of power levels they happen to manufacture and sell.

Commerce Jerry

Reply to
Jerry Irvine

what we have here is, failure, to communicate............................ shockie B)

about "High Power

Reply to
shockwaveriderz

Yea Jerry,

Tell us how your shipping 200lb of HPR rocket motors as model airplane parts did anything but "mug and pollute" the hobby? Even after you were told, by many and DOT, your shipping activities are illegal, you continued to openly sell, ship, and advertise rocket motors in commerce. You gave the hobby great press!! Rather than take your case to court or use available administrative processes, you thumb your nose at authority and slather the hobby with your criminal defiance, resulting in a government agency dumping on your ignorant a$$. Yea, you did us all a great service.

I hope you show at LDRS this year, as I want to see the look on your face as I repeat this message eyeball to eyeball. If you are a no show, as I expect you will be, maybe one of your drones will step up to the plate, but I doubt it, not many still in your camp.

You da man Jerry, making an ignorant stand, 40 grand to the DOT man; lost on appeal....we now know the deal...

Fred

Reply to
W. E.Fred Wallace

Sounds like something positive for a change.. Great job Loyd.

Fred

Acti>

Reply to
W. E.Fred Wallace

You've got your dirt in the sheriff's hole....

Reply to
Fred Shecter

Cool! I wish I could have seen it!

-Rich

Acti> The interviewer was a very nice lady.She knew next to nothing about

Reply to
Rich Pitzeruse

DRAT! I wanted to see that, and I *missed* it!

Lloyd - you were *supposed* to let us know when it aired!!! :-)

Reply to
Len Lekx

Len Sorry about that:-)! The first I heard of it was when I received the E-mail message that was the start of this thread. Shortly after that Pat Waite called and said he'd seen it. Hopefully someone taped it:-)! We can then watch it at one ot the launches.

Lloyd

Reply to
Actionxprs

Hope so. Being a news program, it likely won't be re-run anytime soon...

Reply to
Len Lekx

Actually, there seems to have been no publicity at all regarding Jerry's DOT hassles, except for the venom that has been dribbled on this newsgroup regarding the matter. From DOT's perspective, the whole affair is just one "enforcement action" (and probably a relatively minor one) among many, many such... i.e., no more newsworthy than an individual citation run through Night Traffic Court and disposed of with a routine fine.

-dave w

Reply to
David Weinshenker

Fred and his surrogates also posted the DOT appeal order thus introducing it to the "rocket public".

That was a choice.

Jerry

Reply to
Jerry Irvine

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