OK, I see there have been several views but no replies so I'll clarify a bit. I have several friends who are into low power launching (non-NCR, non-NAR, non-TRA) as a casual hobby and they have been gathering at a field near a school in Fort Collins. This seems like a recipe for disaster to me in today's post 9/11 environment and I am hoping there is someplace I can convince them to go where it will be safe. Now that I've gone legit I hesitate to fly there with them. Again closer to Loveland or Fort Collins would be best but if the answer is club launches only I'll work on them.

Thanks,

John

Well, it is public land but I'd hate for someone to tarnish our relationships with the NAR, Tripoli, the USFS, the BAFTE and the FAA. There are rules and regulations that come into play when flying rockets and I would encourage anyone launching to do so at a club sponsored event.

Well, it is public land but I'd hate for someone to tarnish our relationships with the NAR, Tripoli, the USFS, the BAFTE and the FAA. There are rules and regulations that come into play when flying rockets and I would encourage anyone launching to do so at a club sponsored event.

I think that is best out there.

I agree as well that I'd hate to have something happen out there and possibly lose the launch site. That would really suck!

Edward

Totally understand, thanks all. I won't jeopardize the club sites. Can you offer some opinions on the launching of A-G motored rockets in and near town then? Am I being too paranoid? I grew up launching on school football fields and it was never a problem but somehow it doesn't feel right anymore. This particular site isn't actually on school property but adjacent to it in an open field. Just looking for general suggestions I realize nobody wants to take responsibility for non-club launches. The Handbook of Model Rocketry is pretty vague and actually still (7th Edition) recommends school football fields. I just want to keep it as clean and unobtrusive as possible and encourage my buddies to do the same. BTW these guys are all adult, working professionals.

Thanks,

John

When I was teaching a rocketry class for Civil Air Patrol we always had good luck just asking a local farmer for permission. This time a year is good the wheat harvest is over, lots of clear fields. I'm sure you can find something fairly close to town.

Mark

One suggestion take a fire extinguisher. Fire is usually their biggest concern.

Mark

It also doesn't hurt to contact the local fire department. Most of them are very cool about it and I've even had some attend things I've done. Most firefighters I know are just a tiny bit away from a pyromanic 🙂

Edward

Can't say for sure what the laws are in the Fort Collins area but in Boulder County flying even model rockets is considered against the law although typically the AHJ's look the other way when flying on the large athletic fields of the school district. DO NOT fly from designated Open Space property as the fine/tickets are very expensive, even if you've brought along fire suppression. At least, that's true here in the bubble of prairie dog kingdom and granola consciousness.

Excellent tips and suggestions. Joe your input is exactly what I was hoping was not the case but also what I really needed to know. I'll check with the Fort Collins Fire Dept. to see what if any restrictions are in place within city limits. If the same holds for Fort Collins I'll abstain and wait for club dates and encourage my buddies to do the same.

Thanks All!

John

We use to just go launch from Parks with Estas stuff.
Last year we launched from the foot ball field at the school here in Longmont. But it was just my family, not a big gagle of people.
I always thought it was easier to get forgiveness than permission. 😉 If anyone actually cared.
Now "G"s on the other hand are getting bigger!
They make more noise.

Personally I would be loathe to give the OK from the club for anyone else to use the North Site for non-club sanctioned launches - the potential danger of losing one of the best launch sites going is too scary to contemplate. That said, I do know that folks other than NCR do use that site on occasion and that a number of NCR members have flown Estes birds up there at times other than sanctioned launches.

All I can say is if you do and something screws up and club loses the site or it damages our relationship with the Forest Service, a lynch mob might form...

There is a field called Sandstone Park east of Longmont that a number of folks have been flying at. See other forum threads on this for details.

Warren

I highly discourage anyone using the site to fly on their own because of the possibility of losing it for the club. Even if someone’s intention are good, the USFS, Air Traffic Control centers as well as all the other organizations only expect rockets to be flying from that site when the club notifies them. Also, I realize it is very green right now but one of the best reason's not to fly on your own is the "lack" of firefighters if a fire were to start.

I am not sure why there would ever be a reason for anyone to fly outside of a club around here, there are so many great clubs in the state. Clubs already have the launch equipment, the waiver and the knowledge to share. Use the resources that the clubs have to offer.

Art

Exactly Art - there are at least 4 and sometimes 5 separate launches every month in this state and sometimes even more. In addition there are certainly fields such as Sandstone Park that allow rocketry activities within certain limits. While of course there are the occasional un-sanctioned and un-cleared launches, it behooves everyone to know that the launch sites that NCR, TC, CRASH and the other clubs in Colorado have managed to obtain are a tremendous resource that everyone benefits from and that getting caught by unfriendly law enforcement, land management or Air Traffic Control folks is only going to be bad for the entire community. Losing a place like the North Site would be devastating to all.

Make absolutely sure you have permission from the landowner or management agency before flying and also make sure you damn near kiss their ass with complying with whatever restrictions and provisos they may ask of you. If you're flying 1/4A through G and so long as you're more than 5 miles from any airport, you're in good shape. If you do plan on flying H and above, you really should be flying from a waivered site and you really shouldn't be doing it without the full knowledge and approval of the waiver holder. If you're flight exceeds 3.3 pounds or will fly over 5000 feet AGL, you really want to open the waiver. Otherwise you risk the waiver for whoever holds it and in Colorado, that means the clubs and folks you know and the places that you fly. It also means the reputation of the hobby and those that practice it. The press is far too likely to screw up a story from some need for sensationalism and we all know they've gotten it wrong far more than they've gotten it right.

On the other hand, this is the West and there is an awful lot of big country out there and flying a bird or two in the great wide space would probably never get noticed if you chose the spot well. Without admitting anything, some people may have possibly flown HPR birds a few times without benefit of a sanctioned launch or even possibly without a waiver on random pieces of desolate Western landscape... If the land is BLM or Forest Service managed you're pretty much allowed to be there, to camp there and to play as you like so long as you leave the place as you found it.

Warren