I first flew model rockets when I was in elementary school, but didn’t have opportunity to advance to more powerful machines until much later in life. When I joined the Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) thirty years later I was surprised and excited to learn how hobby rocketry had advanced during my hiatus. I began building … Continue reading FORUM: Level-1

“Level-3” (L3) is the most advanced certification level that an amateur rocketeer can achieve from the Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA), or from the National Association of Rocketry (NAR). Only rocketeers possessing L3 certification are authorized to fly the largest classes of motors. Rocket motors are broadly categorized by the total energy produced. From least to … Continue reading FORUM: Level-3

My fascination with hobby rocketry began in Arizona (4th grade), and resurfaced in Virginia (7th grade): both times I experimented with low-power rockets. I never wished to stop working with rockets, but my family moved often—usually to places which were not amenable to the flying of model rockets. Fast-forward to 2005, and I just survived … Continue reading FORUM: BAR

Two top fliers in the Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) high-power rocket (HPR) club of which I am a member, and the only rocketeers having their own radio call codes, were Mike (505) and his friend Zupe (555). Mike is a master amateur field engineer; an expert in field and launch systems preparation and operation, and … Continue reading FORUM: A New Year’s Tradition