The 30 foot, 60 mile rocket that keeps getting referred to is beyond the scope of Tripoli Rocketry Association, which limits rocket motors to P impulse. Still, a honking big motor capable of launching a 20 pound rocket thousands of feet.
As a long time TRA member, I will tell you that even among the hard core 'big motor dudes', few are suggesting that motors above a certain size not be regulated. TRA, and NAR have repeatedly tried to reach a compromise with the ATF on a reasonable weight limit for regulating rocket motors. The ATF has not ever responded to these requests. It doesn't seem to fit their model of how the ATF works.
One of our main complaints is that currently you can purchase without storage requirements, a rocket motor containing up to 62.5 grams of ACPC. That's 2.2 oz or about the size of a 35mm film canister. If you're into black power guns or cannons, you can store of to 50 pounds of black powder under your bed without any storage requirements. I'd like to see a challenge where one person drops a lit match into a barrel of 50 pounds of black powder and the other person drops a lit match into a container with 63 grams or even 63 pounds of ACPC. I'd volunteer to do the ACPC match drop any day.
Something is wrong here. If I want to buy a motor that has over 2.2 ounces of propellant, I need to get fingerprinted, pay for a permit, waive my right to unlawful search, and build of purchase a n explosives magazine. Big rocket motors should be regulated, but the 62.5 oz limit is ridiculous.
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The 30 foot, 60 mile rocket that keeps getting referred to is beyond the scope of Tripoli Rocketry Association, which limits rocket motors to P impulse. Still, a honking big motor capable of launching a 20 pound rocket thousands of feet. As a long time TRA member, I will tell you that even among the hard core 'big motor dudes', few are suggesting that motors above a certain size not be regulated. TRA, and NAR have repeatedly tried to reach a compromise with the ATF on a reasonable weight limit for regulating rocket motors. The ATF has not ever responded to these requests. It doesn't seem to fit their model of how the ATF works. One of our main complaints is that currently you can purchase without storage requirements, a rocket motor containing up to 62.5 grams of ACPC. That's 2.2 oz or about the size of a 35mm film canister. If you're into black power guns or cannons, you can store of to 50 pounds of black powder under your bed without any storage requirements. I'd like to see a challenge where one person drops a lit match into a barrel of 50 pounds of black powder and the other person drops a lit match into a container with 63 grams or even 63 pounds of ACPC. I'd volunteer to do the ACPC match drop any day. Something is wrong here. If I want to buy a motor that has over 2.2 ounces of propellant, I need to get fingerprinted, pay for a permit, waive my right to unlawful search, and build of purchase a n explosives magazine. Big rocket motors should be regulated, but the 62.5 oz limit is ridiculous.