Rocket Hobbyists Dropping Hobby
by Daniel Terdiman
Wired
On a recent weekend, Erik Ebert traveled to Nevada's remote Black Rock Desert to shoot a rocket 11,000 feet in the air. But before he could even think about launching, he had to cross his fingers and hope that the motor he had ordered for his rocket would also be there, hand-delivered by the vendor.
That's because, thanks to increased regulation after 9/11, it is more difficult than ever for rocket hobbyists like Ebert to legally store rocket motors -- which often include fuel that is now classified as an explosive -- at home. That often means the motor has to go straight to the launch site in the middle of nowhere.
"To store at a house, you need to get additional storage permission, and for me, since I live in a residential area, it's basically impossible," Ebert said. "You have to get local fire marshal approval. The fire marshal's not going to give you permission to store explosives."
What's more, before Ebert could fire his rocket, he had to go through a six-month permitting process that included fingerprinting, a background check and a visit to his house by a government agent.
To be sure, Ebert is no average rocket hobbyist. He is part of a group of several hundred enthusiasts who trek to the Black Rock Desert three times a year for launching events. On the recent weekend Ebert was there, one member of his group hit 45,000 feet.
Rocketeers up and down the skill-level range are feeling the pinch of post-9/11 regulations promulgated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Today, thousands of people fly model rockets that range in size from about 12 inches to more than 30 feet tall. But since the ATF imposed new rules, some hobbyists have abandoned their pastime, and the next generation of engineers and scientists, some fear, is being driven away.
"If we're in an environment where the government says you've got to get fingerprinted and background checked, and spend three to four months to do it, (adults are) not going to participate in my hobby," said Mark Bundick, president of the National Association of Rocketry. "We need more kids. It helps them learn technology. It's the technological base here in the country that we need to protect, and this hobby is a good introduction for kids that are interested in technology. If I lose those adults, then I will not be able to train those kids."
Ebert agreed.
"You don't want to be discouraging kids -- you want to be encouraging kids to go into science."
The problem is also felt at the university level. One school, Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, closed its long-standing student rocketry club after the costs of adhering to the new regulations became prohibitive.
In any case, since the federal Safe Explosives Act -- which requires permits for rockets with more than 0.9 pounds of fuel -- went into effect in late 2002, the rocketry industry has been battered.
John Wickman, president of CP Technologies, an amateur rocketry supplier, said his company's sales have dropped by about 50 percent since the act passed.
"It was a major hit, because people just dropped out," said Wickman. "They just dropped out of the hobby completely."
Part of the problem, say people like Wickman, is that the ATF doesn't even understand the hobby it is trying to regulate.
"The Justice Department is committed to preventing crime and terrorism, and as we all learned on 9/11, everyday items like box cutters can be misused with catastrophic results," said John Nowacki, a spokesman for the Justice Department, in a statement. "While the vast majority of model rocketeers are not subject to regulation, high-powered rockets, which can be 30 feet long and weigh hundreds of pounds -- with some flying more than 60 miles or reaching speeds over 1,000 miles per hour -- do need to comply with the requirements of federal explosives law."
But no one in the hobby believes that model rockets -- even the biggest ones -- are likely to be or even could be used as weapons.
"They're afraid terrorists are going to get a hold of them, but that's baloney," said Russ Dunton, owner of Magnum Rockets, a national supplier.
Wickman, too, thinks the government's contention that model rockets could be used as weapons is nonsense.
"From what I've heard, basically (the government's) tests proved that you couldn't use these things to shoot down an aircraft," he said. "It's a non-starter without a guidance system."
More problematic, by all accounts, is that local ATF offices appear to have their own ideas of what the rules mean, and their bosses in Washington seem to have an agenda that they don't fully buy.
"There is no consistency as to what is acceptable in one region for the ATF that won't be acceptable somewhere else," said Wickman. "The ATF people seem, as a rule, to feel this whole idea of hobby rocketry being regulated by the (government is) a mistake and a waste of time. There's a disconnect between the ATF in Washington and the regional field offices."
What's worse, even though not much has changed about the regulations, they are subject to arbitrary interpretation in the field, said Bundick, of the National Association of Rocketry. "It's a never-ending treadmill to try to pacify the local inspector."
The Justice Department's Nowacki didn't respond to questions about the ATF's perceived inconsistency.
Regardless, rocketeers are hoping they will have legal relief in the future. Groups like Bundick's NAR, as well as the Tripoli Rocketry Association, have filed a lawsuit against the ATF that seeks to limit the regulation. But that suit has been slow to progress.
At the same time, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), has offered a bill that would exempt rocket motors from the Safe Explosives Act. But the bill has foundered.
For now, the hobbyists keep on doing what they've been doing for years: launching their rockets. They must do so in a climate in which the government has decided that it must protect the country against even the remotest threats.
"The hobby that we practice is one that (I tell people) is always safe, recreational and fun," said Bundick. "And now I have to add, 'Not a threat to the security of the homeland.'"
[This message was edited by Phaedrus on June 27, 2004 at 12:28 AM.]
by Daniel Terdiman
Wired
On a recent weekend, Erik Ebert traveled to Nevada's remote Black Rock Desert to shoot a rocket 11,000 feet in the air. But before he could even think about launching, he had to cross his fingers and hope that the motor he had ordered for his rocket would also be there, hand-delivered by the vendor.
That's because, thanks to increased regulation after 9/11, it is more difficult than ever for rocket hobbyists like Ebert to legally store rocket motors -- which often include fuel that is now classified as an explosive -- at home. That often means the motor has to go straight to the launch site in the middle of nowhere.
"To store at a house, you need to get additional storage permission, and for me, since I live in a residential area, it's basically impossible," Ebert said. "You have to get local fire marshal approval. The fire marshal's not going to give you permission to store explosives."
What's more, before Ebert could fire his rocket, he had to go through a six-month permitting process that included fingerprinting, a background check and a visit to his house by a government agent.
To be sure, Ebert is no average rocket hobbyist. He is part of a group of several hundred enthusiasts who trek to the Black Rock Desert three times a year for launching events. On the recent weekend Ebert was there, one member of his group hit 45,000 feet.
Rocketeers up and down the skill-level range are feeling the pinch of post-9/11 regulations promulgated by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Today, thousands of people fly model rockets that range in size from about 12 inches to more than 30 feet tall. But since the ATF imposed new rules, some hobbyists have abandoned their pastime, and the next generation of engineers and scientists, some fear, is being driven away.
"If we're in an environment where the government says you've got to get fingerprinted and background checked, and spend three to four months to do it, (adults are) not going to participate in my hobby," said Mark Bundick, president of the National Association of Rocketry. "We need more kids. It helps them learn technology. It's the technological base here in the country that we need to protect, and this hobby is a good introduction for kids that are interested in technology. If I lose those adults, then I will not be able to train those kids."
Ebert agreed.
"You don't want to be discouraging kids -- you want to be encouraging kids to go into science."
The problem is also felt at the university level. One school, Kettering University in Flint, Michigan, closed its long-standing student rocketry club after the costs of adhering to the new regulations became prohibitive.
In any case, since the federal Safe Explosives Act -- which requires permits for rockets with more than 0.9 pounds of fuel -- went into effect in late 2002, the rocketry industry has been battered.
John Wickman, president of CP Technologies, an amateur rocketry supplier, said his company's sales have dropped by about 50 percent since the act passed.
"It was a major hit, because people just dropped out," said Wickman. "They just dropped out of the hobby completely."
Part of the problem, say people like Wickman, is that the ATF doesn't even understand the hobby it is trying to regulate.
"The Justice Department is committed to preventing crime and terrorism, and as we all learned on 9/11, everyday items like box cutters can be misused with catastrophic results," said John Nowacki, a spokesman for the Justice Department, in a statement. "While the vast majority of model rocketeers are not subject to regulation, high-powered rockets, which can be 30 feet long and weigh hundreds of pounds -- with some flying more than 60 miles or reaching speeds over 1,000 miles per hour -- do need to comply with the requirements of federal explosives law."
But no one in the hobby believes that model rockets -- even the biggest ones -- are likely to be or even could be used as weapons.
"They're afraid terrorists are going to get a hold of them, but that's baloney," said Russ Dunton, owner of Magnum Rockets, a national supplier.
Wickman, too, thinks the government's contention that model rockets could be used as weapons is nonsense.
"From what I've heard, basically (the government's) tests proved that you couldn't use these things to shoot down an aircraft," he said. "It's a non-starter without a guidance system."
More problematic, by all accounts, is that local ATF offices appear to have their own ideas of what the rules mean, and their bosses in Washington seem to have an agenda that they don't fully buy.
"There is no consistency as to what is acceptable in one region for the ATF that won't be acceptable somewhere else," said Wickman. "The ATF people seem, as a rule, to feel this whole idea of hobby rocketry being regulated by the (government is) a mistake and a waste of time. There's a disconnect between the ATF in Washington and the regional field offices."
What's worse, even though not much has changed about the regulations, they are subject to arbitrary interpretation in the field, said Bundick, of the National Association of Rocketry. "It's a never-ending treadmill to try to pacify the local inspector."
The Justice Department's Nowacki didn't respond to questions about the ATF's perceived inconsistency.
Regardless, rocketeers are hoping they will have legal relief in the future. Groups like Bundick's NAR, as well as the Tripoli Rocketry Association, have filed a lawsuit against the ATF that seeks to limit the regulation. But that suit has been slow to progress.
At the same time, Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyoming), has offered a bill that would exempt rocket motors from the Safe Explosives Act. But the bill has foundered.
For now, the hobbyists keep on doing what they've been doing for years: launching their rockets. They must do so in a climate in which the government has decided that it must protect the country against even the remotest threats.
"The hobby that we practice is one that (I tell people) is always safe, recreational and fun," said Bundick. "And now I have to add, 'Not a threat to the security of the homeland.'"
[This message was edited by Phaedrus on June 27, 2004 at 12:28 AM.]
