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LAUNCH Parties
From My Workbench - 12/2008
It's been a long time since my last update and a lot has happened since then. For the December issue I built and flew an up-scale of the Centuri USS America. As usual, I enjoyed to project even though it was damaged in the process of getting a launch photo and space limitations caused the article to get dropped from the issue '“ those
are the breaks of the game. I've since moved on to a much more challenging project but it has been on hold while I worked on the web site.
Web Site
Speaking of web site changes'¦ We've added several items to the online shopping offering including books and the many What's Hot items from LAUNCH. These additions will help you find some of the many things we discuss in the pages of the magazine.
We've added a Discussion Board so you have a place to talk about the various articles in the magazine and on the web site. If you're having problems with the site you can post a message there to let us know. If you agree or disagree with something one of the LAUNCH authors has written you can post a message to let us and the other readers know what you think. The Discussion Board is also connected to the online articles so you can post your comments directly from the article page and you can read the most recent comments about an article at the bottom of the same page. All the old comments have been ported to the new system so you can still read what's been said about past articles.
FAA Ruling
Another item of significance that has recently happened is the finalization of the FAA NPRM on amateur rocketry. The final ruling has been published in the Federal Register and will take effect 60 days from the publishing date. That means the new rules will be used to govern rocketry activities in 2009. I suggest that every rocket hobbyist take the time to read this document and know what the changes are.
The published rule will simplify some of our activities in the future. One example of this is that the previous classifications for Model Rocket and Large Model Rocket have been combined as a Class 1 '“ Model Rocket. Class 1 rockets do not require FAA notification before flying them so you can now fly many of your rockets whenever you want. On the other hand, flying Class 2 '“ High Power Rockets will require that modelers provide more information to the FAA when a waiver is requested.
Happy Holidays Everyone!
Mario
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The Soyuz spacecraft launched at 10:01 p.m. CDT.
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