Rocketbuilding as a hobby... What is allowed in you country?

[mardlamock]

You can get kno3 saying it is for aquaponics or fish related stuff (i bought it from a guy that does that), but i dont know how it is in germany

[jwenting]

The problem is that many things have been suppressed with nonsensible regulations. Rocketry is one of them. It will get banned eventually, if people keep quiet.

correct. A lot of things are "sensibly" banned to prevent people getting the idea that "hey, we could use this stuff to get rid of the government".

[Suko]

Aparently, in my country it is legal to launch whatever you want into the sky if you do it at the correct time of the day and do not make it too loud that it can disturb the others rest.

It looks like there even is a governmental organization, the RFAE (Royal Spanish Federation for Aeronautics), that organize annual meetings and competitions.

Now I feel like I live in a pretty kerbalish kountry.

[11of10]

Do whatever you want as long as you don't distrupt our siesta? :-D That's one of the greatest things I heard recently :-)

Edit:

On topic, I'm not quite sure about the laws in Serbia regarding such stuff. You can easily buy small model rockets (they're wooden, one model has a parachute top, and about 40x5cm in size) with small gunpowder based engines (the engine being the size of a bit bigger pocket lighter, electrically started.

Also, you could buy the model rocketplane, made of wood, with paper covered wings and a metal head where that same egnine goes, it was called Pionir (well,pioneer, eh? communist past, maybe, or maybe not)

Other than that, I'm not really sure how rocketry is treated around these parts, tho I guess most amateurs are somewhere in between the above stated and drunken firings of military anti tank rockets left from all the recent wars aroudn these parts...

Edited January 19, 2014 by 11of10

[rkman]

A lot of things are "sensibly" banned to prevent people getting the idea that "hey, we could use this stuff to get rid of the government".

Sure, because those things could not possibly harm anyone besides the government.

Can't do anything fun with a car, without a license. Same with guns, radio transmitters and rockets.

[Lordherrmann]

You can go pretty big in America.

-img snip-

Well if you put it that way: We used to be able to go pretty big in Germany, but then some guy hit London. This and another series of events having something to do with armored german vehicles driving around in Poland, Russia, France, etc. made us stop.

AFAIK the guy hitting London later shot people to the moon or something.

[dharak1]

I can go as big as I want as long as no one finds out.

[K^2]

AFAIK the guy hitting London later shot people to the moon or something.

I think he claimed that that's where he was aiming all along. Figuratively, if not literally.

[KOCOUR]

I think he claimed that that's where he was aiming all along. Figuratively, if not literally.

Well my rockets allso kept hitting the ground around KSC before i finally hit the MUN. :-)

[jwenting]

I think he claimed that that's where he was aiming all along. Figuratively, if not literally.

And if you see papers from the German rocket society from the 1920s that was indeed their long term goal (though they knew very well it was going to take them a long time to get there, the initial goal was mail rockets to deliver mail to islands too small to land an aircraft on).

[vetrox]

The only reason I dont do any sort of model rocketry in the uk is the fact taht I'm not allowed to make my own fuel. Something to do with it being an explosive?...i would probably kill myself pretty swiftly as well. Admittidly theres nothing to stop me buying a bunch of motors and designing my own rocket that way. I could buy some off the shelf rockets pretty cheap but i love the idea of making it all myself

AFAIK the guy hitting London later shot people to the moon or something.

I'm fairly sure the guy (von braun? something like that) who made all the liquid fuel engines didnt care what they were used for as long as he was allowed to develope them so he could get people into space. What better way to fund your research is there than the military?

[Lordherrmann]

Unfortunately many European countries and especially Germany have brought laws into existence, which are in my opinion far to strict. I just have to think of the Eurohawk. One of the reasons for its cancellation was an EU-law prohibiting unmanned aircraft in European airspace.

I'm fairly sure the guy (von braun? something like that) who made all the liquid fuel engines didnt care what they were used for as long as he was allowed to develope them so he could get people into space. What better way to fund your research is there than the military?

It's hard to assess von Braun's position in national socialistic germany. On one hand he was an SS-Sturmbannführer which is quite a high position, he personally met Adolf Hitler who declared him a professor, on the other hand he did all this for science. He was almost executed for stating anti-**** statements and preparing his flight to England. He also only joined the SS to get funding for his rocket-tests and he later built the rocket that would carry man to the moon.

[vetrox]

It's hard to assess von Braun's position in national socialistic germany. On one hand he was an SS-Sturmbannführer which is quite a high position, he personally met Adolf Hitler who declared him a professor, on the other hand he did all this for science. He was almost executed for stating anti-**** statements and preparing his flight to England. He also only joined the SS to get funding for his rocket-tests and he later built the rocket that would carry man to the moon.

Well my view and opinion is that he did it all for science and he gave no thought to the war. He also had jewish slave labour build some of the rockets. Weather he was forced to use them or just used them because they were there and he wanted to get his project off the ground is anyones guess.

Also i would like to add. It was probably Americas view on von Braun and his **** past that allowed the soviets to get the first sattelite into space. Because of his background america gave the rocket contract to the navy (i believe) and von braun had his own rocket that was able to get into space before the Navy could even get a rocket off the ground (which they never could )

-Back to the topic-

I tried building solid fuel only rockets in KSP. They are no fun...but all we can use in model rockets is solid fuel (not that liquid fuels are really that safe for an amateur to handle or even power a rocket with )

Edited January 20, 2014 by vetrox

[John.E]

UK legal is a PITA. you can buy all the required making for black power or rocket candy but to actually make black powered you need a fire arms licence and as far as I can find to produce your own rocket candy is considered bomb making! Shame really. You could just trundle along and play but if someone took exception to your playing you could be toast (from a legal standpoint). If others have more info be glad to hear it.