2009 tra board of directors election candidate resumes … reports/tripoli report... · landmark...

In this issue: 2009 TRA Board of Directors Election Candidate ResumesTRA Board of Directors Meeting MinutesLandmark BATFE Lawsuit Update - Victory in the Federal District Court!

Tripoli ReportPAGE 2 April 2009

Tripoli Report Volume 20 Number 2

Contents

Words from the President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Joint TRA/NAR Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Message to Members regarding Lawsuit . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Judges Ruling in Lawsuit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Joint TRA/NAR Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Board of Directors Meeting Minutes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

2009 BOD Election Candidate Resumes . . . . . . . . . .11

The Tripoli Report is the business and communicationspublication of the Tripoli Rocketry Association Inc.Submissions to this publication, in the form of articles,opinions, and photos, are accepted. The Tripoli Reportreserves the right to reject or edit any material submitted.Address submissions to:

Robin Meredith Tripoli Report Editor 8367 W. Morten Ave. Glendale, AZ. 85305 [email protected]

Tripoli Rocketry Association Officers

President Kenneth Good Vice President Pat GordzelikSecretary Bob Schoner Treasurer Bruce Lee Directors Dick Embry

Terry McCrearyStu BarrettErik GatesRobin Meredith

Business Office (Effective 10/1/06)Tripoli Rocketry Association, Inc.P.O. Box 87Bellevue NE 68005Telephone, voice: (402) 884-9530Telephone, fax: (402) 884-9531Email: [email protected]

TRA Website http://www.tripoli.org

This document is intended for private use by the members of theTripoli Rocketry Association, Inc. The content herein may not bereproduced without the written permission of the Tripoli RocketryAssociation and the Tripoli Report Editor.

© 2009 Tripoli Rocketry Association, Inc.

Private Tripoli Discussion Forum

The Tripoli Private Discussion Forum has been apopular way to provide speedy electronic commu-nications among Tripoli Members. Our own forumhas been successful in filtering out the faulty infor-mation about TRA, and on occasion, outrightattacks that have plagued these other forums.

David Wilkins created and maintains a privateTripoli list server for Tripoli members to use to dis-cuss rocketry and Tripoli related items. This forumis only for current paid up members of Tripoli. Itcan take 3 to 4 weeks for new members to getaccess.

Tripoli members will need to send an email to [email protected] with join tra <member num-ber> in the first line of the message (not the subject).

Send any inquires or requests for help to:

[email protected]

Photo by Nadine

Tripoli ReportApril 2009 PAGE 3

Words from the PresidentBy Ken Good

Per ardua ad Astraea…. Victory in the BATFE Lawsuit !It seems like such a longtime ago now. I wasattending the open ses-sion of the LDRS-18 TRABoard of Directors meet-ing in Wichita Kansas,July 1999. I was a first-time candidate for theBoard, but did not knowyet whether I had beenelected to a seat. At themeeting, an importantpiece of business wasannounced by TRA President Bruce Kelly. Dueto the intransigence of the BATFE, and theagency's stated direction of tightening controls onAPCP rocket motors, the leaders of TRA and theNAR had agreed to initiate legal action againstthe agency to challenge their regulation of APCPas an explosive material. It would take until thenext year for the legal paperwork to be complet-ed, and the lawsuit filed.Little did I imagine at the time how long we wouldbe engaged with this case, and that the leader-ship of the TRA half of this effort would bepassed from Bruce, to the next TRA president,Dick Embry, and then to me. I could not foreseethat we would experience an ebb and flow ofinterim successes and setbacks, followed in 2006by a dramatic appellate court overturn of our ini-tial loss at the District Court level, only to wait foralmost two years for the District Court to ruleagain on the remand of the case back to thatcourt. Along we way, there were several seriousattempts to resolve matters, from heroic efforts in2003 by Senator Mike Enzi (and TRA/NAR mem-bers) to champion rocketry relief legislation - suc-cessful until killed for no good reason on theSenate floor by Senators Schumer andLautenberg - on to a 2005 conference inWashington among the leadership of TRA, NARand the BATFE during which it was hoped somesort of reasonable regulatory accommodationcould be found. That latter effort failed, quite

simply, because the agency's leadership declinedto seriously entertain anything that could remote-ly be considered "reasonable" or an "accommo-dation." In the end, it came down to a decision in thecourt case - that original effort which had beenkicked off those many years ago. To add to thedramatic effect, after all the waiting, JudgeWalton's decision came with thunderclap speedtoward the end of a one-hour hearing the courtgranted the parties on March 13, 2009. Heannounced in court that he was finding forTRA/NAR and against the BATFE in the motionsfor summary judgment before him. And, althoughhe also stated he could not write the court opin-ion until after the end of March, he would actuallyissue the most favorable opinion imaginable, onthe very next business day - Monday, March 16,2009. The agency was officially ordered tovacate their regulation of APCP. For the com-plete details and the actual court ruling, refer tothe sections which follow.Now, before we all dance with glee and tell theBATFE agents to go away, we need to under-stand that for the ruling to have the force of law,a 60 day appeal period must expire before thecourt opinion is considered "final judgment."BATFE may decide to appeal - at the time ofgoing to press, their intentions are unknown.Whether they appeal or not has no direct bearingon the timing of final judgment. The only agencyaction that can delay final judgment would be ifthey request, and are granted, a "stay of judg-ment" from either the Federal District Court or theCircuit Court (appellate), pending an appeal.Again, we do not know if they will make such arequest, or if either court would grant it. It can bereasonably argued that a stay of judgment isunwarranted, when one considers JudgeWalton's opinion stating "… it appearing thatvacating the agency's decision will not pose anyserious threat to the public's health or safety, theCourt will vacate the agency's decision to classifyAPCP is an explosive pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §841(d)." Clearly though, we must gauge our next steps bythe BATFE's upcoming actions, and what thecourts determine they will grant the agency, ifanything. Our hope is that even if the agencyrequests a stay of judgment, it is denied, and the


March 16 opinion goes into effect in May. Itwill be a great pleasure if in the next issue ofthis publication, I can report that final judgmenthas taken place, and the court's direction tovacate APCP from the explosives list has beenfollowed. If this all happens as we have everyreason to believe it should, the plan will be togive direction to members on how to proceedin a non-APCP-regulated environment.I will close this happy discussion with messageexcerpt from my good friend, lifetime member,and Tripoli founding father, Francis G. Graham:"It is interesting that the ruling came on March16, 'Goddard Day.' On March 16, 1926, RobertH. Goddard launched the first liquid fuel rocket.Goddard was actually threatened with jail forfireworks violations for inventing the rocket thatmade space travel possible. Has the govern-ment not learned anything since 1926?Yes it has. And Judge Reggie Walton taught itto them. Existing laws against existing evilscannot be stretched definitionally and arbitrarilyto cover novel methods.Astraea was the goddess of Justice, whosebreast Ashcroft covered, and who was the lastof the immortals to leave the Earth. Has shereturned? Astraea redux? Dare we hope?Per ardua ad Astraea!"It is not surprising to me that Francis was theone to realize the incredibly coincidental timingof the court ruling, and of course, to give us alesson in Latin! He reminded me that Perardua ad Astra - "Through struggles, to theStars" - is the worthy motto of the Royal AirForce. It would fit us as well, had it not alreadybeen hijacked by National Space Society of theUSA. But perhaps the concept of pursuing jus-tice, before we could seriously pursue thestars, is a better fit for us in this epic decade-long struggle, which has at long last seen ajust outcome. Per ardua ad Astraea indeed!

Election Issue - Candidates for the 2009TRA Board of Directors ElectionIn this issue you will see TRA ElectionCommittee Chairman Guy Soucy's electionarticle, with the résumés of five fine peoplewho have stepped up to volunteer, or re-volun-

teer, to serve TRA as a director. I am verypleased to see that we have such talented andworthy people to consider, and frankly, I wish Icould welcome (or re-welcome) all of them to theBoard. But three must be chosen, so pleasetake the time to review the résumés, considertheir qualifications, and cast your votes. We are also enacting several important electionprocedural changes this year. It is clear that wehave struggled to get the election issue of theTripoli Report, which has always contained therésumés and election ballots, into every mem-ber's hands in time for votes to be cast by thevoting deadline. Much of this has to do with thecost of mailing the full hardcopy TR issue, andour practice of sending it via USPS bulk ratepostage. Although many/most members havereceived these issues timely, there are regions(which do not seem to necessarily correlate toremote geographic locations) where the issueshave taken months to appear - well after theelection is closed. To avoid this, the Board agreed to these newelection procedures:

1) As before, the election issue of TripoliReport will be sent both in hardcopy and elec-tronically.2) The ballots will, however, be mailed outseparately via first class postage, to ensurethey are received well in advance of the elec-tion deadline.3) Candidate résumés will also be viewableon a members-only page of the TRA website,to ensure that anyone who did not get either ahardcopy or an electronic Tripoli Report canread these résumés anyway. The URL of thecandidates' page will be printed on the ballotthat members will receive.

These measures should ensure we avoid the lastminute scramble to get votes mailed, caused bythe delays and long delivery times of the USPSbulk-rate service. So please, take your responsi-bility to vote seriously, and cast those ballots thatwe are working very hard to get to all memberstimely. To me, it is also a matter of respect tothese candidates, who are willing to give up somuch of their free time to serve the needs ofTRA.

April 2009 Tripoli Report PAGE 5

A Special Note of Thanks to Vice PresidentPat GordzelikIt should be apparent to TRA members that onedirector whose term expires this year, VP PatGordzelik, is not re-running to retain his seat.Pat has served two terms as a TRA Director, andhas been vice president since I assumed theoffice of president. I cannot begin to list all hiscontributions to TRA in the few lines I can devotehere. Pat has been a true leader - a no-non-sense, tough-minded, sharp-thinking, and insight-ful Texas businessman, who has brought theseattributes effectively to bear with a large basketof responsibilities he has assumed. It would be ahuge understatement to say that I have relied onhim to a great extent as an important executiveleader of TRA. His business acumen, rocketryexpertise, and strong networking capabilitieshave gained outstanding results for TRA in theroles of Insurance liaison, FAA liaison, TMT liai-son, TAP support, organizational leadership forX-Prize/Cup, broadcast media appearances thathave helped promote civilian rocketry, and ongo-ing interaction and leadership in a host of mem-ber/dealer/manufacturer situations that haveranged from controversies to full-blown crises. Animpressive list, and I am sure I have omitted oth-ers. Despite wearing all these hats, Pat has still beenable to be of tremendous support to me personal-ly, especially at times when, frankly, I was burnedout and questioned whether I could/should con-tinue to serve as president. Few apart from Pat,me, and his wonderful wife Lauretta, will knowhow he took up my slack when I needed him to,and probably kept me from the brink of meltdownmore than once. As you may infer, Pat hasbecome more than just my colleague on theBoard - he is a true friend and kindred spirit, andI thank him here for his selflessness and never-failing willingness to help all TRA members whenthey needed him… often to the point of pushinghimself harder than perhaps he should have. Many of the organizational improvements andcost-containing measures that we have seen inthe past six years have been attributable to Pat'swork, and we all owe him our thanks. Selfishly, Iwould have loved Pat to run again, and continuehis good work. But his career and personalplans are taking him in a different direction in the

months ahead, and he has truly earned a chanceto stand-down from the TRA duties he has man-aged so well.Apart from the great relationship I have enjoyedwith Pat, and the reliance I have been able toplace on him, I will truly miss Pat's wit andcharm, his good-natured jabs, and his irreverentjokes that have helped keep TRA Board meet-ings, conference calls and e-mail more tolerableand enjoyable than they might have been other-wise. And above all else, he has been able tohelp all the directors remain well grounded andhumble, since he would always remind us whenwe were screwing up and needed a good whup-pin'… and he wouldn't spare himself of the sameassessment when it was needed! Thank you sincerely, Pat, and you too Lauretta,for the years of service and self-sacrifice for thesake of TRA. Drinks are on me when we nextsee each other! - Ken Good

Joint Statement on the Litigation with theBATFEMarch 13, 2009Today Judge Reggie Walton, presiding in ourcase before the US District Court, heard argu-ments from both legal counsel for NAR/TRA andthe BATFE. At the conclusion of the hearing,Judge Walton stated that he was inclined toagree with our position. While this is extremelyencouraging, there will be no formal written rulinguntil April, and BATFE may attempt to file addi-tional information before that date. We expectthat this ruling will provide some form of relieffrom the current regulatory situation.

Attorney Marty Malsch, Trip Barber (President - NAR), and KenGood (President - Tripoli) following status hearing on the TRA-NAR Joint lawsuit vs. the BATFE - Photo by Bob Schoner


We thank our members for their continuedpatience and their generous financial support.We will provide members with immediate statusreports as this case reaches its conclusion.Ken GoodTRA PresidentTrip BarberNAR President******************************Message to TRA Prefects and Members on theLitigation with the BATFE March 16, 2009TRA Prefects and Members:After a nine-year effort by the leaders of TRA &NAR, the legal team of Joe Egan, Marty Malsch,and John Lawrence, and with the generous andsolid support of our members, we have at lastwon decisively in our litigation against theBATFE. The District Court opinion, issued todayby Judge Reggie Walton and appended below,constitutes a clear and full victory, and vindicationof what we have asserted these long and difficultyears.As quoted in the opinion, BATFE's regulation ofAPCP was found by Judge Walton to be "arbi-trary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, orotherwise not in accordance with the law." andhas been ordered by the Court to be "vacated" orcanceled. NAR President Trip Barber and I will be in com-munication with our legal counsel over the nextseveral days on exactly what we need to do nextto ensure that BATFE complies with this order,and to determine the details and timing of endingour interaction with the agency as a regulator ofAPCP. We are not making any assumptions con-cerning the agency's next actions - they mayconsider an appeal or other further legal optionsto try to hang on, but the burden of proof is nowon them, and their roadmap of such proof hasutterly failed them. Until we understand the next steps and how wewill ensure the agency adheres to this courtorder, please refrain from confrontations with anyBATFE agent, do not surrender or destroy yourLEUP, and do not remove material from anymagazines yet. We will issue a joint statement atsome point in the next several days on our nextsteps as soon as these are known.

Thank you all again for your unflagging supportand your enduring patience.Ken GoodTRA President******************************UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIACivil Action No. 00-0273 (RBW)

TRIPOLI ROCKETRY ASSOCIATION andNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ROCKETRY,

Plaintiffsvs

U.S. BUREAU OF ALCOHOL, TOBACCO,FIREARMS AND EXPLOSIVES, Defendant

The plaintiffs filed this action nine years ago chal-lenging the defendant's regulation as an explo-sive under 18 U.S.C. § 841(d) (2006) a chemicalcompound known as ammonium perchloratecomposite propellant ("APCP"), which is com-monly used in the motors of hobby rockets. Afterthe Court ruled on the parties' initial cross-motions for summary judgment in this case, theplaintiffs appealed and the District of ColumbiaCircuit, reviewing the matter de novo, held thatthe defendant's classification of APCP as anexplosive based on its determination that thesubstance functions by deflagration violated theAdministrative Procedure Act, 5 U.S.C. §706(2)(A) (2000), because the decision was arbi-trary and capricious, an abuse of discretion, orotherwise not in accordance with the law, TripoliRocketry Ass'n, Inc. v. Bureau of Alcohol,Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, 437 F.3d 75(D.C. Cir. 2006). The Circuit Court thereforeremanded the matter to this Court "with instruc-tions to remand the case to the agency for furtherconsideration consistent with [its] decision." Id. at84. The remand was ordered because the Courtfound that "[t]he agency ha[d] never provided aclear and coherent explanation for its classifica-tion of APCP." Id. at 81. The Court further foundthat the agency "ha[d] never articulated the stan-dards that guided its analysis" that would permita court sitting in review to "determine whether[the defendant's] judgment reflect[ed] reasoneddecisionmaking." Id.; see also April 20, 2006Order. In its October 13, 2006 memorandum theagency informed the Court that it had compliedwith the Circuit's mandate and was affirming itsearlier decision to classify APCP as an explosive.


Defendant's Notice of Agency Decision (Oct. 13,2006). The plaintiffs thereafter amended theircomplaint, the defendant filed its answer to theamended complaint, and both parties crossed-moved again for summary judgment on the certi-fied administrative record.The parties came before the Court on March 13,2009, for a hearing on the parties' cross-motionsfor summary judgment. Upon consideration of theparties' written submissions, the administrativerecord presented to the Court, the applicablelegal authority, the oral arguments presented bythe parties, and for the reasons expressed by theCourt at the hearing on the motion, the Courtfinds that the agency's decision does not satisfythe standard for evaluating agency rulemakingbecause it was arbitrary and capricious, anabuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accor-dance with the law. 5 U.S.C. § 706(2)(A).Specifically, the defendant did not adequatelyexplain why it came to the decision it did in lightof contrary evidence in the administrative recordsubmitted by the plaintiffs, which tended to showthat APCP can burn at a rate lower than thatwhich the defendant designated as the threshold,and "which, if true, . . . would require a change in[the] proposed rule.'" La. Fed. Land Bank Ass'n,FLCA v. Farm Credit Admin., 336 F.3d 1075,1080 (D.C. Cir. 2003); see D&F Afonso RealtyTrust v. Garvey, 216 F.3d 1191, 1195 (D.C. Cir.2000) (quoting Public Citizen, Inc. v. F.A.A., 988F.2d 186, 197 (D.C. Cir. 1993) ("'[t]he require-ment that agency action not be arbitrary or capri-cious includes a requirement that the agencyadequately explain its result . . . .'"). Here, theagency's shortcoming was its failure to articulateany rationale for finding that the relevant and sig-nificant evidence in the record that conflicted withits position was unpersuasive, which it seeminglyout-of-hand dismissed merely because it wascontrary to the agency's ultimate conclusion.As to the appropriate remedy to impose for theagency's failing, the Court has discretion tochoose between vacatur of the agency's decisionor remand to the agency without vacatur. SeeAdvocates for Highway & Auto Safety v. Fed.Motor Carrier Safety Admin., 429 F.3d 1136, 1151(D.C. Cir. 2005) (quoting Allied-Signal, Inc. v.U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Comm'n, 988 F.2d 146,150-51 (D.C. Cir.1993) ("[T]his court is not with-

out discretion. 'The decision whether to vacatedepends on the seriousness of the order's defi-ciency . . . and the disruptive consequences ofan interim change that may itself be changed.'").Considering the number of years that haveelapsed during which time the plaintiffs haveawaited final resolution of the merits of theirclaims, the fact that this matter has already beenremanded once to the agency for further actionconsistent with the Circuit's decision, and itappearing that vacating the agency's decision willnot pose any serious threat to the public's healthor safety, the Court will vacate the agency's deci-sion to classify APCP is an explosive pursuant to18 U.S.C. § 841(d).[Should the defendant choose to reinstate thepolicy that ACPC is properly classifiable as anexplosive within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. §841(d), nothing in this decision prevents it fromredrafting this rule in accordance with the tenetsof the APA or from seeking an explicit statutoryclassification from Congress.]Because the plaintiffs have conceded that werethe Court to grant summary judgment in theirfavor on Count One of their third amended com-plaint "will moot all of remaining counts" of theircomplaint, Plaintiffs' Memorandum of Points andAuthorities in Support of Motion for SummaryJudgment on Count 1 at 1-2 n.1, the Court hav-ing now granted summary judgment on CountOne will dismiss all the plaintiffs' remainingcounts of the complaint as moot.Accordingly, it is herebyORDERED that the plaintiffs' motion for summaryjudgment is GRANTED. It is furtherORDERED that the defendant's motion for sum-mary judgment is DENIED. It is furtherORDERED that the defendant's decision to clas-sify APCP as an explosive under 18 U.S.C. §841(d) is VACATED. It is furtherORDERED that the remaining counts of plaintiffs'third amended complaint are DISMISSED asmoot and therefore this case is dismissed in itsentirety.SO ORDERED this 16th day of March, 2009._________/s/______________REGGIE B. WALTONUnited States District Judge


JOINT TRA/NAR STATEMENT ON THE LAWSUIT VS BATFEMarch 18, 2009After a conference with our legal counsel, weprovide the following information to our memberson how to proceed in the aftermath of the favor-able decision by Judge Walton in our lawsuit toeliminate the unjustified regulation of AmmoniumPerchlorate Composite Propellant (APCP)imposed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco,Firearms, and Explosives (BATFE). We cannotoffer legal advice to individual members, andmembers should consult their own legal counselif there are any questions about how to proceed.First, we should assume that the judge's decision"vacating", or rendering null and void, the BATFEregulation of APCP will not take effect until theperiod for appeal by the BATFE has passed with-out their filing an appeal. This will be approxi-mately 60 days from now. However, even if anappeal is filed, it is possible for the Court's judg-ment to be in effect and BATFE regulation to benullified while the appeal is pending. We willadvise you if this is this is the case.If BATFE should appeal the decision, regardlessof the fact that there is almost no credible basisfor such an appeal or for the appeal to beapproved by the Department of Justice, weshould await the results of the appeal to the U.S.Court of Appeals before assuming that BATFE nolonger regulates APCP in the long term.However, unless the appellate court grants theagency a "stay of judgment" (which they mayrequest, should they appeal) final judgment willbe considered in effect at the end of the 60 dayperiod mentioned above. At that time, JudgeWalton's decision will take effect and could onlybe nullified by an overturn on appeal. Should theappellate court grant BATFE a stay of judgment,we will have to await the decision of the courtbefore Judge Walton's decision would be consid-ered final and in effect. An appeal could take up to six months, and pos-sibly more time. If there is no appeal, then theregulations are automatically cancelled even ifBATFE chooses not to publish a notice of suchcancellation. We will keep our members advised of the status

of any appeals and will let you know the exactofficial date on which the regulations are nolonger in effect. After this official date, you willnot be required to have BATFE licenses or besubject to BATFE inspection or oversight for sportrocketry operations with APCP in any quantityand should show a copy of the Court judgment toany BATFE agent who takes an opposite posi-tion.Second, members should proceed for now on thebasis that all these BATFE regulations remain ineffect. Appropriate licenses are still required tobuy, sell, possess, and/or store APCP until suchtime as the regulations are cancelled. If youhave a license up for renewal between now andlate May (or whatever later date may be deter-mined by any BATFE appeal process), you willhave to renew it if you wish to perform any ofthese transactions.Third, once the regulations are canceled, mem-bers are reminded that high-power user certifica-tions are still required for purchasing or usinghigh-power motors even if BATFE licenses arenot. We have a great reputation as a self-regu-lating group of responsible hobbyists and ourfuture success in defending the freedom we justwon back could depend on maintaining this repu-tation.Fourth, this Court decision did not change theregulated status of other sport rocketry itemssuch as black powder, some kinds of igniters,etc. To the extent that any of these items previ-ously required licenses and magazine storage,nothing has changed. Nor does the decisionaffect licensing and regulation by other federal,state or local government agencies. We thank our members for their continuedpatience and for their sustained moral and finan-cial support as we have fought this long battlesuccessfully together.

Ken Good, PresidentTripoli Rocketry Association

Trip Barber, PresidentNational Association of Rocketry


Tripoli Board of Directors MinutesMotions Acted on via E-mailOctober 2008, through February 2009Motion: Add following to the research code:9.2.3 Non-Tripoli Members age 18 and over thatare students of an accredited college or universi-ty may participate in joint projects with TripoliMembers. These individuals are allowed in thelaunch areas if escorted by a Tripoli Member.Motion by Meredith, Second by Gordzelik. Motion Passed Unanimously 10/13/2008Motion: Authorize David Wilkens to move for-ward immediately with the registration of theTripoli Rocketry Association Trademark inAustralia under the reciprocity rules that exist.Also to register Tripoli Australia as a Trademark.Motion by Good, Second by McCreary.Motion Passed Unanimously 10/20/2008Motion: Approve Tripoli Queensland as a TripoliPrefectureMotion by Good, Second by GordzelikMotion Passed Unanimously 10/21/2008Motion: Approve the new Italy prefecture and thenew Tripoli IndianaMotion by Lee, Second by GordzelikMotion Passed Unanimously 02/07/2009Motion: Approve Mike McBurnett to be added tothe TAP listMotion by McCreary, Second by GordzelikMotion Passed Unanimously 02/12/2009*******************************************************Tripoli Board of Directors Meeting MinutesTeleconference of February 18, 2009Present: Ken Good, Pat Gordzelik, Bruce Lee,Terry McCreary, Dick Embry, Pat Gordzelik, ErikGates, Stu Barrett. (Bob Schoner is driving toDC; joins meeting in progress) Ken Good calls meeting to order at.9:05 TRA/NAR Lawsuit vs. BATFE

Ken provided an update on an upcoming hear-ing with Judge Reggie Walton. After severalmonths of waiting for a response from theFederal District Court to the TRA/NAR motionfor a status hearing on the outstanding motionsbefore the court, our legal counsel receivednotice that a hearing was granted, and sched-uled to be held on Monday March 23, 2009.Several members of the Board showed interest

in attending the hearing. Ken will check withthe legal team to make sure there should notbe a downside of too many Board memberspresent. Marty Malsch reported on 02/22/2009that there would not be a downside. The Boardmembers planning to attend will meet prior tothe hearing.

Monthly Board Conference CallThe Board agreed to have monthly conferencecalls on the third Wednesday of the month at21:00 EST, to facilitate regular verbal commu-nications and to ensure TRA business matterswhich are difficult to manage through e-mailare addressed timely. Previously, conferencecalls were scheduled on an as-needed basis,but this often made scheduling difficult.Regularly scheduled calls permit directors toblock out the needed time in advance.Additional calls to address any urgent needscan still be scheduled.

Board of Directors 2009 Election Timeframeand Tripoli Report

The upcoming issue of the Tripoli Report is infinal review. Call for Candidates has beenposted on Tripoli list server. David Wilkins hasbeen sent the Call for Candidates to distributeto TRA members via the e-mail distribution list.Motion: In addition to the normal distribution ofTripoli Board election information, the ballot willbe sent out separately through first class mailin advance of the Tripoli Report hard copy dis-tribution. Also, the candidate résumés will beposted on a members-only-accessible page ofthe TRA website with the URL listed on the bal-lot.Motion: Gates, Second: BarrettMotion passes unanimously

Records Committee FundingMotion: Provide funding up to $2000 for build-ing a barometric altimeter test rig to allow vali-dation of altitude records.Motion: Gordzelik, Second: Meredith Motion passes unanimously

Non-TRA Television Events/Stunts related toRocketry

In the past several years, a number of prefec-tures and TRA members have beenapproached by the broadcast media to host or


become involved with rocketry-related activi-ties that are not within the scope of TRA sanc-tioned or insured activities. Discussion amongthe BoD revealed consensus that these activi-ties may not constitute a problem for TRA, solong as it is clear that TRA will not insure anyactivities outside the scope of TRA safetycodes. Such activities may not be considered"officially sanctioned" by, or connected to TRA. Ken Good will send e-mail to all Tripoli Prefectsadvising them to keep activities performed fortelevision or other media, that are outside thescope of TRA and are not embraced by TRASafety Codes, totally separated from normalTRA activities. Such activities will not beinsured by TRA event coverage, and are notconsidered "TRA events." In such cases,involved members are encouraged to contactany Board member for direction on how to dealwith these situations.

Rewrite of BylawsDiscussion of revision to Tripoli Bylaws, mostlyrelated to the standing committees. There havebeen several changes in the structure of Tripolicommittees that are not represented in thebylaws. Terry to distribute a draft with recom-mended changes. All board members are toreview and provide comments by 03/23/2009.

Bob Schoner joined the meeting at 22:13 EST.TRA List server

Discussion related to moving the moderation ofthe Tripoli list server from Australia to theUnited States. David Wilkins wants to retirefrom the position of moderating the list server.He has been soliciting volunteers for this role,but not having a great deal of luck. It is not cer-tain whether David also wants to relinquishtechnical management of the server.Ken will contact David to ascertain his statuson transitioning the moderator role, and if achange of technical support is within scope ornot.

Tripoli IT CommitteeMotion to increase the reimbursement forweb, and IT services performed by KevinTrojanowski on behalf of Tripoli RocketryAssociation to $200 per month.Motion: Lee Second: Gordzelik

Motion passes unanimouslyWeb Page RFP

Discussion of the Requests for Proposals forupdating the TRA website. Stu is available tocontact bidders for any clarification. Stu, Pat,Bob, David Wilkins and Kevin Trojanowski willfilter the proposals and provide a top 10 list tothe Board for review and selection.

Handling Class 3 rocketsPat discussed the negotiations with the FAArelated to simplifying the Class 3 rocket sub-mittal process. Pat expressed they have hadsuccess in using the waiver process to exemptthe ¼ the altitude launch site dimensionrequirement and also exempting the totalimpulse from 40,963 n-sec to 81,920 n-sec ifthe waiver is limited to < 25,000 feet AGL. Dick discussed the process for possiblyexempting specific launch sites based onbuilding a template of the site and through alocal (Tripoli) review of the flights above 25,000feet AGL.

Meeting adjourned 23:09 ESTSubmitted by Bob SchonerTRA Secretary(Bob thanks and acknowledges the assistance ofRobin Meredith in taking notes in his absence)

*****************************************************Tripoli Board of Directors meeting minutesTeleconference of March 18, 2009Present: Ken Good, Pat Gordzelik, Bruce Lee,Bob Schoner, Terry McCreary, Dick Embry, PatGordzelik, Erik Gates (Stu is on vacation, Terryhas his proxy) Ken Good calls meeting to order at.9:05 Executive session regarding recent actions inour legal case

Ken briefs the Board on the actions leading tothe hearing on March 13, the conduct andsalient points of the hearing, and the immedi-ate outcomes of the hearing. It came as a sig-nificant (and joyous) surprise that JudgeWalton issued his ruling on March 16.Although the judge announced in court that hewas finding for TRA/NAR in the cross motionsfor summary judgment, it was not exactly cer-


tain how he would write his opinion, or precise-ly when it would be issued. The judge had stat-ed in court that he would need to verify thecase precedents provided by TRA/NAR coun-sel Marty Malsch, and due to other opinions heneeded to write, this opinion could not be writ-ten before the end of March. However, it wassurmised that due to the clear failure of BATFEto provide any convincing proof they had con-formed to the remand of the Circuit Court, andthe applicability of the precedents, JudgeWalton likely concluded that this opinion wouldbe simple and direct, and need not be delayedany further.Ken and Trip published a joint statement basedon a meeting with Marty Malsch earlier onMarch 18, during which the timing and implica-tions of the ruling were clarified. The joint state-ment was submitted for Board review shortlybefore the call. The clock for BATFE to appeal has started, itwill end 60 days from the court opinion date orMay 16, 2009. Ken lays out possible scenar-ios and our best estimations on likely BATFEactions. Basically we will have to wait and seewhat they do. However, unless the agencyrequests, and is granted, a "stay of judgment"(and it is not clear why either the District Courtor the Court of Appeals would), the court opin-ion will be considered "final judgment" with theforce of law at the end of the appeal period.

Immediate actions: 1) We advise our members, dealers and man-ufacturers continue to follow existing regula-tions which existed before Judge Walton'scourt opinion on 3/16/09. Leaders of TRA willprovide guidance as events unfold. Until thenit is very important for us to proceed like 'busi-ness as usual'. 2) Manufactures should communicate withtheir dealers and advise that current regula-tions still apply for sale and storage until a finaljudgment is given.

Submitted by Bob SchonerTRA Secretary

This year's elections will offer our membershipfive choices to choose from. They are DebKoloms, Rick Dickinson, Frank De Brouwer, BobSchoner and Dick Embry, all very active mem-bers and well qualified. Once again we arepoised to break new grounds with Deb and Frankrunning for a position on the Tripoli Board. Thecurrent board members finishing up their threeyear commitment are Pat Gordzelik, BobSchoner and Dick Embry with both Bob and Dickseeking re-election. Pat a sincere thank you forall the work you've put in over the years. You willbe missed.

Will Deb break new ground for the women inTripoli ….. Will Frank open the gate for our inter-national contingency ….. only you the votingmembership hold the answer. Indeed, these indi-viduals have stepped forward committing theirtime and efforts to our organization already atlocal and national levels and are ready to pour inboatloads more. It is now the organizations timeto commit some time and effort in choosing ourfuture leaders.

Although we have recently won the good fight(congratulations to all members for hanging inthere and thanks to the gladiators on our BOD forfighting the good fight), it is only the first withmany more to come. Don't be fooled, we stillhave lots of hard work dealing with the manyagencies to keep our hobby safe and do-able forthe membership. Read these resumes and vote,this is you voice in deciding your future in rock-etry.

IMPORTANT A new method of balloting is beingemployed this year.

Postcard Ballots will be mailed separately - firstclass - to all members by the end of April. Thiswill place your official TRA ballot in your handswith plenty of time to mail them in. BOD can-

2009 BOD ELECTIONS CANDIDATE RESUMESBy Guy Soucy, Election CommitteeChairman


didate resumes will be posted on the TripoliRocketry web site for all to see in early April.This access will allow most members the abili-ty to review the resumes, make calls, talk itover with friends and make their choice by thetime they receive their ballots. Now the mem-bership will have both pieces in hand - ballot &access to resumes - with several weeks inwhich to act.

All members will continue to receive a hardcopy of the annual Tripoli Report. For thosemembers that do not have access to the inter-net they will have to wait to receive their TRcopy to see the resume. I suggest going toyour local Library or a friends to use one oftheir computer to get an earlier look at the can-didate resumes. The TR is anticipated to be inthe mail by mid May.

The ballot return cut-off date is now based onthe Post Office's postmark (date stamp) and isset for Tuesday June 23, 2009. Your vote willnot be counted if it is postmarked later thanthat date. Using the postmark as the deadlinetool now puts your vote totally in your control,there is no more guess work or reliance on thePost Office to make the deadline. I would sug-gest that our international members still usedue diligence in getting your vote in the mail. Iam hoping that this will allow you enough leadtime to use standard mail instead of expensivepremium mailing means.

We hope that the new balloting method beingused this year will eliminate the late "no ballot- where is my TR" problem members haveexperienced in the past. Tripoli HQ and theBOD are making these changes in an effort tomake this system work. The rest will be up toyou. Remember to vote and please don't waittill June 23 to drop it in the mail.

Our 2009 candidates are as follows:

Debra KolomsTRA 9021 L3 TAPPYRO BoD member and PrefectLDRS 28 Launch Director [email protected]

My name is Debra Koloms, and I am running forthe Tripoli Rocketry Association Board ofDirectors. Some of you know me; some of youdo not, so I will start with some background infor-mation and then go on from there.I was born in 1958 in the Chicago area. I gotinvolved in rocketry like so many others of, byfirst flying rockets as a child, I think I built mostevery rocket Estes made back then, and can stillremember the fun I had. As high school camealong and then college, rocketry took a backseat, while more pressing things such as gettinga degree, staring a career and family took a prior-ity.I attended Washington University in St. Louiswhere I received a BS in electrical engineering in1980. I then worked a Motorola as a RF designengineer for about one year before attendingmedical school. I received my M.D. from theLoyola Stritch School of Medicine (located in theChicago area) in 1985. After medical school I dida one year transitional internship, and then a 3year Ophthalmology residency again at Loyola,finishing in 1989. I started practicing ophthalmol-ogy in the Chicago area and stayed there until1997 when I decided to relocate to the NorthernNew York town of Watertown where I currentlypractice and live.In the mid 90's I played around a little with rock-


etry by building a few Estes kits and flying themwith my children and sometimes with theirschools classes, but I did not seriously get backinto rocketry. Around 2000 I caught the rocketrybug again after seeing a web page featuring highpower rockets, I became a "Born AgainRocketeer", and have not looked back since. Ibought my first high power kit a LOC IROC andbuilt and flew it for my L1 and L2 certifications in2001. In 2002 I flew my L3 flight on a large tetra-hedral rocket. For the last 6 years I have beenon the BoD of the Buffalo Rocket Society, andPYRO, one of the hosts for this years LDRS. Iam also a member of MDRA, and METRA. Ihave been a prefect for the last 5 or 6 years. Ihave also been a TAP member since 2004.My current rocketry activities include a number oflarge projects I am currently working on and I amalso starting to do more EX/Research. I havegiven lectures to the engineering class at thelocal community college on rocketry and hope toget the students involved in a rocketry project. Iam very involved in running our clubs launchesand especially enjoy helping others just staringout in rocketry. This year I am also the LaunchDirector for LDRS 28. This is my fourth time running for the BoD, andmany of issues we face still exist today. Our law-suit with BATFE has been stagnant for over ayear (hopefully we will know more by the timeyou read this). Though all logic dictates that weshould win, I have learned that logic does notalways apply to the government. We need to beprepared for continuing governmental regulation.We may win the point on APCP, but have issueswith igniters. The new FAA rules have madesome major changes to waiver approvals, espe-cially for Class 3 rockets. For the foreseeablefuture I think a major focus of the BoD will bedealing with regulatory issues. I have spent some time talking to other membersat launches and I think the following issuesshould be seriously examined by the BoD.

1) Increasing the TRA membership2) Educational outreach3) Better communication with membershipthrough the prefects4) Further integration of research and commer-cial flying

We need to grow the TRA membership. As

everything gets more expensive I see more andmore flyers joining TRA or NAR, not both. In ourcurrent economic climate I fear this will worsen.Unfortunately I see NAR membership growingmore than ours. Being a member of both organi-zations I do more NAR than TRA certifications.Even at the L3 level there seems to be moreNAR certifications. We need to look at ways toincrease TRA's membership. The new membersare the future of the organization. On the otherside of the coin we need to keep the experiencedflyers in rocketry. I have seen too many peopleget their L3 only to soon drop out of rocketry. Mymentor when I started into high power is nolonger active in the hobby. Expanding and retain-ing our membership is a major issue I would liketo work on if elected to the BoD.TRA is in the perfect position for educational out-reach at the University level. I have seen a fewprojects flown at our launches by university engi-neering classes with TRA sponsorship. I thinkwe need to do more of this. This is a great wayto increase our membership and get positivepress. Starting a TRA scholarship is somethingthat we should seriously look at.In talking with our members, many feel that theywant more regular communication from the BoDto the members. I realize we do have a TRAemail list, but not everyone subscribes or readsevery post. I have to agree there are times thatkeeping current with the email list is very burden-some. We have a prefecture email list also but Irarely get any messages on it. I would like tosee routine BoD updates to the prefects on aquarterly basis to be distributed to their prefec-tures. Especially in these uncertain times ourmembers want to be well informedThe last issue I want to address is the continuedintegration of EX/Research with commerciallaunches. This changes at LDRS 27 was anoth-er great leap forward. I applaud the BoD for tak-ing it. I would like to see the BoD work onexpanding this in the future. Research is anincreasing aspect of our hobby. I have heardrumblings of EX people wanting to break fromTRA. This would be a very bad thing for thehobby. We need all the members we can, be itnew or experienced. I realize this is a very com-plex issue, but one I think is critical. Adapting orresearch code to the changing times is critical to


TRAI have been asked why do I want to be a TRABoD member? The answer to this question isthat I love this hobby, and I think I have the abili-ties and drive to serve on the BoD and make adifference. If elected to the Board of Directors I promise towork tirelessly to make rocketry the best hobbypossible. If anyone has any question please do not hesi-tate to contact me at [email protected] J.A. De BrouwerTRA 06113 / TAP member / Maverick 033

Fellow members I have been a member of Tripolisince 1998. I live in the Netherlands and havebeen one of the founding members and the pre-fect of Tripoli the Netherlands from 1999 up to2007. I would like to run for the BOD to make theBOD of Tripoli a true international oriented organ-ization. More and more fliers from outside theUSA have joined Tripoli thru the years and lots ofprefectures have formed all over the world.These fliers are launching all over the world andin the USA. I think now is time that one or moremembers of the BOD are from outside the USAto broaden the basis of the BOD of our organiza-tion. This is my main reason to run for a BOD

seat on the coming BOD elections in our organi-zation.I was born in 1959 in a small town calledOostzaan, close to Amsterdam in theNetherlands. While growing up in the end of the60's I was very young attracted to the large rock-ets that made up the Apollo era and the firstmoon landings. After finding a book about modelrocketry in the early 70's I started out in the rock-etry hobby to build and fly most Estes andCentury models that were available at the time,getting hold of rocket kits was a real problemthen in the Netherlands tough, writing letters toEstes and getting orders in after 6 or 8 weeks ofwaiting and anticipation was a long time at thatage. After High School I got my bachelor degreein Engineering and started to work as a pipingengineer at the Dutch branch of FLUOREngineering from Houston in the oil industry andoffshore in the early 80's. After a few years how-ever I got a chance to become a flight engineerat KLM Royal Dutch airlines. I have been flyingon 747-200/300's since 1987 up to 2008 at KLMRoyal Dutch Airlines and Martinair out ofAmsterdam, Dragonair out of Hong Kong andCargo-B out of Brussels. At the end of 2008 aftermore then 12.500 flight hours on Passenger andCargo Aircraft 747's my job as a Flight Engineerstopped as a result of the phase out of the B747-200's. I now work for my own company REBELSpace B.V that I started as a rocketry vendor inEurope in 2000.I have been married for 17 years with the girl Imet nearly 30 years ago, I have one stepson andbesides him my wife and I have 6 dogs (4Siberian huskies, a Chihuahua and a smallhouse dog). My wife and I became grandparentsabout 10 years back of granddaughter and since7 years we also have a grandson. My wife and Ilive with our dogs in a small town close toEnkhuizen in the North of the Netherlands wherethe East Indian Trading Company (VOC) wasfounded in the past.During one of my many flights to the USA around1992 I rediscovered the rocketry hobby as I cameacross HPR magazine in a hobby shop inHouston during a layover. Back in theNetherlands I found out only a few fliers wereinto HPR in Europe, but the model rocketryhobby was active and I met allot of old friends


from the past when I re joined the model rocketryassociation (Dutch Rocket Research Association)in the Netherlands. After the Internet got avail-able on a larger scale we found out that a prefec-ture was formed in Switzerland and with a fewDutch fliers we went there and certified in the dif-ferent Tripoli levels.Back in the Netherlands we formed a prefectureof which I was elected prefect and later on I alsowas nominated as a TAP member. On themoment there are 12 prefectures across Europe,the hobby is slowly but steadily growing and wehave reached several milestones in the EU(European Union) lately. In the Netherlands weworked on an air law for 7 years with the differentrocketry organizations, which makes it possiblefor us to launch rockets in the Dutch airspace(similar to the FAA law, on which it was based).Several vendors with CTI and AT worked on theCE certification of all the motors, which wasneeded to be able to use and store the motors inEurope. In the future we will have to addresssome other laws over here in Europe concerningthe use of pyrotechnical devices and the use ofthe airspace in the EU as a lot of new laws willbe implemented in these areas in the near futureby the EU. To be able to do this in the whole ofthe EU, all prefectures in the EU are working onstarting a Tripoli Europe organization that willhave very close ties with Tripoli USA. We havebeen in contact with the BOD about this for sometime now and the prefects hope to implement thisin the time ahead.My reason for running for the BOD is partly theEurope situation, but also the situation in theUSA as allot of fliers from Europe fly in the USAevery year. I think I can shed a different light onallot of situations in the hobby as I am aEuropean flier and can also add allot of idea'sand input in the BOD besides being activelyinvolved as a BOD member on certain otherfields. Also my participation would make the BODof Tripoli a truly international oriented organiza-tion as mentioned before, the last years the worldhas become allot smaller as a result of the inter-net, and its time to think globally. Our hobby hasa breaking point however, launching rocketscomes across stricter rulings more and more,and that is why we have regulation in Tripoli,NAR, UKRA and other organizations. We do

however need regulation that does not suffocatethe hobby by overregulation, protects the seriousflier, but also does protect other interests andkeeps us from being limited at the developmentof the hobby.Since 2000 I was the prefect of Tripoli theNetherlands (with the exception of one half yearwhen Pim Heydt took over) up to 2007 and aTAP member. I have written the handbook forTripoli the Netherlands, certified a lot of membersin all certification levels throughout Europe and inthe USA. I also supported many fliers as a TAPmember with their Level 3 projects from the startof their projects up to a safe landing. Besides thisI also am the founder and co-owner of REBELSpace in Europe, I however always keep vendordealings and organizational issues strictly sepa-rated as these two things do not always mix well. Most of my projects can be found on the Tripolithe Netherlands and the Dutch Rocket Boys webpages. One of my other activities is writing rock-etry related articles for ROCKETS and ExtremeRocketry. In the Netherlands I also am the editorof our Tripoli the Netherlands Lift-Off magazinethat we publish for our members every twomonths.My flying experience ranges from ½ A motors upto N on the moment, and from model rockets upto Level 3 rockets with CPR recovery. On themoment I am building a few normal HPR rocketprojects using the normal materials like phenoland aircraft grade plywood. Nearly all my newprojects lately are being built using fully compos-ite airframes. I like to fly high altitude projects, butalso fun projects such as sci-fi rockets as forinstance the classic Thunderbird 3. The mostenjoyment in the hobby I find when building ordesigning projects, alone or with a group and offcourse out in the field with a group of goodfriends launching those birds. I have built andlaunched over 180 rockets from A thru N and onthe moment I am planning and building a highaltitude project for BALLS 2009, which will fly on2 research P motors. This project I do togetherwith Peter Muller with whom I run REBEL Space,in 2008 we flew some projects together duringArliss and XPRS.If I get elected as a Tripoli BOD member I wouldlike to address the basic things that makes upour hobby. The rocket hobby had an enormous


standstill for some years as a result of severalthings. People left the hobby in these years, thelegislation in the USA and EU, the lack of avail-ability of good magazines to get more interest inthe hobby, the change of interests of the youngas a result of the life behind the computerscreen. The last years the hobby is growingagain due to the spirit and energy of a lot of fliersand vendors. The hobby is also developing againon the technical field and moving forward, newdevelopments in materials, motors and electron-ics are picking up slowly. The hobby now offerspeople the possibility to design, build and flyrockets in a very wide range from model rocketsup to research rockets. Fliers have been pushingthe envelope with high altitude flights and largermotors lately, besides this everyone can also justhave fun out in the field and at home in the work-shop with building and flying a fun model. A verywide variety of materials and motors for all theseprojects are ready available for every ones budg-et. What we need however is a further expan-sion, getting new fliers into the hobby and keep-ing the ones that have been active in the hobbyfor years. For this we need a good stable infra-structure in the USA, Europe and beyond so thatfliers can reach their set goals and have funbuilding and flying. For this we need enthusiasticand driven people that can listen to fliers, worktogether with the authorities in the changingworld, see the larger picture and get Tripoli fur-ther down the road in the 21st century as thesecond space age is starting to form. If I getelected I will use my energy to set these goalsand reach them to the best of my knowledge andabilities for the membership. Now it is up to youas voters to use your right to choose the rightpeople in the right place. In 2007 I ran for the BOD and did not haveenough votes to become elected, mainly this wassimply because it was the first time a non US citi-zen ran, but I think USA members have to realizethat Tripoli is a international organization nowa-days. Last year I did not run because work andREBEL Space got me occupied, this year howev-er I see possibilities to make time available in thefuture to spend on BOD issues. After some USAand EU members asked me to run again, I tooksome time to think about running. After dis-cussing it with several people and looking at my

own schedule for the coming years I decided torun this year for a BOD seat and see if we reallyre a international organization and can expandthis in the future.So pick your choice on the Ballot this year anddon't let your vote be wasted.www.tripoli.nlwww.dutchrocketboys.nlwww.rebelspace.euRick DickinsonTRA #10498 L3

My name is Rick Dickinson, and I'm running for aseat on the Tripoli Board of Directors. Like manyof you, I'm a "born-again rocketeer", as I startedflying model rockets in grade school, fell awayfrom the hobby for a while, and then eventuallyfound my way back to flying rockets as an adult.My return to rocketry came about when my par-ents were cleaning out their garage: they found abox of my old model rockets, and asked me if Iwanted them, or if they should just toss them out.


Of course, it wasn't long before I found a localmodel rocket club, and started flying some ofthose same model rockets, and building a fewnew ones. I soon purchased the Aerotech18/24/29 three-case "hobby" set, and (of course)I had to build a few rockets to take advantage ofthe HUGE 29/40-120 casing that it included.It didn't take me long to get bitten by the highpower bug. I got my L1 certification using a rock-et built from a Toys-R-Us crayon bank, and Isoon had a whole fleet of L1-capable crayons invarious colors (mainly because the banks were acheap source of body tubes and nose cones forscratch-building). Keeping with the theme, my L2and L3 certifications were on ever-larger scratch-built crayons Over the past decade I've become very activewith my local rocket club, the RocketryOrganization of California (ROC), volunteeringwhenever and wherever I was needed. Havingpreviously worked for a number of years as a vol-unteer Public Information Officer (PIO) for theAmerican Red Cross of Greater Los Angeles, Itook on the role of "Board Assistant" for twoyears in 2004 and 2005, serving as the official"Voice of ROC" and answering questions bothfrom members and from the general public. In2006, I started working with ROC's LDRS com-mittee to plan and hold LDRS 26 in Jean, NV. Icoordinated all of the advertising for LDRS 26,and also wrote the copy and designed the layoutfor most of the printed materials for the event. Iwas elected to ROC's BoD in January 2007, andworked with my fellow directors to incorporateROC as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.As a ROC Board Member, I still serve as the"Voice of ROC", answering questions and han-dling media inquiries. Last month, for instance,the Discovery Channel show "Time Warp" cameout to film at ROC's February launch, and I wastheir main point of contact for the event. I havealso served as ROC's main FAA liaison for thepast few years. I obtained the waiver for LDRS26 in 2007 and for all of ROC's launches in 2008and 2009. I submit the necessary NOTAMs, acti-vate and close our waiver for each launch, andcall the local traffic control center for high-altitudewindows. I've helped several other individualsand groups prepare their own waiver applica-tions, and have put together an instruction sheet

that has allowed several ROC members to holdadditional launches for school and scout groups.I submitted a number of comments to the FAA inresponse to the NPRM that led to the recentchanges to FAR 101, and I am happy to see thatmost of the suggestions and concerns that I (andmany others) expressed were addressed in thefinal rule . It wasn't a perfect result, but it wascertainly an improvement on many levels, and I'mproud to have contributed to making the rulemak-ing process address the needs of rocketeers.I'm a firm believer in sharing the knowledge,information, and experience that I've gained overthe years. I've helped quite a few people to pre-pare for their own high-power certifications, andhave signed off on more L1 and L2 flights and L2tests than I can remember. I am a long-timeactive participant on the Tripoli email list, andalways try to provide an objective viewpoint tovarious issues on that list.As a frequent user of copper thermite ignitionmixtures, I participated in a roundtable discussionand tutorial session on that subject at LDRS 26(filmed by Rockets Magazine for release onDVD). I also registered, set up, and maintain theCopperThermite.com web site, which is dedicat-ed to sharing knowledge and best practices forsafely using copper thermite mixtures for rapidand reliable motor ignition.I currently serve as a mentor to a group of localhigh school students participating in NASA'sStudent Launch Initiative program. After placingnear the top in last year's TARC, they were invit-ed to participate in this year's NASA SLI. We'reall going to Huntsville, Alabama in April for thelaunch of the rocket that the students built for theprogram.I'm a firm believer in the need for educational andoutreach efforts, to encourage the next genera-tion of budding rocket scientists, and to expandthe base of our hobby. Rocketry has a lot tooffer: it's fun, exciting, fulfilling, and inspires alove of science that few other activities canmatch. But, unless we expose a new generationto our great hobby, the odds are that they'll neverknow about it, and we'll lose the opportunity.If I'm elected to the Tripoli Board of Directors, I'llplace a priority on outreach programs and onprojects that encourage the collection and shar-


ing of the accumulated wisdom and experienceof our members. If we're to grow the hobby ofrocketry, inclusiveness and open communicationsmust be the cornerstones of our efforts.On the regulatory front, I favor a three-prongedapproach:First, we must continue to fight unfair and illegalover-regulation by government agencies in court.As we saw in the early stages of the currentBATFE case, we must be vigilant toward over-reaching regulation, as it's possible to lose ourchance to object in some cases if we wait toolong to do so.Second, we should expand our efforts to beinvolved in the rulemaking processes at thebeginning. Reasoned and timely responses tothe recent FAA NPRM are an excellent exampleof this principle at work: the FAA had proposed aseries of changes to FAR 101 that would havebeen unworkable and overly burdensome formost high-power launches, but the rocketry com-munity's responses helped them to understandour concerns, and ultimately resulted in morereasonable changes.Similarly, we should be working much closer withgroups like the NFPA to fix many of the problemsin their current model codes, and with state agen-cies such as the California Office of the State FireMarshal, to reduce the level of unnecessary (andwidely variable) hoops that rocket flyers and rock-etry vendors and manufacturers must jumpthrough in order to enjoy our hobby throughoutthe country.And thirdly, we need to take every opportunity tospread the word far and wide that rocketry is asafe, legal, educational, and fun hobby that thewhole family can enjoy. Many of our regulatory,legal, and other hassles are simply the result ofthe fact that we are too much of a niche group formost people to worry about. In the absence ofpublic support for - or even recognition of - rock-etry, it's easy for regulators to ignore us or to sim-ply say "no", knowing that there won't be much ofan outcry over their injustices.If we grow, both in terms of numbers and interms of our positive public perception, then we'llbe harder for those in power to ignore, and we'llbe in a much better position to push for reason-able changes to the laws and regulations that

affect our hobby. Outreach efforts and support ofeducational programs are big parts of the strate-gy that will get us there.As a TRA Board Member, I will work hard tomake sure that we stay aware of (and reactquickly, intelligently, and decisively to) any newregulations or laws affecting our hobby, and keepthe TRA membership apprised of any newNPRMs or other opportunities to affect proposedregulations before they are set in stone. I'll alsoactively pursue every opportunity to ensure thatinput from the rocketry community is part of everyrulemaking process that concerns us. I'll supportefforts to have TRA members appointed to NFPA,CA OSFM, and other regulatory and rulemakingcommittees, to ensure that our voices are heardand our positions considered.In short, I'll be an active advocate for your inter-ests.I look forward to having the opportunity to serveas your representative on the Tripoli Board ofDirectors. Please vote for me, so that I mayhave that chance.Bob SchonerTRA # 4928Level 3


I am rerunning for a position on the TripoliRocketry Association Board of Directors. Mydesire in running again for the BOD is simply tocontinue to work and help the organization thatdefines the hobby I love, in any way I can. Myobjective in running is not to further any hiddenagenda, or add to a list of accomplishments.Like you, I want the best candidates to choosefrom as members of the TRA BOD. I will serveTRA passionately, but without unchecked emo-tions or political agendas. Personal information:I am 53, married and the father of a 15 1/2 yearold daughter. I work as a Software QualityAssurance Engineer for Advance Auto Parts inRoanoke, VA. Previous accomplishmentsI have served on the TRA board of directors forthe past six years. I am continually impressedwith the quality of people that are attracted to ourhobby and this organization. I consider myselffortunate to have been able to serve you themembers of Tripoli and also to serve with thegreat people who have been on the board withme.I was elected as secretary of the organization atthe same time as my election to the board. Inaddition to keeping notes of meetings at LDRSas well as at electronic meetings, I have pre-pared and distributed agendas for each meeting,kept track of the progress of many projects, andprepared detailed minutes for publication in theTripoli Report. Although that road has occasion-ally been rocky, I have carried out those duties tothe best of my ability.I spearheaded the work on requests for propos-als (RFPs) for a new magazine. There were sev-eral great proposals, but the board unanimouslywent with two experienced rocketeers from theeast coast. Bob Utley and Neil McGilvray havemade a great addition to our hobby rocketry mag-azine offerings over the last four years withRockets magazine.More recently I have been the driving force in thepublication and coordination of an RFP for a newweb page. The Tripoli web page is neither hope-lessly flawed nor flawlessly perfect. When it wentlive it was much better than what existed beforeit. It's just time to update our web presence andtake advantage of technology that wasn't com-

monly available a few years ago. We shouldmake regular improvements to our web site tohelp current and new members. We can makeour website a place for people looking at thehobby to stay and browse for a while and make iteasier for both members and visitors to get theinformation they are looking for.When I originally ran for the BoD six years ago, Ifocused on communication and trust as the twobiggest challenges and needs. In the years sinceI think our communication has improved signifi-cantly, though I think there is still room forimprovement with more frequent and better com-munication between the board and the entiremembership. I also feel like there is more trustnow but there is still room for improvement in thatarea too. We need to continue to understandwhere the breakdowns are, whether real or per-ceived, and move forward with clear objectivesand plans to improve.2009 and beyondWhile there have been many changes since Iwas first elected to the board, I think there is stillmuch work to be done. I want to set goals forthe organization and develop plans for the future,rather than just to see where we end up. I'd liketo chart a course to see Tripoli become recog-nized as THE premiere rocketry organizationworldwide. I have no problems embracing theother organizations, but we have the people, thetalent, and the passion to be the driving force inhobby rocketry and a stepping stone to moreadvanced non-professional and professionalrocketry activities.I feel that the next few years are full of almostunlimited potential for us. I am amazed at howhigh the bar has been raised in just the past sixyears. It will be difficult to imagine where we willbe in another three years. Many of you fliershave created amazing, complex, and beautifulprojects that have worked great. There are thosewho push the boundaries and records higher andfaster. I won't mention names, but you folks aremy heroes. You are a tribute to everything greatabout this organization and this hobby. Will wefly higher in the next three years? I'm sure wewill, though it may take dedicated work from theTRA board to make that appear as effortless as ithas in the past.Just as we will certainly push the envelope of alti-


tude and complexity with our rockets, I think weshould work on broadening our base. I think weare about to step into a new era of growth andparticipation. The most significant barrier to morewidespread membership-the classification ofAPCP propellant as an explosive-seems to beclose to being broken down. I see us beinggranted much more freedom from regulatory bur-dens than we have seen in almost ten years.This will open greater opportunities, but it alsocomes with the need for increased diligence.This is a fascinating hobby with a great safetyrecord and we need to protect that at all costs.How many other hobbies are a major accidentaway from getting shutdown? People get killedor injured participating in hobbies all the time.Golf, baseball, football, riding ATVs, boating,hunting have all seen the rare but devastatingaccident. More people are killed each year fromswallowing toy balloons than have been seriouslyinjured in the almost 50-year history of model andhigh powered rocketry. Our main adversary mayor may not be gone, but we must continue to becareful, be diligent and follow our safety codesthat have served us so well.I want to continue to focus on communicationand ways to improve it. Apart from the TripoliReport, there is no vehicle to communicate withall members. The TRA forum serves some of ourmembers, but not even half. We need othermeans of two way communication. Some of thismay be addressed with the updated web site, butwe can't rest on that alone.We have a lot of talented people in our member-ship, yet we seldom make use of that pool of tal-ent. I feel that this is a huge waste of potential.By keeping the work in a small core of people,most of the membership doesn't feel connected.They really don't have any 'skin in the game'.But if we reach out to our membership for ideas,committee membership, temporary and long termspecial projects and efforts, then those peoplefeel like they have an investment in the task andwork to make it succeed. We need to do a betterjob of spreading the work around so we don'tburn out the remarkable people who do a lot ofwork for us.I would like to see minimum bi-monthly communi-cations from the entire BOD and/or from all com-mittees. This would be supplied electronically,

with content included in the printed Tripoli Report.Sometimes there is nothing new to communicate.This still requires communication, especially if theunderlying issue is considered critical to theentire organization. There are other things I'd still like to work onsuch as publicity and promotion. I want to com-plete the work that has started very slowly to cre-ate an up-to-date informational set of videos.These should be high quality videos that we candisplay and even give away to those who areinterested. There should be a set of differentlength videos that can be shown at air shows,county fairs, science museums, schools & scouttroops, etc. that tells what Tripoli and high pow-ered rocketry is all about. These should be sup-plemented with full color brochures that can alsobe given away and left as handouts in strategiclocations like science museums, hotels close tolaunch sites, etc. I believe that we should trackgrowth of different locations and reward thoseprefectures who attract people and run greatlaunches. I would also like to see a system for tracking pro-ficiency with Staging and Clustering flights. Iwould want this to be completely voluntary, but Isee two main benefits: 1) sell more rocketmotors, kits, and supplies and 2) serve as an aidto the RSO where complex flights are flown. Inmy opinion, both of these reasons are a benefitto high power rocketry. This could help to keeppeople flying, help keep the manufacturers andvendors in business and give a new goal orobjective for some people to try to attain.I have flown clusters, but I have never done ahigh power 2 stage rocket. As a Level 3 flier,nothing can stop me from flying a cluster of N'sto an M 2 stage rocket. However, just as thereare skills to learn at the lower levels that help aflier become more proficient as the impulse levelincreases, so too there are skills that apply tohigher impulses in regards to staging and cluster-ing. There is still a lot of work to be done. I want topave the way for my daughter and her children tobe able to fly rockets in peace and gaze up at themoon in wonder and dream of possibilities. Iwould be honored by your vote, but if you chosenot to vote for me, please vote anyway and helpbe a part of the future direction of Tripoli.


Dick EmbryAge 55TRA# 961 Tucson, AZLR-45 Program manager/Flight test

I'm a former Air Force Officer that has served youon the Tripoli Board of Directors for over adecade. At present I'm a Program Manager andtest pilot as well as U.S and European evaluatorfor the LR-45 Business jet for Flight SafetyInternational, I'm a command pilot that has flownfor over 15 years in the F-106, F-16, AWACS andLear jets with over 7000 hours of flight time. Iflew over 26 combat missions and combat sup-port missions during and after Desert Storm,including missions to support Provide Comfort inTurkey. My educational background includes anEngineering degree, and a Masters inAeronautical Science. My Air Force Educationincluded Squadron Officer School, Air Commandand Staff College, and the toughest school of all;the school of practical experience.How has all this translated into working for you,the members of Tripoli Rocketry? The pastdecade have seen the federal bureaucracy at it's"finest" AST, DOT, BATFE, NFPA; I was thereembroiled in the countless hours of negotiation,teleconferencing and meetings that define Tripolias we know it today. The establishment of The Technical AdvisoryBoard, (TAP) Hybrids and Tri-brids; I was thereon the playa for the Beta testing. I initiated theinsurance, as we know it today. It was painful nodoubt, but with our expanded efforts in to TripoliResearch and our international members, it was

a must! Like most of Tripoli's efforts, the insur-ance coverage we needed and received wasground breaking and we paid the price. Howeverwith your safe flying, we've been able to continueto bring the insurance down year by year. We've won a great victory. It doesn't seem likenine years I first stepped into the warm environsof a BATFE boardroom and experienced firsthand the attitudes that foretold of a long fightahead. I never dreamed of the toll in time, effort,funds and dogged determination of our member-ship. An organization at it's best! We've gainedsomething invaluable within the industry and thehalls of Congress..Respect!I brought up the subject of recovery of fundsspent to our attorney's years ago. My first incli-nation was to use the money to self insure. Atempting thought as well as buying land for acentral launch site. Then I read an article detail-ing the fact America is 19th on a list of 20 nationsin science and mathematics degrees! It's time tothink scholarships.I work well within the Federal Government. In1995 I established the liaison with the Office ofCommercial Space Transportation. (AST) Thisassociation with the AST paid unexpected divi-dends after 9/11 when all airspace was shut total-ly down. Conferences with AST and SenatorEnzi resulted in our right to fly being restored in aweek's time. Subsequent to 9/11 I worked withthe NAR extensively to expand our efforts to atwo pronged effort to involving Senator Enzi andsignificant, EXTENSIVE work with our attorneysin Washington DC.Significant events that resulted from the ongoingdiatribe with AST was the rewrite of CFR 14 rulesthat not only provide a more definitive definitionof Amateur rocketry within the realm ofCommercial Space launch operations, but result-ed in a modification to the 15 second rule forburn rule to 60 seconds. That was a first with anyorganization. The follow on of course was theNPRM made into law. Pat and I representedTripoli's opinion with an numerous rewrites thatresulted in some great things for the growth ofrocketry and of course some onerous require-ments. Like anything else life is a compromiseuntil you work to..uncompromise!. Pat's workingthe FAA side below 25K. I'm working the above25K in conjunction with Chuck Rogers. We do


see the light at the end of the tunnel but we areat a critical juncture with the process. Continuityhas to be maintained.Over the past decade plus I've been your boardmember, your vice president and proudly yourPresident. As any Board member and Officer cantell you, it was a time of blood, sweat and tears.This year we have an outstanding list of candi-dates. I would like to charge my fellow candi-dates to get ready for the most intense, compre-hensive and backbreaking job you've ever had!In summary,. I offer you the same dedication,

experience, drive and far reaching vision I'veused in the past to advance Tripoli even higher. Iappreciate your consideration.

******************************Just as a common sense reminder. Many mem-bers as well as candidates may have their ownweb site. Candidates may elect to use these asa strong campaigning tool listing their resume,expanded viewpoints and to answer questionsfrom the membership. It is a smart tool to usebut it should not to be confused as an officialTRA Election site. Resumes of all the candidatesand official election news is posted at the TRAwebsite for all to see. May I ask that the candi-dates & members simply create links to this sitewhen referencing or to reference "official" infor-mation and resumes.

Good luck to all the candidates.

Guy SoucyElection Committee [email protected]

(Photos by Nadine)

Instead of the ususal “lift-off” photo usuallyselected for the cover, this time a photo wasloaded that show a group of Tripoli membersloading rockets on the launch equpiment. Thisphoto was taken at Black Rock, Nevada duringBALLS 17 held in September of 2008.

Below, Chris Pearson’s BALLS project is inspect-ed by the RSO prior to launch.

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2009 tra board of directors election candidate resumes … reports/tripoli report... · landmark...

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