Proposal restricts shooting of rockets

Brian Copher of North Little Rock sometimes spontaneously uses his lunch break or a pleasant weekend evening to go to the city's Burns Park and launch model rockets, which he builds as a hobby.

But under a new proposal by the North Little Rock Parks and Recreation staff, such improptu outings won't be doable anymore at the park.

The proposal to be considered by the city's Parks and Recreation Commission on Tuesday would require two permits -- a yearly one costing $25 and a free one on launch day -- and would limit the size of model rockets that could be shot off. The proposal would also limit when and where the model rockets can be used.

"You'll have to fill out a form and receive permission from the Parks Department to be able to go shoot rockets," Copher said. "Then whatever day it is that you're supposed to go shoot rockets, you have to get approval again by checking their event calendar.

"Now you're going to have to have a whole lot more forethought to go do it," he said.

The issue is one of safety, said Jeff Caplinger, project coordinator for the North Little Rock Parks and Recreation Department. The new regulations, if approved, would restrict the size of the rocket engine or motor to be used in order to limit the rocket's range. Permit holders would be required to show proof of liability insurance and would have to be 18 years old or older. Immediate family members would be allowed to participate as long as the applicant was present. Requests for permits would have to be in writing.

The permits would restrict launches to designated sites within Quad 4 at the Burns Park Soccer Complex in two areas, each 500 feet in diameter, that include Fields 13, 14 and 15A and Fields 15B, 16 and 17, according to the proposal. Other areas of Burns Park and other city parks would be off-limits for rocket-firing.

Within the allowed areas, the scheduling of any launches would defer to any soccer events or participants, another reason why permit holders would have to check on the day of their scheduled launch to see if a conflict has arisen, Caplinger said.

"We've had people shooting off model rockets in the soccer complex in the past year," Caplinger said, adding that rockets have also been shot off from parking lots and grassy areas without any notification to the parks staff. "We were concerned about safety and the size of the rockets they were using.

"Some of these can go a couple of thousand feet up in the air, and where they come down nobody knows," he said. "We're trying to limit their impact. We have all sorts of other park users out there on the trails and within the park and at the soccer complex. We want to limit the use of model rockets so we know who's going out there shooting the rockets. We're not wanting to ban the rockets altogether."

Caplinger said the parks staff sought input from model rocket users, including Copher, and conferred with the North Little Rock Airport, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Association of Rocketry -- a nonprofit organization founded in 1957 that's dedicated to the technology, education and safety of the hobby of sport rocketry, according to its website, nar.org.

"We researched launch areas and the size of an area needed and the national association's guidelines," Caplinger said.

Model rockets are built from kits, Copher said, and are equipped with parachutes to control their return to the ground.

"They are a ballistic device, but the primary objective is to shoot the rocket straight up," Copher said. "You shoot the rocket off, and with the parachute it floats back down. There are ways to control where it lands by using various-sized parachutes.

"It is understood that the people in charge of city parks want to ensure the safety of everyone," Copher said about the proposal. "It's difficult to understand why one activity would be required to have a $25 permit and require scheduling when there are other activities that don't."

Metro on 01/19/2015

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