High Power Rocketry

(Photo credit to Gary Goncher.)

I have been very active in rocketry since I was about 9 years old. My first rocket ever was a "Code Red" starter set from Estes Rockets.

I attended my first launch around 2003, and then the rest is history! In my early days I flew a LOT of low and mid-power rockets from Estes as well as Aerotech Rocketry.

Not long after that, I got into high power. I flew my first high power rocket when I was 11. In the years that followed I flew lots of Level 1 motors (H and I impulse) in addition to the low and mid power launches I was doing already.

I wanted to do my Level 2 certification as soon as I could after I turned 18, so in early-2013 I built my Level 2 rocket. Later that year I took and passed the Tripoli Level 2 exam, flew the Excel Plus on a J motor, and got my Level 2! It couldn't have gone much better than that.

After the 2013 flying season had wrapped up for the winter, not even a year after getting my Level 2, I was ready to go for my Level 3. The Level 3 certification allows a member to fly the biggest rocket motors out there, and is a very long process. Before even starting your project, you must talk with 2 x technical advisors from Tripoli. Once they "approve" your plans, you can begin building while providing a clear documentation of your process and build techniques used. Your technical advisors follow along with you every step of the way.

I began my Level 3 project in November 2013. It was the biggest rocket I had ever built to date and also the most complex. I worked on it throughout the winter and completed the project in April 2014. In June 2014, I flew an M motor in Code Blue and successfully earned my Level 3 certification! It was a very long and challenging process, but the end result was so worth it.

Check out my individual pages below for lots more info on rocketry, launches, and various clubs I'm involved with: