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High power rocketry (HPR) is a challenge and thrill for newcomers to rocketry and those with some rocketry experience.

Learning the basics with low power rockets (LPR – class “E” motors and below), then moving up to mid power (MPR – “F and “G” class motors), before attempting high power rocketry can help ensure success. High power rockets use big motors (class “H” and above) and require advanced construction techniques. Those can be learned with experience on smaller scales, but CORSA can assist you at any level.

HPR systems and payloads can include electronics to control parachute deployment, record altitude and other data, track location, among myriad other applications. The challenges in HPR are limited only by your imagination!

CORSA will help you with Jr, L1, and L2 certifications

We encourage you to attend a club meeting to meet us and ask questions. We can team you with a member who is HPR certified to act as a mentor, if you like. 

Certification candidates must first become a member of the NAR. You should then become familiar with the high power rocketry information on the NAR web site. Certification procedures for all levels can be found here. Junior, L1, and L2 candidates must take an online test – study guides and tests are on the NAR.org website.

Getting Started

For the greatest chance for success, a kit designed for certification is your best bet. Check with eRockets in Dayton, or order online from companies like Apogee Components, LOC Precision, Chris’ Supplies, or Wildman Rocketry. The Apogee website has a wealth of how-to videos and articles on rocket construction and many other rocket subjects.

When you have constructed your rocket and are ready to fly, you can make your certification launch attempt with us at our HPR launch site. Contact CORSA ahead of the launch to let us know your intention to certify. 

Bring with you the required NAR certification paperwork, and a report from Open Rocket (free) or Rocksim, showing the CP location and the predicted performance. Mark the CP on the rocket, and be prepared to answer questions about the rocket’s construction and stability. Our certification team, including your mentor, will inspect your rocket before and after flight, and complete the paperwork. 

High power motors can be purchased directly from one of the local vendors, or you could arrange with a certified club member to acquire a motor. Ordering motors from online vendors can be done, but will require expensive HAZMAT shipping fees. Local vendors are Dayton Rocketry and  Merlin Missiles; they each attend many of our HPR launches

Direct your questions to HPR_cert_team@centralohiorocketry.org.

The calendar events page was hard to keep up-to-date, so we’ve dropped it, with Upcoming Events on the Home tab as a replacement. If that is unsatisfactory, let us know!

Wednesday, September 3

It was a little windy, but the only loss was a Double Ringer glider that just sailed. There were just three of us, until Stephanie brought Isabelle, William, and Lee to see what we were doing. Science class field trip!

CORSA Meetings will now be on the second Wednesday of each month.

Everyone is welcome to attend. We discuss CORSA business such as launch plans and outreach projects, as well as general rocketry topics. We begin gathering at 6:30, but the meeting doesn’t start in earnest until 7:00.

Westerville Public Library
126 S State St
Westerville, Ohio 43081
Check Home Page for Room

Come to learn and share about hobby rocketry!

Thanks to the generous offer of Jim Case to use his field, CORSA has received permission to launch High Power Rockets (HPR)! We’re very excited about this, and hope that you can attend at least one of our HPR launches and share our excitement. Low Power Rockets use engines up to ‘D’ impulse. Mid Power Rockets use ‘E’ through ‘G’ motors. High Power Rocketry uses motors ‘H’ impulse and above. Since the total impulse doubles with each letter increment, ‘H’ motors are 32 times as powerful as a ‘C’ motor. The largest motors we’ll see at our planned launches will be ‘L’ impulse – loud, fast, and high flights!

Case Farms field is located at 3297 Panhandle Rd, Delaware, OH 43015. There’s a long gravel lane, please drive slowly, and be aware of the railroad crossing (it has no signals!) Trains may occasionally block the lane; be patient, and it will be cleared. Parking will be ample, in the gravel lot among the buildings, and to the right of the lane past them. We will have a port-a-john on site.

We’ll have two HPR pads, with 1″ (1010) rail; two MPR pads, with 1/4″ rods; and 6 or 12 LPR pads with 1/8″ and 3/16″ rods. Our waiver will be to 6,000′ AGL, starting at 11:00, and continuing until at least 2:00. We’ll be flying under NAR rules, so commercial motors only.

We will still launch at Freedom Park too, but we want to take advantage of this wonderful field while we have the opportunity. Our planned HPR 2025/2026 schedule is TBD.

As always, our launches are highly weather-dependent. So check this website for updates the night before each launch.

Our May launch was a great success! It was pretty breezy, so we could not launch anything very high. And we only launched 26 times. But I think everyone who was there would agree, that it was a fantastic day. Several of the High Point Elementary students that we met with on their Super Saturday came and had great questions, and marveled at each rocket launched. We handed out rocket kits to Ryan, Walter, Nora, Eli, Tyler, Wes, and Elias. We still have more of the Balsa Machining Service “School Rocket” kits for any of the students who were able to attend our May launch.

Impulse Report:

• 1 – 1/2 A
• 12 – A
• 12 – B
• 1 – C

No rockets were lost, despite the ~15 mph winds. The one C motor that flew was in a saucer style rocket that doesn’t go very high or drift very far.

Thanks to everyone who attended! Especially to our new visitors, but also to my fellow CORSA members who helped make it a wonderful day!

Of course, the weather is beyond our control – all that we can do is to try to work around it. We knew that bad weather was coming, but early on, it looked like it would hold off until 2:00. As we were setting up, though, the forecast and radar showed storms arriving near noon. We have a lightning detector which shows how far away the strikes are, which gives warning before we can even see the lightning – if we see lightning, we clear the field immediately.

So we launched as soon as we could, and kept a close eye on the approaching storm. I haven’t counted yet, but I think we launched about 24 times. We heard some thunder, and decided it was time to quit. Perhaps we should have quit a little earlier, because even though we were rapidly closing up our launch operation, it started raining before we had everything stowed in our vehicles. We got drenched! But it was a good day anyway.

Well, it was windier than we like, but within the requirements of the NAR model rocket safety code – so we launched…

And it was a great day! We launched 88 times – our busiest launch day yet. And what a fabulous bunch of kids to fly rockets with! They had great questions, and great rockets. Check out the photos in our gallery – and if you have some to add, let us know.

That wrapped up our home launch schedule for 2021 – but we’ll be back at Freedom Park next year!

Our hosting service has discontinued the software we’d been using to maintain our mailing list – it’s now a manual process. So, if you’d like to join (or be removed from) our mailing list, please send an email to info@centralohiorocketry.org. We mostly use the list to remind our friends of upcoming launches and meetings.