High Power Certification

High Power Flyer

In order to purchase and use rocket engines beyond the G power range, you must be an adult (age 18 or older) who has been certified as qualified by a recognized rocketry research organization. Membership in the NAR empowers you to apply for this certification.

NAR high power certification is free to all adult NAR members, and is offered in three distinct steps.

In order to qualify to purchase and use engines of power classes from H to I, you must obtain a Level 1 certification, for which you are required to:

• make a safe and successful flight of a rocket using an engine in that power class.
• . which is witnessed by two other adult NAR members (at least one of whom is certified to the desired level);
• have your witnesses sign a standard certification affidavit, available from NAR Headquarters or from our Filing Cabinet page);
• return the signed form to NAR HQ

and your name will be added to our list of qualified high power consumers for that engine class.

Level 2 certification qualifies you to purchase and use J, K, and L engines. This level requires a written examination in addition to the flight requirement. Examination questions are taken from a publicly-available pool of questions which you can examine and study beforehand.

If you are interested in qualifying to use these high-power rocket motors, or you are an NAR member intending to certify the flights of others, you should become familiar with the full, formal procedure for Level 1 and 2 certification.

Level 3 certification qualifies you to purchase and use M, N, and O engines. Qualification criteria are much more stringent, and are described in the full, formal procedure for Level 3 certification.

Junior NAR members age 14 through 17 who would like to participate in high power rocketry may do so under certain conditions through the NAR Junior High Power Participation Program. This program permits Juniors 14 and older range to fly high power rockets with an H and I motor (only), as long as this is done under direct supervision of a Level 1 or above certified adult NAR member, and as long as this certified adult purchases, assembles, and maintains custody of the HPR motor itself as required by Federal regulations. Juniors must complete and submit a formal participation program form in connection with their initial flight. This Level 1 achievement will automatically roll over to a full Level 1 Certification on the flier's 18th birthday with no additional qualification flight required.

Trained Safety Officer (TSO)

The safety codes for sport rockets have been a significant factor in establishing our hobby's excellent safety record. The NAR Trained Safety Officer (TSO) program reinforces our safety codes with practical guidance and training for individuals experienced in model rocketry and familiar with high power rocketry. The TSO program is designed to assist individuals in performing safety officer functions on a high power rocket range. Although oriented towards high power, many of the procedures and much of the practical guidance is applicable to model rocket operations.

NAR Trained Safety Officer education is a self-paced program intended to educate high-power-certified (Levels 1, 2, and 3) NAR members by exposing them, with guidelines and mentors, to "real world" situations. Participants in this program will be required to complete rocket check-in and range safety officer tasks on an operating high power range.

To participate in this training program, you can download the Safety Officer Training Program Manual (64K, PDF format).

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