ORIGINAL: Mike in DC
A while back there was a "discussion" here about a stunt pulled in Memphis where a trainer was set on fire and flown until it crashed. Some folks felt that this was dangerous behavior beyond the pale, and that the perps were threatening the entire R/C hobby by their behavior. The other side said that setting stuff on fire is great fun, they wish they had been there, and what good would life be without doing stuff like this (I paraphrase).
Marc closed the thread, which was OK by me, but the July 2005 issue of Popular Science had an article that I thought was very relevant:
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/aviatio...068619,00.html. In what the reporter calls "one big explosive picnic", hundreds of model rocket enthusiasts gather annually to, well, "blow things up", it appears.
For those who worry that the government will prohibit folks from doing stupid things, this article is a good read. I particularly like the contest to see how high you can launch an 8 pound bowling ball! Trust me, the stunt with the trainer in Memphis would not even raise an eyebrow at the Dangerous Rocket Ship Launch! Nobody seemed to be worried about insurance (despite the obvious need), but there is a good discussion of the threat of government regulation.
Mike, you have an interesting perspective for someone who's never been to the NARA event!
The "Rocket Men" run a very well managed event that would put to shame most club safety programs. They do have insurance, they hold the event in the middle of the high California desert where there's absolutely nothing to catch fire, you can't even get near the launch site unless you've been certified to handle explosives, they even tell you where to park so cars are out of the blast area, the failed recovery system impact area and recovery area. Oh, and the bowling ball launch requires that the ball be secured so it must stay with the rocket during parachute recovery and cannot freefall. There's even a full time comms tech that maintains communications with the nearest FAA Traffic Control facility to ensure the rockets are never, ever shot near aircraft.
It's a very, very well run and safe event.
Apples and oranges to compare that with a couple hooligans setting fire to an airplane (which, I agree they have every right to do as long as they're not on "common" (read club) property).