Dear fellow Rocketeers,

After a series of talks with several leading rocket fliers in the UK,
Germany, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Spain, Italy and the Netherlands
I would like to bring forward an idea that has been growing slowly in
a small group within the rocket community in Europe.

In the last few years I came across some developments that will
influence the way that we enjoy our hobby in the future, both points
are very important for a good continuing infrastructure for the rocket
hobby in Europe. Most fliers in  Europe are a member of the local
rocketry organizations and use their infrastructure to launch their
projects. As a Tripoli prefect, TAP member and the co-owner of REBEL
Space / Rocketry I came across two EU developments that will have a
large impact on how fliers can enjoy our hobby in the future in the
European Union.

I take this initiative, mainly because no one is addressing it and
both issues can mean the end of rocketry in the EU in the future
completely or at least have a major impact on how we launch rockets in
the EU. No matter how long countries in the EU will take their own
time to implement the laws that are being developed, it will have a
definitive impact in the end. We need a good group of knowledgeable
fliers to take action on these issues.

This is why I take this initiative and distribute this letter in
several languages among all EU rocketry organizations, all forums,
public or not public. Please feel free to translate it in our own
language and try to reach all EU rocketry organizations and individual
fliers in Europe and also in Switzerland and Norway. This way all
Rocketeers in the EU can see the importance of these issues and we can
get a good group together to tackle these issues so that our hobby has
a good future. We live in an era of Space Technology that is
developing the way Aviation was developing itself about a hundred
years ago, so lets continue that quest and be able to fly rockets in
Europe on all levels.

After several talks with some leading fliers in the EU we have come to
the following setup that we can use to reach our goals. It is however
imperative that everyone sees the importance of these issues, if we
can reach a good agreement with the EU Governmental agencies this
could mean a very good future and loosen allot of burdens for our
hobby on all fields for Low Power Rocketry (Model Rocketry), Mid Power
Rocketry, High Power Rocketry and Research Rocketry (Experimental
Rocketry).

Facts;

·	In Europe several amateur rocket organizations are active, most have
a good infrastructure and have agreements within the laws of their
country to be able to actively launch rockets and store motors and
reloads.
·	In the EU the lawmakers have written a concept for the use of
pyrotechnical articles, the use of our motors is unsure in this, also
the setup now is that only companies can use larger motors (above a
few grams of propellant). We need a system that fliers can use all
commercial and non commercial motors legally when this law is
implemented. Up to now only the UK, Germany, Switzerland, France have
a law in place or an agreement, in the Netherlands a extension of the
law is being written, but all these laws will be subject to change
when the EU law comes into effect.
·	The EU is working to clear the total airspace in the EU from
military areas, probably there will be only training area left in the
whole of the EU in the future for the military, and the whole airspace
will be reclassified to be able free up congested airspace and make
more flights possible along shorter routes. We need to be able to use
this airspace for our launches however and we need a law in place in
the EU aviation law that covers this, up to now only the Netherlands
has a law like this in place, in all other countries local regulations
have been made by the organization, but they are all subject to what
happens in the EU aviation law concerning airspace.

These two points will have influences on how we can actively launch
rockets in the EU in the near future.

My idea is to take action on these issues and address them for the
good of the Rocketeer and the hobby in the EU;

·	Inform all Rocketry organizations and Rocketeers in Europe of these
issues. The goal is to motivate all fliers to become a member of a
local organization as we need every support we can get, and to start a
European based Rocketry Organization, for now called EU Rocketry. This
is done by this letter.

Goal is to start;

·	A European Amateur Rocketry Organization that can represent all
organizations in Europe when dealing with the two issues on the use
and storage of pyrotechnical articles and the use of the Airspace in
Europe. All organizations will have to pay a membership fee to this
Organization, probably based on the amount of members to be able to
pay for all costs that will certainly come when addressing the two
issues and no one can do this without expenses paid for.
This organization will basically not interfere with the infrastructure
that all the EU organizations already have in place as certifications,
trainings and so on although it will have consequences on some fields,
we will not be able to get around that as they will be consequences
from the Pyro and Air laws in the EU. The main goal of this European
Organization is to lobby in the EU for the use of pyrotechnical
articles (rocket motors and reloads that is) and the use of the
airspace in the EU. The organization will however use laws and
agreements with local governments (for instance Dutch Rocketry Air
law, UK storage agreement, German T1 / T2 system and so on) that are
good for our hobby as a spear point on the issues, mainly to prove
that good systems are already in use that we can build on for a EU
arrangement in the laws in both fields.
·	This European Organization will then form a BOD of about 5 members
that will do the daily communication with all the organizations in
Europe and will form two Working Groups. One to address the
pyrotechnical article issue and one to address the use of the airspace
issue. Also this BOD will setup a website that will reflect the
organization, goals and milestones of the process.
·	Forming by this BOD of two working groups of about 5 members, one
group to tackle the use and storage of the pyrotechnical articles and
one group to tackle the use of the airspace in Europe. A example for
this has already been done by the firework organizations in Europe.
The new pyrotechnical law that is under development by the EU has
already been changed by the lobbying of a European fireworks
organization that was formed strictly to address this law. A Dutch
consultant was made the head of this organization and thru him we
could get access to the road for a chapter about rocket motors in this
new law (EU 9315 Pyro Law). For this we also have some other contacts
we can use.
o	The Pyro Group will have to address the EU 9315 Pyro Law and find a
way to implement the new P1 / P2 regulation in something like the
German T1 / T2 system combined with the TRA / NAR / CAR / UKRA
certification system for the use of the larger motors. This will prove
difficult as also organizations in Europe that do not use this system
will have to device a way to use a system like this in the future. We
cannot get around this, but this way we can lead the law makers to a
situation that works for our hobby and is safe as we have the safest
track record with this system in the world and we can prove this with
thousands of launches all over the world.
o	The Air law Group will have to address the use of the airspace and
the regulations concerning NOTAMS and the special rocketry
regulations. We can use the Dutch air space law for rocketry for this
as a basis and the FAA legislation that has been in place for a long
time in the USA.

I end this letter by saying that the fliers that are going to
participate to this BOD and the two working groups have to be very
motivated and be able to spend time on these issues. You will have to
do allot of research, talk to fellow fliers for ideas and work with
different organizations to get to the needed results. Some will also
have to make time to travel to Brussels and make presentations for the
law makers. I give the flag now to all boards of our European Rocketry
Organizations and individual fliers to make this all happen.

Please contact me as soon as possible for further details or when any
of you have any questions, and I would like to set a date for the
forming of the BOD of the EU Rocketry Organization around the end of
December 2007 as time is pressing to form the pyrotechnical group.
Ideas are welcome, I would also rather use my time on one of my rocket
projects, but if we do not take action on this then we can only fly in
the USA in the future in a worst case scenario.

Please only contact me directly via rebel@quicknet.nl as I really do
not have the time nor resources to visit all forums where this is
posted to answer or react on all ideas or comments. I will react to
all e-mails however to setup a basic working layout that will later be
represented on the webpage that we will be made operational to
represent this effort.

Please forward this to all concerned.