Safety

Eurorules

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In the EU countries different rules apply, whether launching modelrockets or posessing modelrocket engines is allowed by law. This page tries to give some insight in those different rules for the countries.

Netherlands

In the Netherlands flying modelrockts is allowed by law from december 7th, 2006. We, the DRRA(Dutch Rocket Research Association) together with three other clubs, have worked out regulations with our government. It took us quite a long time, but we reached the finisch! The Modelrocket Regulation (Regeling Modelraketten) is publisched by our governement and regulates the use of modelrockets in Dutch airspace. (The text is in Dutch language and consists of the regulation, in combination with comment) In the Netherlands EU rules are active since 1994/1995 (Orange Book). It forbids everything with an explosive charge. An exception is made for pyrothechnical devices (fireworks?). Modelrocket engines are some sort of pyrothechnical devices. International, modelrocket engines are 'pyrothechnical toy propellant devices'. They don't have an explosive charge, but a propelling charge, especially made to lift modelrockets. The biggest problem is that modelrocket engines are not described and relatively unknown. What is the status in other countries? What are the laws there? Are modelrocket engines forbidden or are they seen as toy propellant? to Top

Austria

Modelrocket engines are not allowed. to Top

France

Here below is the summary of the french regulations: They emphasize the public safety, several young kids were severly injured when mixing chemical products to design a solid motor of their own. 1) rocket motors are covered by the fireworks regulations. Fireworks are divided into 4 classes depending upon the weight of "active matter" (propellant, ejection charge ....) class K1: up to 10 grs (BP=A,B),C,D with composite class K2: up to 100 grs(BP=D,E,F),G with composite class K3: up to 500 grs H,I,low J(800 N/s) class K4: > 500 grs 2) all motors must have a certification number. Only 4 Official labs are abilitated to deliver such a certificate.You have to pay for it and it is quite expensive. As an example the price tag to certify a single motor with a given delay is 8000 FF or 1219 Euro's. So just think of the Dealer who wants to sell the whole set of Aerotech motors!!!He will have to put big bucks on the table. 3)you must be > 18 to buy K2,K3,K4 4)only qualified people can handle and use K4.You need to pass an exam and get a certificate from the Prefet.One week (not less than 5 days according to the "arrêté du 27/12/90 refering to the Décret n° 90-897 du 1/10/90)trainings (technical, products safety, civilian liability, legislation...)are available (highly recommended!)but are very expensive. This is a short description, I have all the official documents at home (in french). BTW I am currently working on a proposal that is a mix of FAI, NAR and TRA (in fact mainly TRA) that will be proposed to FFAM (Fédération Française d'AéroModélisme). It gives a complete description of the regulations we would like to get in force in France. Engines can be shipped via postal services or for larger parcels via special postal services because you can only buy A,B,C and D. Shops can sell motors but only A,B,C and sometimes D. We could not find a single motor for almost one year because dealers were reluctant to pay a high price for the certification that took place in 1997. Jean Pierre Seingier to Top

Germany

German laws

Up to now (only) A/B/C and a weak D motor are allowed in Germany. These modelrocket engines are approved by the German authority called BAM. to Top

Switzerland

Model rocket engines are classified as "technical pyrotechnics", not "fireworks". (It is very likely that this applies to all other countries also!) In Switzerland, access to technical pyrotechnics with an explosive charge smaller than 50g is not regulated at all. On model rocket engines, the explosive part is the ejection charge (allways smaller than 50g) There are regulations for the functionality of the motor of course, needs to be safe to handle, reliable, needs to meet packaging and labling regulations... that's checked with the type approval. You need to be 18years old to buy. Vendors need to keep track of sales. to Top

Italy

In Italy Estes engines are excluded from the pyrotechnic/firework class. (This is an example which can be followed by EC authorities. After all, it is not so unreasonable to think the engines can fall into a propellant category, exempted from special restrictions. Think about model engine fuel: it contains nitromethane which is, by itself, very dangerous and potentially explosive. Nonetheless, it has been exempted from special restriction, and shipping it is not an issue. As an example, it would be a good starting point to know the exemption Swiss Post applied for shipping Ammonium Perchlorate engines within Switzerland. Also, it would be useful to know the exemptions applied by each country regarding Estes engines.) Here are the italian regulations on explosives. You will see there is very little regarding our engines. I tried to do the best translation but the text is dated back to 1926 and some terms are a bit….dated: Explosives are divided in 5 classes: Class 1 - Powdered explosives and similar explosives. Class 2 - Dynamite and similar products. Class 3 - Deflagrating explosives and similar explosives. Class 4 - Pyrotecnical artifacts(??) and products with similar explosive effect. Class 5 - Safety ammunitions and pyro toys. Classes 4 and 5 are fireworks. They can be sold to people of age 18 or older by licensed vendors with a fireproof storage. Some pyro toys and very small fireworks, classified product by product by the Ministry of Interiors, are of free sale (no need of a licence) and can be sold to childrens as well. Every explosive product must be submitted to the Ministry of Interiors Commission for Firearms and Explosives, to be classified into one of the classes above, or to be excluded from those classes. There is no need to submit an actual sample of the product, but they ask for the exact formula and the specification from the manufacturer. If this is written in a foreign language, an official translation must be provided with the request of classification. The explosive classes have nothing to do with shipping classes. This means that a product shipped as 1.4S has to be classified anyway. Model rocket engines have been excluded from the pyro toys and firework classification and are of free sale. They cannot be sold to people under 18, but of course their parents can buy them, and children must use them under adult supervision. The propellant weight limit is 113 gr. The flight of rockets must follow a mix of a general guideline used for model airplanes and the NAR safety code. Flight of rockets (models or real ones) is not included in any air traffic rule. to Top

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