[ETS/PARC List] More answers on Balloon project

[E. Drew Moore]

To: "E. Drew Moore" <drumor at optonline.net>

HI Drew.  Thanks for this.  With regards to the FAA - The requirements 
are covered under FAR Part 101.  Being a licensed Private Pilot I am 
familiar with these regulations.  In a nutshell, I cannot launch within 
5 miles of an Airport without the authorization of the airport manager. 
 In addition, I must stay out of Class B and C airspace.  Examples of 
Class B and C are JFK/Newark (Class B) and Trenton (Class C).  A few 
other rules apply which I can explain in more detail at one of your 
meetings.




I am at the mercy of the winds aloft and the Jet stream and have 
forecast models which allow me to estimate the balloon in flight and and 
the payload recovery location within about 10 miles or so.  My launch 
location is determined based on the winds aloft.  Our first launch was 
near Hershey PA and the payload traveled over 125 miles to Boonton NJ.  




There are many details which go into a launch and i'm more than happy to 
come down to your next meeting and explain the project from beginning to 
end.



I am really excited that you are discussing this.  This certainly would 
take this project to the next level.

Speak with you soon.


Regards,


Mike




On Sat, Aug 30, 2014 at 10:48 PM, E. Drew Moore <drumor at optonline.net 
<mailto:drumor at optonline.net> > wrote:




Mike,



FYI.

Regards, Drew Moore W2OU



To: ETSList at mailman.qth.net <mailto:ETSList at mailman.qth.net>



Members,



The meeting Friday night was very good and interesting. We had 
intriguing dialog on the prospects of putting a 70cm repeater on the 
air, acquisition of a new 220 mhz amplifier, possibly 2 prospective new 
member, reduce announcement clutter on the air, a public service event 
in South Plainfield and a 5K marathone in Edison, and our possible 
future involvement in a baloon launching project. These are all healthy 
activities for a viable Amateur Radio Club. I felt good when I got home 
and I hope the feeling is shared.





Someone bought up whether there were FAA restrictions for launching 
weather balloons. Of course we all thought there were since we do have 
things like restrictive airspace, etc., however no one seemed to have a 
clue. My guess is the owners of the project in the spirit of due 
diligence would as a matter of course explored that avenue before 
investing in the hobby. Launching weather balloons has been a school 
activity since Edmund Scientific starting sending out catalogs..





So, to help you out please feel free to visit

http://www.diyspaceexploration.com/high-altitude-balloon-faq/ 
<http://www.diyspaceexploration.com/high-altitude-balloon-faq/>



for more information. There's no shortage of helpful information on the 
internet that only require a simple Google search. If you're too busy to 
do any research I will arrange to have a guest speaker address the club 
after he takes his Technician exam on September 13, 2014 at our new VE 
Exam location (Clark OEM).





73,

Drew Moore

W2OU, ETSNJ Director





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