Countywide : Model-Rocket Flying May Resume at Park

Model-rocket enthusiasts may soon return to Mile Square Regional Park to blast off their motor-powered toys after being banned from the site for the past six months.

An unauthorized rocket launched from the Fountain Valley park last summer crash-landed onto the adjoining Mile Square Golf Course, prompting county officials in November to prohibit model-rocket launching because of safety and liability concerns.

But after six months, it appears that the ban will be lifted, county officials say.

Tim Miller, manager of regional parks for the county, said the Southern California Rocket Assn. has agreed to monitor launches on scheduled weekends to ensure public safety.

“We want to protect the safety of the public and the golfers,” Miller said.

Model rocketeers hailed the move.

“It’s very welcome news for everyone,” said Gregory Kelly, 42, of Tustin, a model-rocket hobbyist for 18 years. “Too bad it took this long to get it ironed out, but at least (the county) is saying it’s being moved forward to be reopened.”

Paul David, 38, also of Tustin, who has designed his own collection of model rockets, agreed. “There are a lot of people who enjoy the hobby,” he said. “We need a place to launch--and it can be done safely.”

Miller said the monitoring agreement with the model-rocket group is expected to go before the Board of Supervisors for approval within a month, he said.

Miller said the incident last June involved an 11-foot-long rocket with a motor rating four times greater than permitted. The rocket plummeted onto the golf course near the 11th green, just 10 feet from some golfers, and buried itself eight inches into the ground. No one was injured, but Miller said many people voiced concern about safety.

As a result, county officials in November prohibited model-rocket launches.

“It was kind of unfortunate that one incident would wreck it for everybody who does fly conforming rockets,” Kelly said. “It’s not that all rocketeers are bad.”

Before the closure, Miller said model-rocket launches had been allowed in the hobby area of the park since 1970, with policy limits set on the size and power of the rockets. Enthusiasts said that for the past few months, they have had to go to neighboring counties.

Fred Shecter, founder and senior adviser of the 130-member Southern California Rocket Assn., which draws about 75% of its membership from Orange County, said his group agreed to supervise Mile Square Regional Park launches because hobbyists were left in the lurch.

“It was either that, or no one can fly there,” said Shecter, 35, who has been involved in the hobby since boyhood.

For more information on the rocket group, call (714) 529-1598.