2
$\begingroup$

Inspired by the comments on this answer regarding remote control links above Low Earth Orbit, I wondered - should we consider questions about model rocketry1 as on topic?

It's not something I've tried myself, but I can see there are potentially a number of similarities, and possibly community overlap.

As is common for Meta posts, please vote this question Up for 'Yes, on topic' and Down for 'No, off topic' - and feel free to share thoughts and reasoning below.

[1] Model rockets operate well below Low Earth Orbit, but the query got me thinking all the same!

$\endgroup$
1
  • $\begingroup$ Can you control a model rocket in flight, or is it a kind of push a button and watch it go thing? If it’s the former then I think they should be allowed, but I don’t know enough about that part of the hobby to comment. $\endgroup$
    – Drones and Whatnot
    Apr 30, 2020 at 15:49

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
4
$\begingroup$

Since model rockets are not controlled via a controller held by the "pilot" of the rocket, I feel that model rockets are off topic. If model rockets are allowed, it opens the door to questions of paper airplanes, and anything else that can fly. To me, a drone and/or model aircraft is an object that can fly at the discretion of the pilot who is operating the controller that is sending signals to the model aircraft. It's not something that is launched, only to watch it fall to the ground with no interaction from a "pilot" (the person who instigated the launch) with the exception of the initial launch which made it get airborne.

$\endgroup$
2
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ I've watched some videos online (example channel) and it looks like they largely fly themselves, but can have complex autopilots. The control method is an interesting angle I hadn't thought of; perhaps another question is whether we allow questions about automatic flight? We have so far allowed autopilot questions, but not had many. (As an aside, I checked Aviation.SE and they do have a paper airplane tag!) $\endgroup$
    – Kralc
    Apr 30, 2020 at 15:59
  • $\begingroup$ @Kralc That channel is a great one. My son (3.5) loves watching his videos, particularly the test flights of his Falcon Heavy rockets. $\endgroup$
    – Catija StaffMod
    May 1, 2020 at 12:36

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .