Junior Level 1 Certification process changes

The NAR Board of Trustees recently passed a change to our Junior L1 certification process that adds a written test requirement. The change will go into effect on January 1, 2020. All Junior L1 certified members on or before December 31, 2019 will not be required to take the written test to keep their Junior L1 certification. Certification paperwork without the accompanying test certification completed after that date will be returned as incomplete.

This change is being made to help provide reciprocal access to our Junior L1 flyers at Tripoli-sponsored launches (where our Junior L1 certified members were previously not able to be present at HPR pads). The change is the result of several discussions between the Tripoli president, Steve Shannon, and your NAR president, John Hochheimer that were followed up by discussions among the NAR board and several key committees. Both organizations seek cooperation and reciprocity in HPR flying where it can help to provide access to flying for our members, in this case Jr L1 flyers.

The NAR board held several discussions on the topic and after thoughtful input from the HPR, L3CC, and Safety committees and board liaisons, consensus was reached for the structure of revisions to our Junior L1 certification process to include a written test. We have a test that will be rolled out soon to sections in preparation for the January 1 launch of the program. The specifics of the test and procedures include:

  • The test will be twenty questions
  • The test will consist of a master question bank available (with answers) for study
  • The test will be distributed to NAR sections
  • The test may be administered by Section officers or Jr L1 certification team members (L1 or higher)
  • The test will be taken and passed prior to the certification flight
  • The test may be re-taken immediately in case of a failure but may only be taken twice in a seven-day period
  • The test will comply with any other details and processes as the L2 test

Please direct questions to Jim Wilkerson (jim@jmw29221.com ) or NAR president, John Hochheimer (president @NAR.org) We will provide updates in upcoming eRockteer editions, the NAR website, and our Facebook page.