New boy in West Wales

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JohnRE

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Evening one and all.

Sitting here in Pembrokeshire looking at a mixed bag of Estes rockets and just wondering if there are any like minded folk in easy reach to offer advice to a new boy?
 
Welcome! I'm in Cambridgeshire.

I think your local rocketry club is Fins over Gwent - are you a member?
 
@amell - Just grabbed their contact details from the 'tinterweb :) and thanks.

@Salvage-1 - Corgi's are safe enough, is more likely to be the sheep that need to be worried :)
 
I spent almost 2 years living in Haverfordwest while the ex was stationed at Brawdy in the early 90s. Had we not had the newborn, I probably would've investigated rocketry while I was there. There was a little hobby shop in town, but I don't recall he carried much for rockets. I'd've probably had to have gone to Milford Haven or even Swansea (I knew a really good shop there) for supplies. Actually, now that I think about it, I probably could've gotten supplies through the Navy Exchange (since I worked for 'em)!
 
Hi Pete

Been trolling around the FOG site and what a lovely location you guys have to launch :)

I will hopefully (workload permitting) drag myself across the land in the new year as I see your events are planned well in advance (just need to get my own life as organised now).

In the meantime I have managed to get permission from a local farmer to us some of the land around the village I live in :) but have a question...

Assuming I join BMF for insurance (waiting till December to get 13 months instead of 1), will this allow me to launch on private land with cover assuming I am sticking to a UKRA type of code of conduct? i.e. not being a complete numpty. I am planning on A and maybe B launches while I cut my teeth, in the first instance commercial kits, if you can call an Estes Alpha III a kit, more like a 12 piece jigsaw ;) There is very likely some 1/2A action going on once I actually make a decision on which air-frame I want to cobble together out off a Mini Customizer pack I have sitting in front of me (loving the looks of the mini payloader, No: 9).

IMG_20141125_230244.jpg IMG_20141125_230410.jpg

The Alpha has been tweaked before any flying, Nomex wadding and a heat resistant sheath for the recovery shock. To be fair to Estes it went together in the blink of an eye and the only doctoring required was some flash removal from the fin assemble, very nasty serrated ridges on the trailing edges of the fins.
 
In the meantime I have managed to get permission from a local farmer to us some of the land around the village I live in :) but have a question...

Assuming I join BMF for insurance (waiting till December to get 13 months instead of 1), will this allow me to launch on private land with cover assuming I am sticking to a UKRA type of code of conduct? i.e. not being a complete numpty. I am planning on A and maybe B launches while I cut my teeth, in the first instance commercial kits, if you can call an Estes Alpha III a kit, more like a 12 piece jigsaw ;)
BMFA insurance will provide cover; the farmer's permission is what allows you to launch on private, i.e. his, land. The two are not necessarily linked, though proving that you are insured may sometimes help to convince a landowner to give permission. :)

The reason for sticking to either the UKRA or BMFA safety code is that if something does go wrong and you want to make a claim, the insurance company will do everything in its power to avoid having to pay. Following the safety code proves that you are flying in a responsible manner, exercising due care and attention, so the company can't claim it was all your stupid fault so they don't need to pay up. (Which, incidentally, is also why the BMFA handbook advises never to admit liability in public. If you do, the company says "Aha! So you admit you messed up! No payment for you, then!" You should, however, be entirely truthful when you report the accident to BMFA.)

The Alpha 3 is a nice starter set. It's one of the oldest designs, meaning it's stood the test of time and performed well for lots of people, so you should get good flights from it. You may want to cut a hole in the parachute, take out the Estes logo and maybe the first chequered ring around it. This spill hole will allow some air out of the top of the parachute and prevent it from trying to tip over and let air out of the sides, and will also bring the rocket down a bit more quickly. That should help keep it in the field when you put a B in it. You could even replace the parachute with a streamer if the ground isn't too hard, and that way you have a chance of getting it back if you ever feel the tempation to fly the Alpha on a C. :)
 
Thanks for the input Adrian.

The insights on insurance and code of conduct was pretty much what I had figured, is good to know I am thinking along the right tracks at this early stage :)

Loved the input on the 'chute, makes sense. Sounds like another small mod' before zero hour :)

Maybe wait a little and get some air time before a streamer and 'C' though :)
 
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