So, BARs, what brought you back into rocketry?

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

K'Tesh

.....OpenRocket's ..... "Chuck Norris"
TRF Supporter
Joined
Mar 27, 2013
Messages
22,451
Reaction score
14,750
I'm sitting here killing time before my next class, and I got to thinking about what got me back into rocketry this time (my first BAR period was just picking up where I left off (being stationed overseas does that to people)).

My flame for rocketry re-lit with the discovery of the 808 #16 camera, and a desire to record my bike commutes of all things. The camera was finally affordable, and I picked one up. Then I glanced at a Semroc reproduction of the Cineroc, and that was all it took.

So, what's your story? What got you back into it?

Pointy Side Up!
Jim
 
I thought it would be a fun thing to do with my Son. Turns out he did'nt care for things like actually having to BUILD the Rockets.
Ohwell, atleast he enjoys launching, and I re-discovered for the 3rd time how much I enjoy the Hobby.
It's better this time around because of the internet. Sure, the internet was around in 1999-2001 when I got back into it last time, but I did'nt use the internet yet then.
 
I learned people were making their own motors. Something i always wanted to do.
 
Took my son to a club launch shortly before he turned 4 to see if he liked it. He did (me too) and he got a rocket for his birthday. Now, he and his little brother build their own rockets (with a little help). They are also an excellent launch and recovery crew for my rockets, as well as being the finest pair of enablers a BAR could ask for.
 
I don't know if I qualify as a BAR, because I never built/launched as a kid. But my neighbors did, and we lived near a big farm, and I liked to watch them launch and run and get the rockets. After that, it was something I always wanted to do. But life took over and I never did buy a rocket...

...until I was 40-something, and had kids, and thought, "This would be a fun family activity." I bought a launch set at Hobby Lobby, and became obsessed with it. Turns out, the wife and kids didn't dig it so much, but I did. And then when I learned about HPR and DD, I knew I couldn't stop with LPR kits.
 
In 1996 the first Rockets for Schools event was held here, went to check it out, been hooked ever since. I had no idea they had rockets, and motors that big.
 
This kid's fault:

1401930_10152453419869126_823434580_o.jpg

Found him playing with my Estes 1/100 Saturn V a few years ago, asked if he was interested in it. So, I dug out my old rocketry stuff (that I hadn't touched in over a decade) and went launching. Up until that point, I had forgotten how much I enjoy the building (except for sanding...hate that) and launching aspect of the hobby. Been back in it ever since.

FC
 
I blame my daughter. She got into model rocketry and then I took her to a Michiana Rocketry club launch just to watch. Next thing I knew, I was building rockets.
 
I was teaching an "aeronautics" class at a home school support center in a local school district, and had been trying to use "foamy" RC airplanes as the big project (design project for the students) but making that work with the available funding not all that successful. One of the students in the next year's class suggested model rockets and I thought "Hmmmmmmm, that might work". I had some of my old stuff (not much).

So I went to Wal*Mart and got a Patriot RTF starter set (this was about six years ago - when they still had motors in the sets) and went to a nearby large open area where I sometimes flew some of my airplanes and launched it. Immediately I thought "I remember how much fun this is!" and away it went from there. I did three more years with that class at Russell Ridge and even after that situation ended I kept going. The highlight so far has been winning one of the competition events at my very first NARAM last summer (Bx5 cluster altitude).

I did attend some large club launches here in Washington and one in Oregon shortly after I got back in and there got introduced to composite motors and high power, but I've mainly stayed low and mid power. I got my L1 mainly so I could fly Fs and Gs with higher than 80N average thrust (one of my favorites is the CTI G88 Smoky Sam) but have no plans to go bigger than the Estes PSII kits (three of which I have flying examples, and one of which has been turned into a 2.56 upscale of the Estes Nova Payloader).
 
This kid's fault:

Found him playing with my Estes 1/100 Saturn V a few years ago, asked if he was interested in it. So, I dug out my old rocketry stuff (that I hadn't touched in over a decade) and went launching. Up until that point, I had forgotten how much I enjoy the building (except for sanding...hate that) and launching aspect of the hobby. Been back in it ever since.

FC

Man, that's a cool bird!
 
internet search for estes kits , found out bigger stuff was available by watching YouTube


1 year later NAR lvl 2
 
I figured my 5 year old twins might be interested and was pleasantly surprised to see that the hobby has evolved since I last played with my Estes Alpha back in 1979. So I picked up two Apogee Apprentices, a slightly larger Alpha sized rocket from Apogee Rocketry as well as an Aerotech Arreaux for myself, and it's been both feet into the hobby ever since...you should see my son's Lego collection! :grin:
 
Last edited:
I raced RC boats, airplanes and then cars from 1994-2013. My son was only interested in cars. The environment at the tracks was always PG-13 or worse. I finally got fed up with it. We came home after a race and I just decided that was it. A few months later I thought that rockets might be a good hobby for the whole family as launches are usually more family friendly. I bought a few kits last February and the kids have really enjoyed it (at least so far). I think my daughter gets just as much excitement out of the raffles as the actual launching of rockets. She's won something at almost every launch we've attended.

My son finally built an Estes Mini Cobra all on his own a couple weekends ago. I just need to find a good day for him to learn how to paint. :eek:

IMG_9271.jpg
 
Last edited:
I'm an old model builder and had lost interest there as well. Picked up an Interceptor E to build as a static display with the SRB of course. Well the rocket was built but the diorama never happened. Moved to Tx. and the Interceptor came along. Got to thinking about it and said I could make that SRB idea work and fell feet first right back to where I left off--modify and scratch--scratch and modify. The launch chances are few and far between these days but I'm satisfying two of my old passions now.
 
Going through a separation and divorce, I got back into rocketry and build scale models as a form of therapy.
 
My wife got me back into rockets...and making home brew back in 1984. She found my 1963 Centuri Payloader in the basement behind some of my rc stuff. She said, "lets go fly it". So we did, after I found my 20 year old B6-4's and out to the ranch we went. I really didn't know if my engines would even work since they sat in my range box for so many years. It flew great except for the shock cord which pulled out and the body tube took a core sample. I was hooked and she loves watching me fly, but she gets tired of my recovery walks because they take so long.
 
Last edited:
Ok, maybe I'm a weirdo...I was reading some of my old math books, and saw that Michael Spivak had recently written a book "Physics for Mathematicians," got it, and was enjoying it, and at some point with the discussion of force, velocity and momentum, I thought, gee there's probably some more interesting stuff in my old "Topics in Advanced Model Rocketry" which I've kept with me over multiple multiple moves, and then when I found that really really interesting, I wondered, what is going on now? I quickly found this forum, and got hooked by all the nice people and great info. When I went to YouTube and saw the launches of the larger rockets, I went, wow! Rocketry has changed since 1983...
 
I guess I count as a BAR, I built and flew a few pretty simple kits as a kid (including one I built at Space Camp in Titusville), the last one I remember one was a small scale Space Shuttle kit (but definitely NOT the Estes 1284, there was no separation or glide recovery, only a chute) that I lost on the roof of my local middle school, they just tore the building down a few months ago which made me wonder if it was still up there.

Jump forward 25 or so years, and a co-worker was explaining XPRS at Black Rock to me, and mentioned that there was a spare bed in the RV the group travels with. So I came along (2012), and was instantly hooked. I only watched launches that first trip, but built my first HPR kit (and rented my own RV and convinced my dad to come along) and got my L1 my first flight (then destroyed the rocket on the second flight :( ). Built another kit for last year's XPRS (and my dad built and got his L1 first flight), and I have since added Maddox Dairy Farm (TCC) and Orvis/Snow Ranch (LUNAR) to the launch sites I've travelled to. Right now I'm mid-way through building my third rocket and have a 4th one on order, as well as a bunch of casings to move from borrowing cases or only flying DMS motors to having a lot more options.

But it was totally XPRS that got me back into rocketry, XPRS and Black Rock in general is certainly something to be experienced.
 
Going to AirFest 2012 in Argonia, Kansas re-ignited the passion and opened the eyes to high power. A followup Christmas present for a son (for which Dad needed a complimentary kit to share a father/son bonding experience) cemented the path. The Aerotech certification L1 and L2 specials then enticed a frenzy of activity in the new age of rocketry many decades after the original boyhood fascination with building and flying Centuri and Estes models, some of which will fly again.
 
So, what's your story? What got you back into it?
The larger rockets, available computer simulators for design, miniature electronics allowing recording of flight data, the last two being the major contributors. I've always liked aerodynamics. Just watching rockets bores me fairly quickly, even HPR ones. These are the same reasons I got into RC aircraft for the first time at around the same time.
 
I've been on n off n on again since 1970 at the age of 10. I can't remember all the times there was a pause of a year or two, then get the stuff back out. Catch up on what's new, build a few, fly a few, loose a few, fishin this season, huntin the next, traveled and worked a couple years. Oh, and the few years between drivers license and 1st son. No time to build or fly when the dog in you won't stay at rest.
My last pause was due to loss of home and stuff was in storage for a year and half. Just getting setting up here for fulll winters building season.
I guess what really got me into it was the space race, watching the moon landing, Star Trek. And one of older neighbors got one and watched it go off a couple times. And I wasn't really into the old Western Shows that where hits when I was a kid like my parents were. But I am now for some reason. I guess it's one of the things you get a 2nd chance at that you missed in your younger years.
I have always built model kits, cars, boats, plains, bridges and building stuff out of my dad's wood pile in the basement while he was at work. Great paint jobs didn't start until I got into auto body. Now it's one the most satisfying things I do with building. Love to up scale stuff. But the real thrill is when you push the button. Smell the smell, hear the whoosh, and strain your neck and eyes and wonder where the heck that one went? I use to like to run after them and see if you catch em comin down before they landed. No way I can do that now unless it lands on top of head where I was standin when it was launched.
 
When the older 2 kids were little (12 and 10 now), I saw a patriot starter set on clearance at Walmart. Picked it up, kids loved it. And it gives me something to do.
 
My daughter was invited to a science week event to get girls interested science. One of the events they did was build and fly a model rocket. I remembered how much fun they were and bought some kits so she & I could do more. She lost interest but I didn't.
 
I have never been a BAR only 2 years in my life have I not launched a rocket. I was over seas for 2 years and the only reason I didnt launch was because my stuff was back here in the States, not because I gave it up. I even took my rockets with me to college. I took a break from HPR for a time like 14 years (young family, and broke) but I have always done some LPR & MPR. So I guess im just a HPR BAR.


TA
 
Thanks All for the Fun Stories!

I hope that everyone will add theirs sooner or later!

Pointy Side Up!
Jim
 
I had my old rockets from when I was a teenager sitting on shelves for years and years, there was maybe one flyable one, others had fins popped off of them, etc., from being moved around so much. I bought a CC Express when I was laid up with a busted knee 8 years ago but never got around to painting it. Fast forward to about 3 years ago and I finally got some fin stock and fixed a couple of my rockets, but just never got around to launching them. My son was born soon afterwards, and the first couple of years he was really too small to be able to look after while I was dragging everything around. Then one day this past spring I hauled out the rockets again, fixed another popped off fin, repainted a couple, and we just loaded up in the truck and went behind a local school and burned a few motors. Lost that CC Express on its 2nd flight back in August, then attended my first club launch this past October. Now I've gotten the HPR bug and I'm currently working on (hope to have construction wrapped up in the next few days) of my L1 cert rocket.
 
Back
Top