AndrewW
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2016
- Messages
- 199
- Reaction score
- 91
Hello everyone on TRF! I finally wanted to introduce myself on here. My name is Andrew and I live in the Hudson Valley area of upstate NY. I have been lurking on the forum for over a year now and have finally decided to go out on a limb and say hi. This is the first time I have ever posted on any forum in my life so this is a bit of a departure for me.
I got into rocketry about a year and a half ago after visiting NASA with my family. Upon our return home I ordered some Estes kits to put together with my then 4 year old son Henry. After building and flying the kits I made the mistake of searching around online to see what the current state of rocketry was and that was pretty much the beginning of what I would now classify as a full on obsession. It started with Estes Ventris MPR kit and the thought that I would never get certified or get into HPR. That lasted about a month before I was building a Madcow DX3 for L1 cert attempt. Things got a bit out of control from there. I eventually got my L1 followed by my L2 shortly thereafter. To date I have been to launches at METRA, MDRA, URRG, and MARS and have a fleet of 10 High Power Rockets with several others in various stages of construction. I must thank everyone on this forum as I have gained an immeasurable wealth of knowledge from so many of you. My real passion is for learning and there is obviously no shortage of things to learn in rocket science so this hobby has really satisfied something in my soul. Along with the knowledge I have gleaned from this forum I have also learned how to machine metal, construct with composites, design circuits, and build electronic devices using SMT.
One final thing I would like to share is how much I appreciate that this is a hobby that I can share with my family. You may have seen me at one of the launches mentioned above with my son. I am the one that is typically recovering my rocket with a 5 year old on my shoulders and a DSLR and GPS tracker in my hands. I have also gotten my father into the hobby as well and he just received his L1 at URRF. As much as I love flying and seeing the results of all the work we put in by far my favorite thing to do is to spend time learning and building with my son well into the evening in my shop. I must also acknowledge all the wonderful people we have met along the way including vendors, club members as well as other rocket enthusiasts.
As a thank you I am post a video that I am hoping at least a few of you may enjoy...
[YOUTUBE]YyjLdz7Yfeo[/YOUTUBE]
I got into rocketry about a year and a half ago after visiting NASA with my family. Upon our return home I ordered some Estes kits to put together with my then 4 year old son Henry. After building and flying the kits I made the mistake of searching around online to see what the current state of rocketry was and that was pretty much the beginning of what I would now classify as a full on obsession. It started with Estes Ventris MPR kit and the thought that I would never get certified or get into HPR. That lasted about a month before I was building a Madcow DX3 for L1 cert attempt. Things got a bit out of control from there. I eventually got my L1 followed by my L2 shortly thereafter. To date I have been to launches at METRA, MDRA, URRG, and MARS and have a fleet of 10 High Power Rockets with several others in various stages of construction. I must thank everyone on this forum as I have gained an immeasurable wealth of knowledge from so many of you. My real passion is for learning and there is obviously no shortage of things to learn in rocket science so this hobby has really satisfied something in my soul. Along with the knowledge I have gleaned from this forum I have also learned how to machine metal, construct with composites, design circuits, and build electronic devices using SMT.
One final thing I would like to share is how much I appreciate that this is a hobby that I can share with my family. You may have seen me at one of the launches mentioned above with my son. I am the one that is typically recovering my rocket with a 5 year old on my shoulders and a DSLR and GPS tracker in my hands. I have also gotten my father into the hobby as well and he just received his L1 at URRF. As much as I love flying and seeing the results of all the work we put in by far my favorite thing to do is to spend time learning and building with my son well into the evening in my shop. I must also acknowledge all the wonderful people we have met along the way including vendors, club members as well as other rocket enthusiasts.
As a thank you I am post a video that I am hoping at least a few of you may enjoy...
[YOUTUBE]YyjLdz7Yfeo[/YOUTUBE]