New to TRF - returning to rocketry

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NWShark

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Hi everyone,

It's great to find a place so dedicated to rocketry. First a little about myself. I have two boys who are 11 and 13 who both love rockets. I think we have about 10 rockets so far between them and 4 or 5 more still waiting to be built. I got back into rocketry about 3 years ago when their cub scout pack did a rocket launch that I ran for them. We had 20 boys launch their rockets two times each. First with a A8-3 then with a B6-4 engine if it returned. We only lost two rockets so it was a good day.

I started in the Estes Aerospace Club back near 1980. At least that's the earliest Estes catalog I can find in my old stuff. I still have two rockets from when I was a kid, but both need to be repaired before I could launch them again. One is an X-15 that I'd really like to try again. I also found some engines from that time frame as well. Any chance they are still any good?

Obviously my experience building rockets is a bit dated so I'm wondering what new tips/techniques folks have developed in the last 35+ years... LOL. Mainly I've been reading a lot about the finish on the rockets. Filling the balsa and making them smooth is something I still need to work on. For my boys' rockets we just put a few coats of sandable primer, sand and then apply the finish coat. It works but its not great. So far we've only lost one rocket, a 2-stage rocket using B engines that simply went too high for the location we were in.

Anyway I'm happy to find other folks into rocketry and look forward to reading more each day.

Thanks,
Eric Finn
 
Welcome to you and your boys! I can't wait to see what you've got going on for builds (I'm currently in China, and living rocketry vicariously through a lot of other people here)...

Post Pics!

and don't forget

Pointy Side Up!
Jim
 
welcome and congrats on finding your way back. thank you for helping with the scouts. what a way to pay it forward. working a launch with that many boys plus help with building can be very challenging but well worth it.
 
Hi, welcome to the madhouse :). a lot has happened over the years...I'll start by suggesting the 'Handbook of model rocketry' (try the library). gluing paper skins to fins is more common now. also one can buy motors up to G impulse :).
Rex
 
Welcome back ! Flying rockets with kids is the best fountain of youth formula I can think of. Finishing rockets and the quest for the perfect technique is a rather popular topic on the 'ol forum so you'll find quite a few threads and one or two strongly held opinions on the subject. :grin:

Some popular fillers are:

Elmers Carpenters Wood Filler - avoid anything with Pro or Maxx on the label or anything with real wood fibers listed as an ingredient.

Bondo Spot Putty - single tube not the two part auto stuff. Basically a real thick primer.

Paper lamination - for fins, provides strength and smoothness with very little weight penalty.


Lots of info on these and other techniques can be found all over this place. The search function can be a little difficult. Try typing this in your favorite search engine for better results:

"search argument" site:www.rocketryforum.com
 
Welcome back. As long as your motors were kept dry and relatively temperature stable, they should be fine.
 
Welcome Back !

As a BAR or Born Again Rocketeer - it is required you get a Crayon Bank from ToysRUs and make it a flyable mid power Rocket ...those other guys who posted should have told you before me .

Be forewarned ..as an inexpensive project that you didn't take two weeks sanding & painting ..you may opt to take certain liberaties with it ..have lost and shredded my daughters Purpley one twice now .

Need to make another as I have 2 G138T motors in my range box !

Kenny

20130609_113715b.jpg
 
Welcome Back !

As a BAR or Born Again Rocketeer - it is required you get a Crayon Bank from ToysRUs and make it a flyable mid power Rocket ...those other guys who posted should have told you before me .

Be forewarned ..as an inexpensive project that you didn't take two weeks sanding & painting ..you may opt to take certain liberaties with it ..have lost and shredded my daughters Purpley one twice now .

Need to make another as I have 2 G138T motors in my range box !

Kenny

Note he didn't say "recoverable". :neener:
 
If there is one thing I have learned, flight success is inversely proportional to the finish of the model. I.E. if it has the paint job of a Ferrari, you will have a cato, shred, or prang. Fly it once to let the model earn it's paint!!! lol

Seriously, a very nice sanding sealer can be made from nitrocellulose dissolved in MEK, mix till its a little thick but smooth, add talc for filler. It drys fast and is very easy to sand.
Simple to make: Get cheap polyethylene 6oz squeeze bottles from craft store like Hobby Lobby less than $3.00 for 2
Dry out no more than about a half cup at a time. Place on cookie sheet for 2 days in a dry area.
Fill container about half full with dried nitrocellulose. (It is shipped wet for safety)
Fill container with MEK to about 1/2" from top. Stir, let sit overnight. Stir again. (Note this is not a dangerous mixture) It should be crystal clear.

Get some 2 oz dip cups from dollar store for mixing with talc.(or get them from your local deli, like the cups you get extra condiments in at a convenience store. recycle number 5, important if container is anything but polyethylene or polypropylene the container will dissolve!) about 1-1.5 tsp to 1 oz nitro liquid. Get a cheap glass container for storage of wet nitrocellulose (It's wet with water...) Whatever is left in the cup you can let dry. Take it outside and burn it. (burns slow and leaves a little soot) If you are only using the stuff for sealer you could put the dried residue back into the main container and let it re-dissolve, the talc will settle to the bottom. (I don't like to do that, keep it pure)

20170915_210636.jpg20170915_210802.jpg

You can get it legally from https://www.firefox-fx.com/ChemN-P.htm If you don't want to mix it up yourself they sell ready mixed qt. sized containers.
The raw stuff is 1 lb for about $12 will make a lot of sealer. Useful for igniter sealer too.
 
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Welcome back!

You'll find a lot of great tips, including on finishing, on the Model Rocket Building blog.

And then there's this little podcast called The Rocketry Show, which I'm told is fun to listen to when you're building.

[video=youtube;xZzEzDkeHzI]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZzEzDkeHzI[/video]
 
Welcome back! A word of warning though. The guys here are enablers. When I got back into rocketry, I had no intention of getting into high power. But here I am with Level 2 certification, and having more fun building and flying rockets than I thought possible! Whatever level you're interested in, I highly recommend you find a local club to join. When I did, my enjoyment raised immeasurably! I fly low, mid, and high power.

P1110176.JPG

P1110515.JPG

P1110283.JPG
 
Welcome back! A word of warning though. The guys here are enablers. When I got back into rocketry, I had no intention of getting into high power. But here I am with Level 2 certification, and having more fun building and flying rockets than I thought possible! Whatever level you're interested in, I highly recommend you find a local club to join. When I did, my enjoyment raised immeasurably! I fly low, mid, and high power.


Way to go Cap'n.. blabbing all our secrets... :wink: Next you'll show them the secret handshake.... :wink:

[video=youtube;pO_tXzeiZAQ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pO_tXzeiZAQ[/video]

Really though, getting back into rocketry as an adult can be hazardous to your wallet.
 
Yeah, the 'secret handshake' is what happens when you reach for your wallet in the vendor trailer ^_^
 
...I have two boys who are 11 and 13 who both love rockets. I think we have about 10 rockets so far between them and 4 or 5 more still waiting to be built. I got back into rocketry about 3 years ago when their cub scout pack did a rocket launch that I ran for them. We had 20 boys launch their rockets two times each....

Similar story here, when my daughter was in Girl Scouts I hosted a launch for their group, and again after my son went through Cub Scouts. Then I got back into it. The one kit that got me hooked was the Dr. Zooch Space Shuttle, I was searching for a shuttle kit, and found that one to be exactly what I was looking for. Lots of oohs and aahs when you launch that one for a crowd, but I had one smart aleck parent say, why is the shuttle gliding back, isn't is supposed to keep going? Nice to hear of the next generation of model rocketeers getting started.
 
Ditto on joining a club. Lots of NAR sections and TRA prefectures out there, plus independent clubs. If you want to share where you live (generally), folks here can help you find your rocketry kin.
 
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