Looking for rocket/engine combo

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Phanes

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So probably like many people here I did model rockets as a child and I recently got my 9 year old into them. However we have lost all four rockets we have sent up. I know that is just part of the hobby I was just hoping for some advice on a rocket/engine combo that won't go so high and get lost.

I plan on using streamers and not parachutes and I have a 1 acre backyard but it is surrounded by 100+ foot tall trees. I was thinking something of a decent size, so I don't lose sight of it, like the riptide and then using a smaller engine in it so it does not go up 1100 feet and never seen again.

I am looking at joining my local rocket club they shoot every weekend from May to Nov. There we can send up larger more expensive models with less chance of losing them. However for doing the occasional launch in my backyard I am looking for a good combo so I don't lose them every time I shoot them.

So far I shot both rockets in the tandem x starter kit on the smallest engines recommended and two micros. The tandem x starter kit rockets went up and deployed just fine but floated hundreds of yards into the woods that surround my property. The two micros went up so high I lost sight of them and have no idea where they ended up.
 
Baby Bertha on an A8-3, but change up the fins and put in a streamer?

School Rocket fr. Balsa Machining is great too.
 
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Yep Baby Bertha on A8-3
Big Bertha on the recommended B motor, B4-4 is it? May have to check on that
Big Daddy on D12-3 or 5, it may fly on the C11-3, never tried
I'm sure I'll think of others.
 
Reading the wind helps a lot, I typically fly on a field the same size as yours. Most of my models use small streamers, 1.5” by 18” sometimes as short as a foot for really lightweight rockets. All of the rockets use Estes mini engines. 1/4a-3t, 1/2a-2t, 1/2a-4t, a3-4t, and a10-3t

shorter delays typically mean shorter flights which helps keep altitudes low

i find a ceiling of 300 feet or so allows even the lightest of my rockets to land safely inside the field.

I position the launch pad close to the edge that’s furthest in the wind, and let it carry them across the field.
 
Modelrockets.us Turbo on an A8-3 - estimated max is only 250ft and it uses a streamer instead of a chute. Tube fins are quite sturdy so the relatively fast landing speed is ok.

Estes “crayon” rockets fly nice and low on A8-3 as well - fat and draggy - but a B4-2 works better. The Estes Flip Flyer on a B6-4 is a great low flyer and the helicopter recovery is a real kid-pleaser. Also, the Estes Quinstar, though it’s a bit of a challenge to build, is in awesome low flyer - lots of smoke and drama!
 
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