Got my "Second Wind", and have a semi-working prototype of my Pad Pack.
Obviously someone else has to carry the rocket, or you have to make two trips.
It is not even heavy, but having carried heavy loads in combat situations in Iraq, I appreciate that value of expending all the ammo to "Lighten the load". Logistics is always nearby for resupply, but when you have to pack stuff around, you might as well be comfortable, so an extra supportive and well designed harness goes a long way in keeping you in the fight, or in this case, keeping your head in the game to perform a safe and effective launch.:wink:
Zip-Ties and Duct Tape/100mile an hour tape are your best friends.
Whenever I have a misfire, it is usually do to something being "Too Something". Too Bright means I go to get my sunglasses, resulting in me forgetting to take the tape off the guide rod on an MMX model, or something similar. Distraction breeds failure, so go unimpeded by things like fatigue and back pain, and do a clean launch!
It's also far from done, as the individual components need to be skeletonized and wrapped in fiberglass and the struts for the tripod need to be made of Carbon Fiber.:wink:
The Mylar Blanket is only there to shield it and it's carrier, and not a Structural Component. The assembly can be hidden with at least a hopeful degree of hope, if the user does his part.
Idiots used to use these tricks to cheat in the Army, but it was effective in some circumstances, and became trade craft.
If I don't add a tactical aspect to a build like this, it has less appeal to me, as one of my other hobbies is military stuff and studying battlefield tactics and logistical support.
I have back problems from an injury, so if I'm actually going to build this mess and actually go use it just to show the folks here that it works in real life, I have to have more than one hobbies worth of inspiration.:wink:
I'm inspired enough by this one that I'm going to add a Go-pro mount to it, and then I'll just borrow my friends Go-pro since I can't afford one.
He'll totally be into this.
Asking him to help will give me a body to carry the rocket.
Logistics.
I was once given the weekend off as a sort of "Battlefield Favor", so I went and hung out with the guys at Metro and launched Radiosondes Balloons for our Artillery.
The balloons transmitter had a water activated battery, and I will either acquire or build my own version for this build, because if you need a man portable rail system, you will need to drink lots of water, so that will be in abundance and a heavy battery won't do.