What did you do rocket wise today?

Launched at QCRS... Lots of fun.
Lost my Lil Nuke on a G64. So, lost rocket, lost casing, lost chute. Dumb to fly it anyway, since cloud cover was so darn low.
Flew the Batray on an I-195-R. Great flight, though we couldn't see the top half of the flight. Recovered nicely.
Launched a Wildman Sport on an F240-Vmax. Fun little motor. Great boost and recovery.
All in all a good day. Muddy shoes and all.

Flew some rockets at NEFAR - Great weather!

Continued cleaning up my Work Area, and got side tracked making Paper Hats, which led to me making one that will work for my Talos Cone.

Took advantage of a 50% off sale at Woodcraft on a Laguna 16gal dust control cyclone to help with all the wood working I've been doing on my rockets. The little Dust Deputy was getting swithched from machine to machine so I bought another to lighten the load.

Sanded the spikes and bases of four new rocket stands to accommodate the new rockets I'm either building or expecting to arrive in the next week or two. Hopefully I will get the mounts drilled out and glued together tonight. If not, there's always tomorrow. Not like I expect the 49'ers to beat the Seachickens.

Tacked some fins on a rocket.

Came up with a decal concept for my 3" Punisher:


It's named after the New Horizons probe currently on it's way to Pluto. I've always had a fondness for that mission... Been following it since it launched in '06.

After cleaning four motor cases from yesterday I fitted two more rockets on my launch tower so they can sit on a standoff.

Went to the Field to try to fly my AMRAAM but when I got there there was wind, so I decided not to.

Painted some fins (indoors...because I like to live on the edge). Picked up the Nov/Dec issue of Sport Rocketry at the local hobby store. Cut a piece of 6" 18mm tubing and CWF'ed and primed it. Going to use it to practice sanding with wet 800 grit sandpaper to get that really smooth finish.

Got meet the gang from Launch Crue today and I'm really looking forward to spending some time with them at their launches.

BTW - This was my first time to Holland. Someone should have warned me about Dave's Gun Shop. I now have a lot of explaining to do to the wife.

Dennis

Launched rockets with Indiana Rocketry this weekend and had a great time see old friends and making new friends one more time. Could not ask for a greater bunch of rocket people to launch with.

Had a great weekend of rocketry with two local clubs.

On Saturday I flew with the Radical Rocketeers and saw many impressive high power flights. I participated at a more modest level getting to maiden my Rocketry Warehouse 38 Special on an F59 for a successful first flight. A fantastic day with great people!

On Sunday I got to fly with the CENJARS group, another great local club. There we fly mostly low and mid power, but I sent up a few in my fleet for a successful day!

This time of year here in NJ the cold weather makes it less inviting to be outside for long, but these two clubs fly year round, so I bundle up and make the most of it! Besides, just recovered Estes engines make great hand warmers!

Jim Z

Worked on some alt bays, organized my rocket fleet on their new rocket stands, looked into some Dr. Rockets hardware, made a plan to pick up a Big Buddy heater for the garage...$30 off the regular price at Sportsman's Warehouse.

Sanded and mounted the fins on the Yankee.
Packed up the Baby Bertha, the Carver Special, and the Yankee along with some building supplies and printed postage to ship them down to AZ for the holidays (teaching the nieces and nephews about rockets this Christmas).
Side note, cellulose insulation also makes great packing material.

retrieved a package from the front porch. of course I had to check the contents ...I found to damage, I did find that the comp3 is mostly black these days(stock nose is white), and I found out how I got a low price on my motor retainer, no sticker for the range box(or instructions, guess by the time you need a 54mm retainer you ought to know how it goes ). then I put everything back in the box and put the box under the tree.
Rex

wet sanded the first coat of primer on my Hermes rocket. Getting it prepped for another final coat of primer today and then another wet sanding and shooting paint.

Working hard to get a new site secured for SARG. Cleared one hurdle with Aerojet, several more to go.

I ordered a 4" Warlock as a present for my daughter.

swatkat said:

Working hard to get a new site secured for SARG. Cleared one hurdle with Aerojet, several more to go.

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Suh-WEET! Haven't heard anything from SARG lately. Nice to know there's something positive happening.

Mailed my Level 1 paperwork off to the NAR HQ! :w:

Got 4 BT-60 Nose Cones in the Mail and did some sanding on my workbench.
I began cleaning up my workbench on Saturday, and figured that it would benefit greatly from a little TLC. I used a chisel to pick the Epoxy spots off and then yesterday filled the nicks and holes with wood filler. Today I sanded it down a bit.
Later, I'll put new vellum paper on it, then I'll be ready to start working again.
It's so much easier and nicer to have a clean workspace, but it is just so easy to messy it up.

o1d_dude said:

Suh-WEET! Haven't heard anything from SARG lately. Nice to know there's something positive happening.

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Agreed!

Worked on papering fins - first time. So far so good. Also helped my daughter on her science project -

Got some tower parts in the mail from my Dad, a skilled metal worker indeed. I know it when I see it, and these are definitely Rocket Porn!

Looked into a heater for the rocket workshop and decided against investing in an indoor safe propane heater. I will just have to make do with an electric for those 60 or so days when the weather drops below the curing point of epoxy.

Checked on some new Ridgid tool boxes (for a lack of a better word) at Home Depot. My motor hardware is outgrowing the large tool carrier in which they currently reside.

Worked on the John Coker nose cone alt bay of my Polecat Goblin. Have figured out the layout of the terminals, charge well, and rotary switch and I'm down to cutting out the hole in the bulkhead to accommodate the alt bay sled. I'd like to be able to include a tracker of some sort eventually so if everything is standardized, making another sled and stopper is on the list of things to do. Eventually.

o1d_dude said:

Suh-WEET! Haven't heard anything from SARG lately. Nice to know there's something positive happening.

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Trying hard!!!

Working on these at various times with 5 more still needing fins. All are rapidly approaching the filler stage. Filled and sanded they will sit until the weather warms up next spring

Began rebuilding my Estes Patriot M-104 as a 24mm Bird.

Drilled out the 2-7/8" hole in the nosecone bulkhead for my Polecat Goblin and brought it out the diameter of the 3" coupler for a nice snug fit. I'm following the John Coker nosecone altimeter plan. Tomorrow I will tack the 1" length of 3" coupler with CA to the "stopper" and then drill out the holes for securing the stopper to the bulkhead. Planning to epoxy 1/4-20 screws inside the bulkhead so they stick out through the "stopper" and use matching wingnuts to secure everything in place.

Taking pictures of the project along the way.

Also stopped at Home Depot and picked up some more(!) stainless steel hardware for the project.

Finally received my NAR membership card, just in time for my trip to launch weather down south.

Wow, those rings are great. Were they cut on a water jet? I'd love to see a picture of it when it's assembled.

Cl(VII) said:

Got some tower parts in the mail from my Dad, a skilled metal worker indeed. I know it when I see it, and these are definitely Rocket Porn!

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