For model railroading, they have layout building and simulation software. Of course, rocketry is much smaller and our simulators are much more crude, but there's no reason I can see for an "armchair rocketeer" segment of the hobby not to develop.I like to design, but do not like to build at all. If could press a button and the George-O-Matic 3000 would build it for me, that'd be just fine.
For model railroading, they have layout building and simulation software. Of course, rocketry is much smaller and our simulators are much more crude, but there's no reason I can see for an "armchair rocketeer" segment of the hobby not to develop.
So, I just came back from a walk through the local craft 2000 store... our version of Hobby Lobby, I suppose.
And on an end-cap facing AWAY from the register area (where one would half to go seek it out) is a four shelf display of Estes Rockets.
Most are boxes setting on shelves, but there are a few plastic or celophane packages hung on hooks. To one side is a shelf with "Boosters" and a multi-pack variety of motors...A8-3, B6-4, C6-4 and C8-4 or there abouts.
As I scan the various packages, I'm looking for skill level indication to narrow my search, and it hits me. I see NOTHING labeled Skill Level 1... NOTHING 2...only ARF, RTF and E2X... which I believe mean "Ready to Fly", "Almost Ready to Fly" and "Easy to Assemble". A few of the packages say "Completed".
Is this some sort of new packaging or NU-speak to communicate with the texting generation that they need do nothing to the rocket but launch it?
Where's the fun or craft in that?
I am seeing NOTHING on their shelf that indicates any sort of required skilll, modeling ability or wait time.:surprised:
This last weekend, I made a 45 minute drive to the next larger city in the other direction specifically to see what the Hobby Lobby had in stock, and I found EXACTLY TWO kits out of an entire wall display packed with kits on hangers, that were Level 2 assembly... a Neon Green XL kit and a Solar Explorer. ALL the rest were ARF, and E2X.
I'm beginning to think that's the future of this hobby...that the mass marketing for the masses is for "off the shelf, ready to fly" rockets...and that the expectation for anything that needs to be assembled...they are expecting and relying on older kit builders to shop over the internet...
Am I just behind the times, or has this marketing strategy already been discussed and documented here?
Casey launching his Estes Green Crayon for the first time (Photo by Gary Briggs, lifted with permission):
View attachment 160501
From back to front: me, Casey, and TRF's own "samb"
Plus I work in the shipping industry....so.... It's good for me
Hobby shops just aren't for "us" anymore. and that's fine.
Those more into a hobby have plenty of resources.... and I think that going to the internet for the more advanced stuff makes it better. Smaller outfits have a better chance of surviving this environment.
Plus I work in the shipping industry....so.... It's good for me
You and me both, brother.Careful. Last time I made comments on how I felt about these types of Rockets I got an Earfull about how "That's how to get new Folks interested in the Hobby" and such.
That is essentially correct. People can debate the causes for decreased attention span and lack of impulse control. What they can't debate is that whatever the reason, it happens during early childhood development. You could make an argument that by offering quick results, like that offered by an RTF rocket, you are contributing to the problem. Waldorf schools have become very popular among the silicon valley folks because of the benefits of an early education that focuses on fine motor control and problem solving. Personally, I think Waldorf schools miss the mark a bit, but the spirit of their approach is consistent with findings in the cognitive sciences.I don't think it's as much instant gratification as it is short attention span. If you're looking for more advanced things, Hobbyshop 3000 isn't the place to look. I'd equate that to looking for a fuel injector at Walmart.
There is money to be made in crystal meth, too! I love your sense of humor.I wonder if there's money to be made in (almost) ready to fly MPR or even HPR rockets. If the first step down this path is kits for level 3 certification, then RTF rockets for level 1 and 2 (including the motor) seems a natural next step.
E2X models are bought by people who would never have bought a kit or launched a model rocket. A small percentage of these tens of thousands of people who would never have built a kit or launched a model rocket will then look for more rockets, either more easy to execute models or something to build.
I think this personal preference is related to attention span and impulse control.But those of us who like to build CAN influence the younger generation if we want to. I thank my Dad and couple of my uncles for teaching me some basic skills at the right time in my young life. I like to build as much as the next guy but spending hours hunched over the workbench is a personal preference. It fills a need to create that isn't present to the same degree in everyone. Honestly, if the RTF and ARF models were available when I was a kid you know where my paper route money would have gone. The name of the game IS punching holes in the sky, after all.
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I think this personal preference is related to attention span and impulse control.
Sure, the current generation seems to always view new generations as dumber--see the work of Francis Galton (Darwin's cousin) whose work forms the basis of the movie Idiocracy. There is also the argument that technology contributes to a decrease in intelligence, attention span, and impulse control. As far back as Plato, the Phaedrus dialogues point out the ill effect of writing on memory. So it's nothing new. That said, there is scientific evidence that certain technologies, like iPads, in the hands of children have negative effects on intellectual development and that even in adults, computers and the internet decrease our working memory--effectively making us dumber. Hell, I feel dumber every time I visit facebook or watch a cat video on youtube. Fortunately, TRF provides some respite!I don't believe that "kid's these days" are that much worse than I was as a young whippersnapper. I agree that the concept and practice of discipline has changed, probably for the worse, both at home and at school. Showing somebody how to double glue a balsa fin is a small way I can fight the tide, whether it makes that person a lifelong builder is something else.
Another problem is that most people don't know how to build anything. Kids don't learn to use tools any more. And the big box stores aren't exactly helping. I was in Home Depot yesterday in search of an Awl, and the gentleman working the tool crib had no idea what I was talking about.
Sure, the current generation seems to always view new generations as dumber--see the work of Francis Galton (Darwin's cousin) whose work forms the basis of the movie Idiocracy. There is also the argument that technology contributes to a decrease in intelligence, attention span, and impulse control. As far back as Plato, the Phaedrus dialogues point out the ill effect of writing on memory. So it's nothing new. That said, there is scientific evidence that certain technologies, like iPads, in the hands of children have negative effects on intellectual development and that even in adults, computers and the internet decrease our working memory--effectively making us dumber. Hell, I feel dumber every time I visit facebook or watch a cat video on youtube. Fortunately, TRF provides some respite!
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