Originally posted by DerekDRP
Thank you Ray, All I want to do is build a semi to big boy of a rocket see it launched, I'am more interested of the mach flight's I saw on discovery a while back. They where running a documentry about hobby rockets and I took a liking to the big gunz if you will.
Well, how big a rocket do you want to build? At Level 1, you can use only H and I motors. An I motor will put up a pretty large rocket, but certainly not the biggest of the big. The very largest rockets require a Level 3 cert and mega bucks worth of motors and hardware.
I've built 4" diameter rockets 7-8 feet long that could easily fly on an I motor. Is that big enough for you? Someone new to high power could build and fly a rocket that size without difficulty, at relatively minimal expense (motor deployment, no electronics).
At the extreme end of the scale are rockets such as the giant scale model of the Soviet N1 rocket that was flown at PlasterBlaster in early October. It was 23 feet tall, nearly four feet wide at the base, three stages, and 42 motors. It costs thousands of dollars and required the use of a fully-equipped shop and was built by a team of people. A custom, welded steel launch platform was also built to handle it.
Some other extemely large rockets I've seen required special scaffolding or even a crane to set them up. Obviously, such major projects are beyond what a newbie could accomplish -- in fact they are usually beyond the means of any single individual, which is why most (if not all) of the largest projects have been a team effort.
On side note note question? will their be a certified rockiteer who could launch my rocket if he / she had time?
If you just wanted to build a single large rocket and fly it one time, it might be possible to arrange to have another flyer prep and launch it for you. Your best bet would be to attend a launch, get to know some folks, and build and fly some mid-power stuff first. If people don't know you, and/or they think you don't know enough to build a safe high power model, they'd be less likely to help you fly it.
Most folks in this hobby are friendly and helpful to beginners, but they are also safety conscious. Especially in these times when we are heavily regulated and scrutinized by public agencies.
BTW, you can fly some fairly impressive rockets on a G motor, which doesn't require certification or FAA waivers. I haven't simmed it, but I bet you could build a 2.6" diameter rocket 8 feet long that would be light enough to fly on a G80. Or a shorter 4" diameter rocket.
Whatever you decide to do, I highly recommend attending a high power launch if at all possible. You can learn a lot from seeing what others have done, talking to people, etc. There are often on-site vendors who can provide tubes, kits, motors, etc.
