Vacation

I'm taking a vacation from TRF, and likely from HPR. I expect to continue to fly LPR with my daughter, who loves this stuff, and I love sharing a hobby with her.

I have posted honestly about my rocketry successes and failures, and I have enjoyed the feedback I get from TRF members. I find it a lot cheaper to learn from other people's results, and when I have results to share, my hope is that my experience may be useful to somebody.

Recently, I have been receiving feedback about my L3 attempt. No fewer than five L3CC members commented privately or publicly on my judgement and maturity. In light of their feedback, I'm rethinking my place in high-power rocketry in general, and within NAR in particular.

None of this has anything to do with TRF, where I have always received support and encouragement. I do worry that if I post another public build thread, and G-d forbid have a flight failure, this would count against me in the eyes of my club's governing body.

I want to thank all my friends on TRF for their feedback and support. I enjoy reading your threads, and expect to continue reading them from time to time. I'm holding on to my HPR hardware for now. Maybe after my vacation, I cool down enough to build something again.

Ari.

I spoke with a group of L3CCs this weekend and you really caused quite the stir.

Have a good time on vacation. You will be missed.

But I hope you find a place in your heart to think about the fact that maybe you don't need the L3 cert stamp on your card to have a good time in the hobby.

I also wish for you to think what perhaps was hard advise to take and to take advantage of your time off to learn as much as you could so that next you can really be ready and prove that to the community.

I also want you to consider the fact that NAR is not the source of your problems and that switching to TRA will not effect your attitudes and actions.

Have fun.

And may your wallet be ever fuller!

You pick the wrong TAP guys. Rejecting your designs is NOT what they are supposed to do. They are to advise on your plan and that's about all. Telling you to build what they say is completely wrong. My TAP advisors are what I consider the best in the hobby. Jim Cornwell and Mark Clark basically just said go for it. My rocket was all PVC 6" with a 4" full length stuffer tube that the blue foam nosecone sat on. 50 pounds with a Kosdon M2240, 500 pounds of thrust and, gasp, not a hint of fiberglass anywhere. Single deploy, timers, shock cords(5 of them 1/4"). I did everything I could to be contrary to popular opinion.

I think what happened to you is why I have never posted a build. I don't give a crusty crap what others think about the way or what I build. Kits? Never built a mid power much less a HP kit. I'm a scratch builder and would reject out-of-hand the suggestion that I build a kit. Then only rules you should have to follow is the ones in print at your national organization.

I'm sorry, it just makes me angry that someone would shoot down your plans for a lower, slower flight. The type of flying you do normaly rarely ever approach sonic so you were forced into something that wouldn't work without massive reinforcement. Glad to see you won't be dropping out entirely, I'm sure the urge to fly big is still there so it is a good idea to hang onto your stuff

Sometimes Rocketry is not for everyone. If you are not having fun, what's the point. If your time with your daughter makes you and her happy, go for that. Whatever it is. In a moment you will turn around and she will be gone..... Your time with her now, is the most important. Next to that, HPR means nothing. Have fun... Tim

I've enjoyed your threads. Hopefully the vacation is short and you can get back onto another project after cooling off and looking at this one some. Stuff happens, and it happens to everyone. Learn and rebuild. Good luck man.

So what was the concern here? Did you say "this is going to shred!" Or did you say "it's a possibility that this could shred." While I agree that a LOC Magnum without reinforcement on an M motor is unlikely to survive, I wouldn't be one to tell you that you need to add a ton of FG to make it flight worthy.

If you said "This is probably going to shred, but I am going to do it anyway!" then I understand the animosity. Every rocketeer should plan a flight for success, but uncertainty isn't necessarily criminal. Shred's happen, and they are almost exclusively unplanned.

So now for my polarizing comment: screw the purists. Rocketry can be dangerous. Shred's happen a lot, even larger than yours. All these knuckleheads tossing up half-assed (read: they think it's full-assed) N5800's are dangerous.

I assume that you didn't intend for it to happen. I suggest you assuage those that are pissed off and prove them wrong. Fly your PVC pipe rocket, get your L3, and carry on with what you want to accomplish. For every douche I have encountered in this hobby, there's 10 more that I am at worst indifferent toward .

patelldp said:

For every douche I have encountered in this hobby, there's 10 more that I am at worst indifferent toward .

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LOL!!!! That's something I could have said

If you think it's going to work and that you think you can make it work, screw them and do it anyway. I know it would be very inconvenient to find new taps but it might be worth it even if it means you would have to re design the rocket (because of the l3 rules)

I agree there is something wrong here. The job of the L3CC (or TAP if you are TRA) is to guide you such that your design will be successful. That means suggestions, not ridicule. I agree, switch clubs and find a couple of TAP's that have an open mind.

soxfan121 said:

If you think it's going to work and that you think you can make it work, screw them and do it anyway.

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I am not even L1 certified, so I don't know anything about this stuff at all, but can you actually just "screw them and do it anyway?" It seems like the whole point is that someone is saying, "No, you can't fly that." How do you just do it anyway?

When a flyer is told that their design isn't going to survive, due to the past experiences and observations of much much more experienced flyers and even flyers with less experience but using common sense from their observations, and the flyer insist that he knows better, not on one level of certification but two (that I watched with my own eyes maybe more??) and then rocket parts and L3 sized casings rain down over all our heads. I can see where some issues might just arise. But that is just a guess.

You can't go at it with attitude, though. Working together is the idea I'm sure. The only time a TAP should really step in and say nay is when it is covered by a rule, not a opinion.:2:

Was it your intention to fly a PVC rocket and that was a problem area or was it the ring rocket thing? I don't see a problem with either. Ring rockets are proven technology and I myself got my 3rd level in the first wave of 3rd level attainees with a PVC rocket as I mentioned earlier.

dave carver said:

You can't go at it with attitude, though. Working together is the idea I'm sure. The only time a TAP should really step in and say nay is when it is covered by a rule, not a opinion.:2:

Was it your intention to fly a PVC rocket and that was a problem area or was it the ring rocket thing? I don't see a problem with either. Ring rockets are proven technology and I myself got my 3rd level in the first wave of 3rd level attainees with a PVC rocket as I mentioned earlier.

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That's exactly where I was heading with my "screw them do it anyway" comment.

is there a thread where this super-controversial rocket is discussed?

ThirstyBarbarian said:

is there a thread where this super-controversial rocket is discussed?

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I will like to see it too

ThirstyBarbarian said:

is there a thread where this super-controversial rocket is discussed?

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https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...sible-LOC-Magnum-quot-Price-of-Admission-quot


It's very long...

dave carver said:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showt...sible-LOC-Magnum-quot-Price-of-Admission-quot


It's very long...

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Thanks. That was a very interesting read. Definitely a glimpse into another side of the hobby that I have absolutely no interest at all in ever experiencing firsthand.