MY first rocket was about two years ago, shortly after I had realized that I had missed the Rocket Boys festival in southern WV AGAIN... so I looked up any and all club rocket launches in our region, and found there was one that was going to happen the very next day in Western Ohio. So I got up early, jumped in the car, drove like hell to arrive around noon, and watched some of them launch rockets outside of Dayton (South Charleston, OH).
I had stopped on the way to buy something simple at a Hardware store in Lancaster, and chose the simplest level 2 that I could find...a Freedom II rocket, and then went to the launch. WHile I was there, I asked a lot of questions and watch a lot of rockets. Finally I asked a vendor for some assistance in finding something a little more challenging for my NEXT rocket, but which would use the same value of A8-3 motors for my first rocket. I picked up an IRIS from Semroc and headed home.
Though delayed, I started on my Freedom II and moved extremely slowly through the steps, not understanding what I was building. I got the motor mount right, and the fins on (but with weak white glue/paste) and then sealed and primed the fins, and eventually masked and painted the rocket in red/white/blue from the remainder of some cans that I had.
I took the rocket and the juryrigged launch pad out to the area golf course, and with a 9 volt lantern battery and a single pack of A8-3 and dog barf, preped the rocket carefully. I stretched out my 12 foot twisted pair of Bell wire and made a hot connection. The motor ignited, and the rocket lept into the air, much faster than I had expected. The chute deployed, but came down a bit faster and harder than I would have thought. One of the fins cracked off on impact on the soft green grass of the driving range.
I retrieved it and then was chased off the unused range by the attendant, who assumed that I was picking up balls to steal.
Though I tried the rocket again and again, I found I kept breaking off fins...and eventually realized I had used the wrong type of glue. After some repairs with yellow glue and more fillets and another coat of pain. I got the bird to launch nicely, though low, on days that the driving range was closed...holidays and rainy days.
The IRIS was NEXT....