I retired from scientific work (mostly instrumentation) in 2009, and my best friend (since 1971) is interested in model rocketry. He has no knowledge of Science (he works in a Law office) but has practical experience with machinery from his upbringing on a dairy farm. He lives in Henderson (Nevada) and I'm in Las Vegas, and there seems to be no local rocketry club. How do we two old guys begin? Suggestions and links appreciated, thanks in advance.
You guys are taking a somewhat-unconventional route into hobby rocketry: many if not most of the people in the sport (and here on TRF) are Born-Again Rocketeers (BARs), plunging back into a hobby we enjoyed in our youth (in my case, the 'golden age' of public interest in space and rocketry of 1968-75 coinciding with the space race and Apollo's voyages to the moon).
So in essence you guys skipped the "first life" stage and are being "born for the first time" as rocketry enthusiasts. In a way that's cool because you will be coming in with fresh eyes, not bogged down with attitudes of "that's how we used to do it in 1969" (although really many techniques and skills from 1969 are still valid today).
Actually you're coming in much better equipped than many of us who kind of stumbled in as kids back in the 1960s.
Certainly your background in scientific instrumentation will give you a huge leg up in being able to understand somewhat-more technical topics such as design and aerodynamic stability; that stuff can be a bear to figure out if you are using grade-school arithmetic, as I found out at age 9 some 45 years ago. (Plus we now have computer programs which can do most of the number-grinding for you!!)
Your buddy's background in machinery will likely come in very handy too in terms of building rockets. The skills and techniques he has used over the years on machinery maintenance and repair should make most model rocketry construction and finishing projects nearly a snap for him. How to use tools, adhesives, paints, cut materials, all that stuff should be second nature for him.
Plus both of you should be real good at reading and following directions; probably 90% of all mishaps and foulups experienced by rookie flyers are the result of deciding that following directions is unnecessary (it's usually very necessary)
:y:
As others have mentioned, I might advise avoiding the Ready To Fly sets (unless you are just hell-bent to get some kind, any kind, of rocket in the air within the next 30 minutes) because they really don't deliver much in learning or any sense of accomplishment. However a RTF set does include a launch pad and a launch controller which you will need to fly most of your rockets later on.
You will find the time and expense investment necessary for rocketry will increase exponentially once you branch into MPR and then HPR. Motors, rocket parts, ground equipment and components are much more expensive, and you need to have a much larger area in which to fly (although in that respect, in Nevada, you guys are close to nirvana as far as most rocketeers are concerned, especially most of us back in the East and Midwest where we must scrounge for vacant lots and worry about rocket-eating trees).
MPR and HPR definitely deliver much more spectacular flights in terms of noise, smoke, altitude and general impressiveness, but there is still plenty of enjoyment to be had from low-power rocketry (generally, motors up to class F) and you can do a ton of interesting and just plain fun stuff -- you can fly video cameras, altimeters and other instruments; you can build gliders; your buddy can put his construction and craftsmanship skills to work on scale models -- you can pretty much go nuts.
I would personally advise to work your way up through low-power, and then to MPR and then HPR if you want the additional challenge level. Almost all skills needed to successfully fly HPR are extensions/progressions/extrapolations of stuff you learn first in LPR. While some people can and do leap straight into the deep end and start flying high-power, it's been my experience that many people following that path eventually end up "reinventing the wheel" because they've skipped over so many steps in the learning curve.
(This is VERY commmon with some Team America Rocket Challenge participants in HS or college: often kids want to jump right in the deep end and start with HPR models, and at some point a flight ends up going screwy because of some basic-level fundamental mistake they almost certainly would have avoided if they had started by flying a few LPR rockets.)
As many others also have noted, getting into a club can be a lot of fun. You'll meet a lot of people from a wide spectrum of age and experience levels. Not sure how active the Pahrump group is; probably you should contact them directly and see if they fly on a regular basis. (From a Google search it looks like they had a launch in December; not sure if they've done anything more recently.)
I suspect there are at least a few fairly active flyers in the Las Vegas area. If you join the NAR they may be able to give you contact info for other members in the area. Joining the NAR also has many other advantages such as insurance coverage and subscription to the bimonthly magazine Sport Rocketry.
If you do decide to step up to HPR you may want to affiliate with the Tripoli groups. HPR is more their bailiwick.
I also have to add another BIG endorsement for G. Harry Stine's "Handbook of Model Rocketry" -- it is the indispensable source book.