The most frustrating part of this hobby for me......

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I love to build, love to fly. Give me parts, I can make a rocket. FINDING A PLACE TO FLY is almost impossible, so I have an office full of birds that have never been in the air
I have a local NAR section/TRA Prefecture.....they fly once a month......the rest of the time you can't fly by yourself at the launch site......so if want to fly more than once a month, and I'm talking just regular model rocketry stuff, no hpr, you're forced to find your own launch site...so that's what I'm attempting to do....in the past week here in KY we've had clear blue skies, little to no wind and temps in the 50's and 60's which is prime flying weather. I would have been out most if not all those days flying if I only had a launch site. it's gotten to the point where I am seriously considering just flying on certain spots until somebody comes along and tells me to get off their property.
 
Here in our part of the world, where my neighbor regularly has his own fireworks “show” (random bottle rockets and firecracker strings) all the local municipalities have adopted a boilerplate ordinance prohibiting rocketry and R/C aircraft in city/town parks - which are the only non-state entities to have any kind of parklands. So no launches on city owned parks or sports fields. Luckily I have a friend of the family with a farm that gets a big kick out of watching my rockets fly. We live outside any city/towns so when the knucklehead starts with the fireworks the only recourse is calling the sheriff so they can tell me “tough luck - there’s nothing they can do unless they witness it”...but I can’t launch a perfectly legal model rocket mid-morning during the school year on an empty youth soccer field without the town cops showing up...yeah, I’m more than a little bitter about it...

I definitely got to agree with you. Took my 10 year old to the park here in Monroe CT, It's got a 3 baseball diamond/soccer fields. It's up on top of a hill away from all the rest of the park, and before the 1st launch even made it to the tree it got stuck in a park employee comes flying up on a golf cart screaming "You can't do that here, you can't do that here! If you don't leave I'm calling the cops!".
Made for a pleasant day out with my son!

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I have a local NAR section/TRA Prefecture.....they fly once a month......the rest of the time you can't fly by yourself at the launch site......so if want to fly more than once a month, and I'm talking just regular model rocketry stuff, no hpr, you're forced to find your own launch site...so that's what I'm attempting to do....in the past week here in KY we've had clear blue skies, little to no wind and temps in the 50's and 60's which is prime flying weather. I would have been out most if not all those days flying if I only had a launch site. it's gotten to the point where I am seriously considering just flying on certain spots until somebody comes along and tells me to get off their property.
Rather than trespass check online for any regulations, ordinances or laws about rocketry in public spaces - many local governments have those available as searchable files on their websites. In my case the three largest towns - the ones with the most open parkland and athletic fields of course - are anti-rocketry while several of the smaller ones aren’t but their parks/fields aren’t as well suited to launches.

I’m very fortunate to have private land available and multiple active clubs within driving distance - just rather disgruntled that perfectly good launch areas within a five minute drive that sit empty and unused for 95% of daylight hours during the school year are off limits.
 
Besides the Karen's calling the police, even at a club launch, the lack of commercially available igniters that can be used for reliable BP clustering is irritating. Dip your own, supplement with a touch of BP, what a pain. I just want my ole Q2G2s back! Q2G2s gone. Karen's multiplying, suburban sites disappearing, rampant fire bans. So to all the politicians, regulators, Karen's and snowflakes, I sing "I will survive. I will survive!"
 
Like everyone else, my biggest issue with the hobby is finding a place to fly. I have a local park that's 5 mins away that I can fly 13mm and A8-3's in heavy rockets but anything larger and I'll never see it again. I've flown at another location about 20 mins. away but was politely asked to leave before I went to jail for illegal possession of "explosives".

If I want to fly anything larger than an A motor I have to drive an hour into Wisconsin to Bong. During the summer there are typically others out there doing the same or club launches are scheduled on weekends. Not to mention, half that place is a swap in the summer months.

We'll be moving to TN pretty soon and hopefully find better, larger places with friendlier people.
 
no one says you can't fly naked.
So there are clothing optional launch areas where you live? Very progressive!
I nearly treed Pigasus, nearly put my Mercury-Redstone on the roof of the police station, and my son nearly put his on the roof of the elementary school. There was a little more wind than we thought when we first set out..
Yeah, losing rockets is my biggest frustration also.
You spend so much time getting your birds built so carefully with a glossy paint job and poof, gone.
 
I would have been out most if not all those days flying if I only had a launch site. it's gotten to the point where I am seriously considering just flying on certain spots until somebody comes along and tells me to get off their property.
It's got a 3 baseball diamond/soccer fields. It's up on top of a hill away from all the rest of the park, and before the 1st launch even made it to the tree it got stuck in a park employee comes flying up on a golf cart screaming "You can't do that here, you can't do that here! If you don't leave I'm calling the cops!".
Made for a pleasant day out with my son!
Rather than trespass check online for any regulations, ordinances or laws about rocketry in public spaces - many local governments have those available as searchable files on their websites.
Agree with Scott. Never break local ordinances to fly your birds. Or trespass on private property. It gives the sport a bad name and make things harder for the rest of us.
 
Rather than trespass check online for any regulations, ordinances or laws about rocketry in public spaces - many local governments have those available as searchable files on their websites. In my case the three largest towns - the ones with the most open parkland and athletic fields of course - are anti-rocketry while several of the smaller ones aren’t but their parks/fields aren’t as well suited to launches.

I’m very fortunate to have private land available and multiple active clubs within driving distance - just rather disgruntled that perfectly good launch areas within a five minute drive that sit empty and unused for 95% of daylight hours during the school year are off limits.
I contacted my rinky-dink city parks director and asked if I could fly small model rockets (mmx -A) in any of the cities parks and was told it was not allowed. I then asked if I could toss around a HLG and was told that was also not allowed. It doesn't really matter as all the city parks are still closed due to covid-19 even though the KY covid rate is 4% and the county I live in is in yellow just above green....... but I hear what you're saying....i really wouldn't just set up a rocket launch on anybody's property and wait to get run off......although I could ..... luckily 3rd-degree criminal trespassing in KY is only a citation not an arrest and since they don't arrest looters and rioters here in KY anymore because it's considered racist or white privilege or some other BS, the police would probably just say move along and don't come back..... I actually went out into the country last week scouting for potential launch sites and found 2 stretches of farmland that look suitable and I've found the landowners and I'm just trying to get into contact with them. So we'll see.
 
Like everyone else, my biggest issue with the hobby is finding a place to fly.
If I want to fly anything larger than an A motor I have to drive an hour into Wisconsin to Bong. During the summer there are typically others out there doing the same or club launches are scheduled on weekends. Not to mention, half that place is a swap in the summer months.

We'll be moving to TN pretty soon and hopefully find better, larger places with friendlier people.

@Back_at_it,
QCRC is having a launch this weekend. We’re straight out on I80 and a fuzz north or I88 to Rte26 and a little more fuzz south. I think we’re pretty darn friendly... but I could be biased. Come on out and join us. No swamps, I promise. 😝
I’m not good at coordinates, but the launch site is just south of the intersection of county rd 2400N and county rd 1850E. North of Princeton, IL and two miles west of Rte 26.
 
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My wife and I drove through Pahrump two years ago on a trip to Vegas. We left town to find something less crowded and drove up and down a mountain to get back. I admired a lot of sites out there as potential launch sites, but I didn't bring anything to fly.
Just avoid the backside of Mt. Charleston or your rocket might land in a marijuana field, allegedly.

For painting, I'm using a portable spray booth.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01I1YI09O/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
 
For painting, I'm using a portable spray booth.
Do you us it with a fan? Otherwise it seems like you'd end up with tons of overspray settling on the rocket. But a fan needs to be plugged in, and I don't electricity back by my shed. Trying to figure it if I could make use of one of these....
 
Do you us it with a fan? Otherwise it seems like you'd end up with tons of overspray settling on the rocket. But a fan needs to be plugged in, and I don't electricity back by my shed. Trying to figure it if I could make use of one of these....
I bought a box fan but haven't used it yet. The over spray just sticks to the sides instead of these filter. I mainly use the booth on my porch to avoid the gusts of wind (and keep the paint off my neighbor's car).
 
I bought a box fan but haven't used it yet. The over spray just sticks to the sides instead of these filter. I mainly use the booth on my porch to avoid the gusts of wind (and keep the paint off my neighbor's car).
Hmm, I am tempted.

Also, I noticed that the box fan would be configured to pull the air out the back... isn't that a recipe for igniting the fumes? I thought paint rooms always needed to have the fans push the air out when dealing with volatile sprays.
 
The over spray just sticks to the sides... I mainly use the booth on my porch to avoid the gusts of wind...
Mine is a big cardboard box with a window cut out of one side. Paint ends up on the sides, but I'd do better attaching an exhaust fan with a filter.

Also, I noticed that the box fan would be configured to pull the air out the back... isn't that a recipe for igniting the fumes? I thought paint rooms always needed to have the fans push the air out when dealing with volatile sprays.
You raise an interestimg point. Here's another one: pushing the fumes out would require a closed space that can hold positive pressure. I don't know how that works for things like auto body shops, but I'll bet they have whole paint rooms. I don't see a way of scaling that down. And, with no data at all to back me up, I bet you don't reach the explosive limit and don't have to wory about it.
 
You raise an interestimg point. Here's another one: pushing the fumes out would require a closed space that can hold positive pressure. I don't know how that works for things like auto body shops, but I'll bet they have whole paint rooms. I don't see a way of scaling that down.
Certainly not easily, and *definitely* not with one of these pop-up booths.

And, with no data at all to back me up, I bet you don't reach the explosive limit and don't have to wory about it.
Maybe so, but I've seen this warning given most strenuously during past discussions of ventilated basement paint enclosures.

I would suspect that a battery-operated fan like what you linked to would be less likely to spark and ignite... although also less likely to pull enough air out of the enclosure to make a big difference especially through a filter). But I dunno.
 
Hmm, I am tempted.

Also, I noticed that the box fan would be configured to pull the air out the back... isn't that a recipe for igniting the fumes? I thought paint rooms always needed to have the fans push the air out when dealing with volatile sprays.
Good question. I doubt that a rattle can has enough solvent to be ignited by the fan motor. If you put a lighter up to the nozzle, you’ll ignite the spray. If you spray at a candle from 2’, you’ll just put out the flame. Don’t ask me how I know this.
 
Painting. I have a local place to launch LPR/MPR rockets plus active clubs within a couple hours drive that launch HPR regularly so my biggest frustration is decent painting weath er and the typical frustrations with rattlecan painting. I have a new airbrush and stuff to make a paint booth gathered up so maybe my frustrations have the potential for being lessened...

Ditto,

I hate painting to get an impeccable finish. The spraying, the wet sanding, the clear coating is a simple PITA!!! Henceforth I got smart and for run of the mill rockets, I just prime and hit with one color.
The paint is going to get dinged up and chipped up anyways during flight so don't sweat it. First time my impeccable Wildman "Stretch" rocket flew on an L motor the metallic, clear-coated "looks like an automobile" paint job got dinged up after a nominal flight (past Mach 1 BTW). That kinda made me feel bad so I decided not to expend so much work on a paint job.
O.k., maybe on a small rocket I'll do the effort but on a large one just shoot primer, sand and do a color coat in a very careful manner and hope bugs don't get into it!

Oh, as far as painting in an enclosed space is concerned, I don't do it. I save the painting for warm weather outdoors. Yeah there is the bug problem as alluded to above but I don't have to deal with fumes in an enclosed space. I was exposed to enough Duco cement fumes in my younger days. Those that have the means and the money to have an enclosed paint booth, my hat's off to you but I don't have the room.

Kurt Savegnago
 
I contacted my rinky-dink city parks director and asked if I could fly small model rockets (mmx -A) in any of the cities parks and was told it was not allowed. I then asked if I could toss around a HLG and was told that was also not allowed. It doesn't really matter as all the city parks are still closed due to covid-19 even though the KY covid rate is 4% and the county I live in is in yellow just above green....... but I hear what you're saying....i really wouldn't just set up a rocket launch on anybody's property and wait to get run off......although I could ..... luckily 3rd-degree criminal trespassing in KY is only a citation not an arrest and since they don't arrest looters and rioters here in KY anymore because it's considered racist or white privilege or some other BS, the police would probably just say move along and don't come back..... I actually went out into the country last week scouting for potential launch sites and found 2 stretches of farmland that look suitable and I've found the landowners and I'm just trying to get into contact with them. So we'll see.
Don’t just ask permission; sell the idea. Put together a packet of information that includes the safety codes, shows how safe it is and how you have insurance to protect the landowner. The NAR has very good resources for this. When I found our site I asked for a meeting. I brought my high school aged daughter, some model rockets, and a collection of documents that NAR offers on their website. I really think that if I had just called and asked permission the quick response would have been “no, sorry” but because I provided them with reasons to say “yes” and helped them get over their concerns, they actually considered it. This year is the nineteenth year at our launch site.
Here are some of the resources:

Introduction to Rocketry: https://www.nar.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/NAR_This_is_Rocketry_2009.pdf

One page handout: https://www.nar.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/SPORT-ROCKETRY-SAFETY.pdf

Larger booklet on safety history: https://www.nar.org/pdf/40years.pdf

Safety Overview: https://www.nar.org/safety-information/

Insurance Overview: https://www.nar.org/safety-information/insurance-questions/
 
Good question. I doubt that a rattle can has enough solvent to be ignited by the fan motor. If you put a lighter up to the nozzle, you’ll ignite the spray. If you spray at a candle from 2’, you’ll just put out the flame. Don’t ask me how I know this.
We don't have to ask. :) Did you know that if you put Everclear in a medical nebulizer it is damn hard if not impossible to light the resulting mist? Amd that is is possible to get drunk be breathing it, but not quickly?

Oh, as far as painting in an enclosed space is concerned, I don't do it. I save the painting for warm weather outdoors.
I also do my painting outdoors. The previously mentioned box keeps the model out of the wind, but I'm not filling an enclosed room with fumes.

I'm putting fumes into a semi-enclosed space that I'd like to keep clearer. And now that someome else's issue prompted my to put "battery operated fan" into Google, maybe I will.
 
For me its failures outside of my control, recently was a Aerotech DMS that blew through the closure and destroyed my nice Zephyr lol. Part of the hobby i suppose.

Oh and when your JLCR works perfectly and then decides to not for some unknown reason
 
After trying golf several years ago, spending lots of time on the driving range, I find all aspects of my rocketry hobby not to be frustrating one bit. 25 years a BAR still enjoying the hobby about 2 years with golf and gave up.
 
Not being able to fly my free rocket from the university that included some HUGE motors at half the cost of regular (but not yet certified), because I wanted to test if it would puncture a cookie can lid if used it without a parachute?

hehe.. but what kind / brand of glue did you use?

You also forgot to redesign said rocket because a certain manufacturer never got back to you on the expected ±.002" tube tolerance ID, despite it being a cardboard tube..
 
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