Sad rocket story...

[DAllen]

[soap box preaching to mostly choir people]

Okay...I have a really disappointing story to tell. My daughter let me know that a few years back when we first got into rocketry at a club launch she went by someone prepping a rocket. As she walked slowly by (without saying anything mind you) she was asked to, "Go away." I have no idea who this was and she doesn't recall either.

This is pathetic behavior IMHO and I expect better out of rocketeers BTW. I hope whoever did that is reading this and feels some sense of shame. Kids are the future of our hobby. I also realize kids can be uber-annoying. Regardless, if you have a kid annoying you with a zillion questions there are A LOT of ways to handle it that are much better - and more mature. Be the adult fer crying out loud. You could say anything like, "Hey I'm kinda busy right now, would you mind leaving for a little while?" or "Come back after I launch it and I'll answer all your questions" or heck, ask the kids to get their parents and talk to them about the kids behavior.

If you can't treat a kid respectfully, how can you expect them to grow up to be respectful adults?

[/soap box preaching to mostly choir people]


-Dave

 

[dwmzmm]

That is very sad; I know at our club launches at Challenger 498's Needville,
TX, we're more than happy to go out of our way to teach and explain to the
many kids that frequent our activities. Many of these kids make excellent
recovery crews, always willing to go the extra mile to assist wherever possible. I have a few pics taken last year to illustrate:

 

[CharlaineC]

I know from my own experece that the only time i loose my cool with children is when they run up to the launch pad during a launch countdown. That anger is NEVER pointed at the children but to the parents who are not watching them. I love teaching about rocketry and if i have a child who wants to learn I want to teach.

 

[jflis]

Yeah, that's not cool. I've had my share of bothersome kids wandering about, but it's all a part of the event of rocketry. As for someone just walking by...

heck, if i'm doing something interesting enough to slow her down and make her look I'm going to ask HER if she has any questions. I mean, after all, I do kinda like talking about rockets. Occasionally. Well, sometimes, anyway...

 

[tquigg]

[ climbing onto soap box ]

I guess being the Section Advisor of a youth model rocketry club for the past 15 years, I have a somewhat different mind set about kids and rocketry. I can't begin to tell you how many times I and other members of our group have put our own flight agendas on hold in order to help a kid get a rocket in the air. There have been many launches that I've never gotten a single flight off because I was helping kids. In my mind, if a child is asking questions, they are showing interest in the hobby, and I want to nurture that interest to the fullest! Kids are the future of the hobby, and if an adult can't take a few minutes out of their flight plans in order to answer a kid's questions or help them get a rocket in the air, there is something seriously wrong going on in this hobby. I look upon "Paying Forward" as a means of giving back to a hobby that has given me so much in return......

We now return you to your regulary scheduled programming...

Best Regards

 

[caheaton2]

I'm honored to have a kid (or adult) show an interest in what I'm doing...it gives me a chance to talk about the hobby...but it does make me nervous...I'm certain that this will be the ONE flight of the day where the parachute doesn't deploy or some other such problem.

My most nervous moment was last year. I was flying at a local park and a police car pulls up. I was certain that this was going to be the end of using that field (always the optimist I guess) and to compound the issue, the tags on my car had expired a couple days before (I had already purchased the stickers to renew them...I'd just put off actually glueing them on). Anyway, he sat in his car for a moment just watching me and I finally walked over and asked him if I can do anything. To my relief he simply said "You're flying model rockets? I used to do that as a kid." Anyway, he then got out of the car and I showed him a couple of my scratch built rockets and the cameras in the Estes Oracle and Astrovision. He thought those were pretty neat. He stuck around for one of my launches (which naturally ended up needing 2 ignitors and landed just out of the park, after I'd explained to him how I'd positioned myself to use the wind to try to keep it in the park ...but it was recovered okay). Finally, just before he was getting ready to leave he casually mentioned, "oh, by the way, did you no your tags are expired?" I told him I'd already bought the stickers but hadn't put them on yet and he said no more. (whew!)
Craig

(of course, in hindsight, I bet he'd already radioed the tags in and found out that they were renewed...as long as the state has their money....)

 

[InFlight]

Anyone who tells a child to "Go away" has no business participating in this hobby. Period.

A friend of ours has an autistic child that we bring to the launches. Once in a while he will pickup a model and walk around with it. I will let him have it for a little while and then ask him if we can fly it. He always smiles and hands the model to me.

.

 

[Mike Di Venti]

I have had kids and parents stop by aqnd ask questons while I'm setting up e-charges and altimeters.
I stop and answer or I've asked for a minute to finish what I was doing.

I have had to reprimand my own 5yr old for being unrulely at a launch.

 

[troj]

It's reasonable to ask a child to wait a few minutes while you finish something. But telling them to "go away" because they're standing there, watching? Hardly reasonable!

Kids are naturally curious, and there's nothing at all wrong with that. We get kids at our launches all the time who ask questions, and get lots of answers.

My 5 year old loves rockets, and he's very curious. We've never had problems with him getting the treatment your daughter received.

-Kevin

 

[mccr3328]

A few yrs ago I was launching an estes Dude the big Mylar rocket, the squad car pulls up and asks for my ID I showed him my drvs license and tropoli card he got a report of someone launching a large metal missle in the park he had to walk up and touch it before he believed me, he said it looked so real from the street, he even had called for another car! before he approached me
we waited for his back up and by then lots of kids had gathered I showed them all I could and seemed like the questions would never end, the cops waited arround for the launch and a few more after that! so I made kids & cops happy all in one day!

I'm honored to have a kid (or adult) show an interest in what I'm doing...it gives me a chance to talk about the hobby...but it does make me nervous...I'm certain that this will be the ONE flight of the day where the parachute doesn't deploy or some other such problem.

My most nervous moment was last year. I was flying at a local park and a police car pulls up. I was certain that this was going to be the end of using that field (always the optimist I guess) and to compound the issue, the tags on my car had expired a couple days before (I had already purchased the stickers to renew them...I'd just put off actually glueing them on). Anyway, he sat in his car for a moment just watching me and I finally walked over and asked him if I can do anything. To my relief he simply said "You're flying model rockets? I used to do that as a kid." Anyway, he then got out of the car and I showed him a couple of my scratch built rockets and the cameras in the Estes Oracle and Astrovision. He thought those were pretty neat. He stuck around for one of my launches (which naturally ended up needing 2 ignitors and landed just out of the park, after I'd explained to him how I'd positioned myself to use the wind to try to keep it in the park ...but it was recovered okay). Finally, just before he was getting ready to leave he casually mentioned, "oh, by the way, did you no your tags are expired?" I told him I'd already bought the stickers but hadn't put them on yet and he said no more. (whew!)
Craig

(of course, in hindsight, I bet he'd already radioed the tags in and found out that they were renewed...as long as the state has their money....)

 

[DAllen]

Yeah...Kids come to launches and they go nuts. I mean there's tons of open field and that means it is time to RUN and RUN. I think everyone can agree that the way to deal with the unruly kiddos is to talk to the parent or adult responsible for them.

Frankly, I am not surprised that this happened to my daughter and I have my suspicions of who it was. We'd all like to think that all rocketeres are cool but I can attest to the fact there are a few hot-heads out there.

-Dave

 

[Donaldsrockets]

The only problem I have with kids in rocketry is that at times they don't pay attention to what is going on. Yes, firing an object into the sky at a high rate of speed always carries a risk, albeit a small one.

I'd say most of the time the parents are to blame for that though. We've had incidents like that at our club where the parents don't pay attention to what their kids are doing.

I love sharing rocketry with kids but I always make safety my number one priority.

 

[shreadvector]

"Urchins" are unsupervised children from the local area who gravitate to your location. In the case of rocket launching, they gravitate because it is cool. The MIT Rocket Society folks who did not want completely unsupervised kids hanging around had a solution: tape a rag dollar (a.k.a. "dollar bill") to the side of a minimum diameter rocket with an F7 motor in it and angle it a bit. Then tell the kids that whoever gets the rocket can keep the dollar. Then launch.

 

[MysticalRockets]

I love having kids there, and would never chase any away.

Why?

Because its great to watch them run after a rocket lands and you say "FETCH!"

 

[Conan4480]

My son is ADHD and I have taken him to every rocket launch I have been to. On weekends we dont give him his medicine, it is only for school. When he sees the rockets he gets really excited and it is difficult at times to get him to calm down. I have yet to have a problem with any one at a launch. Especially when I tell them he is ADHD. In fact most of the time their responses are "I probably would have been diagnosed with that when I was a kid".

As far as him running after rockets. I tell him as long as it is his or my rockets he runs after I am ok with it. And he does a good job of recovering rockets as well.

 

[sj_h1]

I love having kids there, and would never chase any away.

Why?

Because its great to watch them run after a rocket lands and you say "FETCH!"

Absolutely!!!

 

[Viperfixr]

I am a father of two girls, and my youngest daughter and I launch almost exclusively together. There are other young kids at our launches, and she has fun with rockets and playing with the other kids. She's never had a problem with the adults there, but I've had issues with some of the kids.

While prepping my L2 certification flight, and my second only dual deployment flight (so I was very nervous about prepping things), a young boy walked up and starting talking to me rapidly about random topics (too much sugar?). That was fine, I was busy, and I tried to pay attention to him while prepping the rocket--nice kid, well meaning. After awhile I realized that while being distracted I hooked up my altimeter backwards and the ebay itself was put together upside down in the upper rocket body tube.

I told the boy that I needed to focus on what I was doing, but he did not get the hint and kept talking (not all about rockets)--no father in sight. I have no idea who the father was, but I sure was wishing he would show up and haul him away. I finally suggested he and my daughter go play, and off they went. Whew! I re-wired and turned the ebay around, and all was well, but I was undoubtedly taken off of a focused mindset to wondering what else I had done wrong. The continuity of the prep was broken. The flight went fine, but I was not confident putting the rocket on the rail.

Kids are the rocketry future and need to be nurtured as much as possible--get that rocketry fire burning bright like many of us did when young. However, the responsible adults should not let them loose without any supervision whatsoever. There are situations when a well meaning kid should not be distracting someone prepping/inspecting/launching a rocket, and the responsible adults keeping watch at all times--especially for heads-up flights and flights going wrong. Just my $0.02 worth...

 

[DM1975]

Kids having fun and getting interested in learning is the most important part of rocketry for me, after all of the safety rules are applied. If it will inspire children to learn, then bring em on. Some kids need an interest or hobby that will drive them to learn and rocketry and aviation in general was it for me when I was a kid.

Without the kids rocketry would just not be as fun

 

[MysticalRockets]

Absolutely!!!

My niece will be here this summer. I'm going to take advantage of it.

 

[sandman]

The worse part for me with kids in rocketry is that I don't have any left!

My Little Brother (I was in the Big Brother/Big Sister program) is 20 years old, in the Air Force and stationed in Korea.

My daughter is 36 (no luck there any more). She used to but that was so long ago...

My grandaughter is 15 months (well, no luck there yet but she's trainable.)

I'm soooo old!

 

[DAllen]

Okay...now I am really pissed. Maybe I am just a little extra sensitive since hearing that story from my daughter...

This past weekend at the Team1/Michiana Rocketry launch I had another not so kid-friendly encounter. I am so close to naming names but I know it won't do any good. This is what happened. This past week I did a build session with kids from my daughters school. All of them except for one show up at the launch with rockets to fly. Needless to say, there were a ton of kids at this launch.

One of the guys there said, "Sheez, these kids are really bogging us down." Now, just reading that statement in this forum and it could be taken several different ways. However, in the context of the conversation and the tone he used I knew he was irritated with the young uns'.

It took every fiber in my being not to start a shouting match with the guy or punch his lights out. Neither action would have done any good and would have only got me kicked out of the launch. After all the garbage I put up with that guy all weekend I have to say that is the closest I have ever come to starting a fist-fight. I said nothing to him and merely walked away. Boy I hope he reads this post.



-Dave

 

[sandman]

Okay...now I am really pissed. Maybe I am just a little extra sensitive since hearing that story from my daughter...

This past weekend at the Team1/Michiana Rocketry launch I had another not so kid-friendly encounter. I am so close to naming names but I know it won't do any good. This is what happened. This past week I did a build session with kids from my daughters school. All of them except for one show up at the launch with rockets to fly. Needless to say, there were a ton of kids at this launch.

One of the guys there said, "Sheez, these kids are really bogging us down." Now, just reading that statement in this forum and it could be taken several different ways. However, in the context of the conversation and the tone he used I knew he was irritated with the young uns'.

It took every fiber in my being not to start a shouting match with the guy or punch his lights out. Neither action would have done any good and would have only got me kicked out of the launch. After all the garbage I put up with that guy all weekend I have to say that is the closest I have ever come to starting a fist-fight. I said nothing to him and merely walked away. Boy I hope he reads this post.



-Dave

Dave, actually it's his problem not yours. Let it go.

I have a friend that gets mad and yells at all the kids in his neighborhood...playing music too loud driving to fast, you know the type.

We are the same age and I tell him, " Man, I hope I never get as old as you are!"

 

[DAllen]

Dave, actually it's his problem not yours. Let it go.

Know what? You're exactly right. Without even consciously thinking it I really knew that was the case and that's why I just walked away without saying anything. I just needed to vent a bit. I feel a lot better now and am still hoping he reads this.

-Dave

 

[sandman]

Know what? You're exactly right. Without even consciously thinking it I really knew that was the case and that's why I just walked away without saying anything. I just needed to vent a bit. I feel a lot better now and am still hoping he reads this.

-Dave

Great! And without the assault an battery charges!

 

[Peartree]

Late last spring at a Cleveland launch an entire boy scout/cub scout troop/pack showed up with their rockets from a recent build session. This just happened to be the weekend that the club was also hosting a NAR regional contest. The launch racks had lines. The comments I heard ranged from "Maybe I should launch a midpower and use a different launch rack," to "Gee this is great to have so many kids here. Do you think we should open a second launch rack?"

I have seen too many churches where the kids all left and either don't go to church or go to church somewhere else. These churches either worry about closing or are already closed. If you don't get the kids to come, you won't have a club twenty years from now. Maybe less.

 

[n3tjm]

I love to see kiddies at launches. I even don't mind them touching my model rockets and asking a bunch of questions. Even had parents ask if they mind if they take a picture of their kid holding one of my model rockets.

 

[shreadvector]

I print hundreds of these and hand them out at launches and I and report the number of first-timers.

https://www.nar.org/pdf/50KAward.pdf

https://www.nar.org/2006/08/nars_50th_birthday_celebration.php

https://www.nar.org/fly50K.html

 

[Mike Di Venti]

The only problem I have with kids in rocketry is that at times they don't pay attention to what is going on. Yes, firing an object into the sky at a high rate of speed always carries a risk, albeit a small one.

I'd say most of the time the parents are to blame for that though. We've had incidents like that at our club where the parents don't pay attention to what their kids are doing.

I love sharing rocketry with kids but I always make safety my number one priority.

I agree 100%