RocketMike
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 26, 2012
- Messages
- 276
- Reaction score
- 14
Hi folks,
Name here is Michael and I'm 49 years old. I used to fly low power model rockets (Estes, Centuri) from when I was teenager up until I was in my twenties. Back in those days we launched at a nearby school field, we would lug an old 12 V car battery up there to power the launch system! I kind of got away from the hobby for awhile with just an occasional foray into it here and there over the last 25 years or so. I would occasionally "stick a toe back in the water" when I saw Estes kits at Wal-mart or when I would go into a hobby shop looking for stuff for my trains or RC hobbies. I still have the Porta pad and AA battery powered launch controller I acquired during those brief forays back into the hobby but any rockets I ever had are long gone. During my time away, I would still peek at the rockets in the hobby store or take an occasional look at the rocket forum over on RCGroups and I would see things about high power rockets here and there but honestly, it seemed like to me that the hobby, at least as I knew it, was dying.
Fast forward to yesterday. I was in the Athens Georgia Hobby Lobby with my wife and kids. I was trying to give my wife a break to look at all her artsy decorator stuff and hokey nick knacks so I had my 23 year old autistic son and 10 year old daughter with me over in the hobby aisle looking at train stuff. My daughter spotted the section of Estes rockets and said "Daddy, don't you have the stuff to launch these? I think I saw it somewhere once." I answered that I did have a launch pad but that I just didn't fool with "that stuff" anymore. Because of a tight hobby budget, I had already had to give up RC and I mostly just concentrated on my trains. I certainly wasn't looking to get back into rocketry but my daughter had other ideas. I won't bore you guys with the dynamics of a father daughter conversation but suffice to say Emma definitely knows how to work on Dad to get what she wants...LOL! Besides, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been sneaking peeks over at the rocket kits! One had actually caught my eye. I had always wanted an Estes Red Max back in the day and never gotten around to getting one. There was a "Mini Max" hanging over on the rack and it was calling my name.
Next thing I know, I'm walking out of the store with the kit, engines and recovery wadding and explaining to my lovely wife how " this will be a good hobby for me to share with the kids since they have no interest in my trains."
So with that little story out of the way, how is the hobby doing these days? Last night after everyone else was long tucked away in bed, I was up flying high on Starbucks coffee and doing research. My first stop was the NAR website which led me here and some other places. I got to say that things look a little bit better to me than they did. Maybe the hobby looks in better shape than it did several years ago but I have questions and reservations. I wonder are high powered rockets the main part of the hobby these days or are the "little guys" like I'm accustomed to flying still a viable part of things? Are people like me and my kids considered a "joke" by the high power guys or are we accepted as equals? I got to say I was a little surprised about how expensive NAR membership has become. The fact that the "join" links all seem to be broken and that their appears to be no facility for " joining online" gives me pause. So, just wondering how are things these days?
Michael
Name here is Michael and I'm 49 years old. I used to fly low power model rockets (Estes, Centuri) from when I was teenager up until I was in my twenties. Back in those days we launched at a nearby school field, we would lug an old 12 V car battery up there to power the launch system! I kind of got away from the hobby for awhile with just an occasional foray into it here and there over the last 25 years or so. I would occasionally "stick a toe back in the water" when I saw Estes kits at Wal-mart or when I would go into a hobby shop looking for stuff for my trains or RC hobbies. I still have the Porta pad and AA battery powered launch controller I acquired during those brief forays back into the hobby but any rockets I ever had are long gone. During my time away, I would still peek at the rockets in the hobby store or take an occasional look at the rocket forum over on RCGroups and I would see things about high power rockets here and there but honestly, it seemed like to me that the hobby, at least as I knew it, was dying.
Fast forward to yesterday. I was in the Athens Georgia Hobby Lobby with my wife and kids. I was trying to give my wife a break to look at all her artsy decorator stuff and hokey nick knacks so I had my 23 year old autistic son and 10 year old daughter with me over in the hobby aisle looking at train stuff. My daughter spotted the section of Estes rockets and said "Daddy, don't you have the stuff to launch these? I think I saw it somewhere once." I answered that I did have a launch pad but that I just didn't fool with "that stuff" anymore. Because of a tight hobby budget, I had already had to give up RC and I mostly just concentrated on my trains. I certainly wasn't looking to get back into rocketry but my daughter had other ideas. I won't bore you guys with the dynamics of a father daughter conversation but suffice to say Emma definitely knows how to work on Dad to get what she wants...LOL! Besides, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't been sneaking peeks over at the rocket kits! One had actually caught my eye. I had always wanted an Estes Red Max back in the day and never gotten around to getting one. There was a "Mini Max" hanging over on the rack and it was calling my name.
Next thing I know, I'm walking out of the store with the kit, engines and recovery wadding and explaining to my lovely wife how " this will be a good hobby for me to share with the kids since they have no interest in my trains."
So with that little story out of the way, how is the hobby doing these days? Last night after everyone else was long tucked away in bed, I was up flying high on Starbucks coffee and doing research. My first stop was the NAR website which led me here and some other places. I got to say that things look a little bit better to me than they did. Maybe the hobby looks in better shape than it did several years ago but I have questions and reservations. I wonder are high powered rockets the main part of the hobby these days or are the "little guys" like I'm accustomed to flying still a viable part of things? Are people like me and my kids considered a "joke" by the high power guys or are we accepted as equals? I got to say I was a little surprised about how expensive NAR membership has become. The fact that the "join" links all seem to be broken and that their appears to be no facility for " joining online" gives me pause. So, just wondering how are things these days?
Michael
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