Uggh, lack of a good place to launch is killing the hobby for me!

Steve Shannon said:

I sent you a PM with my email address. Maybe that’ll help.
Steve

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I managed to figure it out and sent my contact info via PM before seeing this. If I need to e-mail let me know. On a couple of additional positive notes, I did find a Mega Red Maxx clone that I might decide to get at some point and I started one of my backlog of kits, an Estes Goblin. First building I've done in at least two years.

Welcome back.

I would suggest getting some LPR rockets, the lowest recommended engines for them, and launch from a nearby soccer field. Unless the town you are in has some stupid local ordinance you should be fine. Even if someone complains you aren't doing anything illegal, so the worst that will happen is the cops will ask you to leave. You can try asking the town permission, but honestly they are most likely to say no.(OMG, rocket = LAWSUIT!!!!!) The local rocketry club in my area was unable to secure another field after they lost theirs to, of all things, a cricket club. That told me all I needed to know about "asking permission" so I went with plan b, shoot and scoot.
Just look up the soccer schedule for the town to make sure no teams are using the field when you want to launch.
FYI I have problems with long drives too. If I drive for too long I get very sleepy, so I try to keep things local as much as possible.

Please don't take this the wrong way, it's fine, but I still don't think some of you get what I'm talking about and what I go through. I'm a law abiding citizen but while most "normal" people get a little nervous during a traffic stop or when otherwise encountering the cops or any other slightly stressful situation, my reactions are amplified ten fold. I get REALLY nervous, to the point of physically shaking and it's not something I can control. All the calming in the world and knowing that I'm doing nothing wrong in launching a rocket wouldn't help. Not that long ago I got pulled over for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign and ended up being momentarily detained and having my car searched because I was so nervous the cop was convinced I was hiding something and doing something wrong. I tried explaining my situation too but he wasn't hearing it. In the end, I was allowed to drive away as he of course found nothing but it illustrates the issue. I would be much better off with another friend or a group or just had the comfort of knowing I had permission to be there. Sucks to be me sometimes but it is what it is.

It's sounds like a club launch is really what you need, where you don't need to be looking over your shoulder. I hope Steve can help you get you hooked up with your nearest club.

Even if you have to drive a couple of hours, and can only do it once in a while, it will be worth it.

I got a name from Chris Short and sent an email asking for the person to reach out. If nothing happens today or tomorrow I’ll try another name.

Wow, re-reading my post and I sound so freakin fragile! But, really I'm not, once I get over the hump and get comfortable I'm fine. My late brother was the outgoing one and when we were kids, he made most of our friends to start with because of my shyness and of course now, the issues of the last few years have kind of contributed to things. To get away from the negative and be a bit more positive, I do have some good stuff going on. I started the aforementioned Goblin build and it's coming along fine. I'm about to re-up my NAR membership and, this is going to sound really crazy, but I've been looking at some mid power rockets at MadCow and I'm seriously considering buying one. Of course I have absolutely no place to launch it right now but I'm thinking I want to build it, paint it and maybe put it on display just to look at. It will give me something to aspire to. Kind of what I wanted to do with a Mega Maxx. The responses I've gotten here and Steve reaching out to kind of give me a leg up have been really helpful too. Thanks guys!

RocketMike said:

Please don't take this the wrong way, it's fine, but I still don't think some of you get what I'm talking about and what I go through. I'm a law abiding citizen but while most "normal" people get a little nervous during a traffic stop or when otherwise encountering the cops or any other slightly stressful situation, my reactions are amplified ten fold. I get REALLY nervous, to the point of physically shaking and it's not something I can control. All the calming in the world and knowing that I'm doing nothing wrong in launching a rocket wouldn't help. Not that long ago I got pulled over for not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign and ended up being momentarily detained and having my car searched because I was so nervous the cop was convinced I was hiding something and doing something wrong. I tried explaining my situation too but he wasn't hearing it. In the end, I was allowed to drive away as he of course found nothing but it illustrates the issue. I would be much better off with another friend or a group or just had the comfort of knowing I had permission to be there. Sucks to be me sometimes but it is what it is.

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Mike,

Thia is exactly what I meant by "baby steps". Your problem will not be conquered overnight. You need to set simple, easily-obtainable, short-term goals and then accomplish them.

In doing so, you will provide yourself with "success experiences". The result is that your self-confidence will be strengthened with the accomplishment of each goal. Gradually, the difficulty and scope of the goals increase over time, with the same objectives in mind, building self-confidence.

At some point, you may need a "buddy" or "support group" to help you, at times . . . Baby steps, one step at a time, keep moving forward . . . First, you crawl, then you walk, then you run !

I believe that you can do this . . .

Dave F.

RocketMike said:

Wow, re-reading my post and I sound so freakin fragile! But, really I'm not, once I get over the hump and get comfortable I'm fine.

I'm about to re-up my NAR membership and, this is going to sound really crazy, but I've been looking at some mid power rockets at MadCow and I'm seriously considering buying one. Of course I have absolutely no place to launch it right now but I'm thinking I want to build it, paint it and maybe put it on display just to look at. It will give me something to aspire to. Kind of what I wanted to do with a Mega Maxx.

The responses I've gotten here and Steve reaching out to kind of give me a leg up have been really helpful too. Thanks guys!

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Mike,

To the first part of your quote . . . Ask yourself, "What do I see, when I look in the mirror ?" . . . By re-reading your post and saying what you said, you are already doing this. "Introspection" is a very useful tool . . . I suggest keeping a journal and reviewing it frequently, too !

https://hackernoon.com/why-introspection-is-crucial-for-all-3df9c21cd8e4

https://www.slideshare.net/ChoudaryIhtasham/introspection-method

Buy what you want . . . Set a goal and achieve it . . . Then the next one, etc, etc, etc.

There will always be failures . . . Don't let them become "game-enders" . . . Learn from them and keep moving forward.

I'm "old school", in many areas of my life. I grew up during the Space Race and take Rocketry very seriously, mostly the "team-work" and "camaraderie" aspect . . . My motto is "Adapt & Overcome . . . Failure Is Not An Option !"

The more you reach out, the better, Mike. You will overcome this, but it will take time, effort, and the support of friends !

Dave f.

Mike,

Set a goal and break it down into as many small steps as needed to accomplish it. Everything that seems hard at first is much easier to handle one step at a time. Take it easy and you'll get there before you know it. Here is one approach you might find helpful.

https://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/the-20-second-challenge/

Personally, I prefer to be introverted, but my ion forces the opposite at times. For some reason, I even end up in front of cameras for interviews and PSAs more often than I care to. "Adapt and overcome" is also our mantra and I have learned how to deal with it over the years.

Your friends and family, books, blog or journal tips, support groups, or professional help are all options to help you learn to the tools you need to learn to cope with anxiety. You can do this!

Mike, good call on re-signing up for NAR. Some clubs have different rules as to whether they let you launch or not depending upon whether you are a NAR member. Always helps if you already are.

Straight trails!

Mike,
I would say refreshingly honest, not fragile. The nice thing is that rocketry is a great support group.
As far as joining NAR, it’s a great organization.
Steve

Steve Shannon said:

I would say refreshingly honest, not fragile. The nice thing is that rocketry is a great support group.
As far as joining NAR, it’s a great organization.
Steve

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I appreciate that. No sense trying to hide what happened, it can happen to the best of us and in many ways I'm stronger for it. I'll also never get over the ways it weakened me if I just sit around and brood about it. Again, thanks guys for your support!

RocketMike said:

I appreciate that. No sense trying to hide what happened, it can happen to the best of us and in many ways I'm stronger for it. I'll also never get over the ways it weakened me if I just sit around and brood about it. Again, thanks guys for your support!

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Mike,

There is an old saying, "Whatever doesn't kill you. makes you stronger" . . . Hang it there and keep moving forward !

Dave F.

Mike, I see a lot of myself in your posts. I’m terribly introverted. My oldest son persuaded me to go to a high power launch—something I would never have been able to do without him. At that first launch I met someone who lived across the street from my parents. We became friends. His wife is Korean and frequently comes to launches. We became friends, and I get a periodic chance to practice the small part of Korean I haven’t forgotten. I made friends with the motor vendor (an expensive occurrence). Later I made friends with a couple of people who taught me much of what I know about launching high power rockets. They invited me to set up next to them at launches. Then I met Wayne and Sharon from Arizona and we became friends. Others from my local club are friends, and I have several more that I met in this forum and then met for the first time at national launches. There’s no chance I would have gone to the national launches if Wayne and Sharon hadn’t become friends and encouraged me. My wife remarked recently when I was preparing to go to a launch even though I didn’t have time to prepare a rocket that it wasn’t like me to go for social reasons. It isn’t. I’m still terribly introverted, but I go to launches to be around my rocketry friends as much as to launch rockets. I’m glad my son talked me into it. Ironically, he has since remarried and rarely goes to launches anymore. But I hate missing them and plan to go out to LDRS in Kansas again this summer. Good luck with your journey. It’s a fun ride because of the people you will meet.

Jmhepworth said:

Mike, I see a lot of myself in your posts. I’m terribly introverted. My oldest son persuaded me to go to a high power launch—something I would never have been able to do without him. At that first launch I met someone who lived across the street from my parents. We became friends. His wife is Korean and frequently comes to launches. We became friends, and I get a periodic chance to practice the small part of Korean I haven’t forgotten. I made friends with the motor vendor (an expensive occurrence). Later I made friends with a couple of people who taught me much of what I know about launching high power rockets. They invited me to set up next to them at launches. Then I met Wayne and Sharon from Arizona and we became friends. Others from my local club are friends, and I have several more that I met in this forum and then met for the first time at national launches. There’s no chance I would have gone to the national launches if Wayne and Sharon hadn’t become friends and encouraged me. My wife remarked recently when I was preparing to go to a launch even though I didn’t have time to prepare a rocket that it wasn’t like me to go for social reasons. It isn’t. I’m still terribly introverted, but I go to launches to be around my rocketry friends as much as to launch rockets. I’m glad my son talked me into it. Ironically, he has since remarried and rarely goes to launches anymore. But I hate missing them and plan to go out to LDRS in Kansas again this summer. Good luck with your journey. It’s a fun ride because of the people you will meet.

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That's a great story and I'm happy to hear of your enjoyment of the hobby. I've always been painfully shy but I had overcome some of it. Another hobby of mine is RC and I was able to seek out a club and go out to it's field and ended up joining. That was many years ago though and when I had my breakdown, it changed things to a whole new ballgame. For one thing, looking back, it's like I spent two years in a daze. They were trying to administer meds and I swear the Doc's just work by trial and error. I was functioning and carrying on with day to day life but I wasn't happy. I couldn't even go to church and be among a large crowd of people that I knew because of the social anxiety. I've gotten better about that but I still like to sort of sit in the back and stay to myself. My biggest source of unhappiness was that I felt my creativity had been robbed from me. I'm a very artistic and creative guy. I draw, write, paint, play music, you name it. I also have other hobbies besides rocketry that embody the creative element. RC has it and I'm a Model Railroader too. I've had an article published in that hobby.
Anyway, everything is as good or better than ever now except for the amplified shyness, social anxiety and really bad nerves in stressful situations. I'm now retired and my time is pretty much my own. My creativity has come back in droves. I was going like a house a fire on my train layout and I have ideas for a couple of articles with that. I've started a small backlog of low power kits, as mentioned, I've got an Estes Goblin sitting here ready to prime and there's an Alpha behind that before I get into the more adventurous stuff like my Nike X and Mercury Redstone. I also started a thread over in the Mid Power forum where I've been given more options on pursuing a Mega Der Red Maxx but now I'm seriously considering the Madcow Momba which I'll build and finish to display and give myself a motivational goal to aspire to launching someday. It's all good except for not really having a place to launch.

RocketMike said:

They were trying to administer meds and I swear the Doc's just work by trial and error.

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Mike,

That's typical for the 21st century . . . The Doctors make their errors and then you take them to trial - LOL !

Keep on keepin' on . . .

Dave F.

RocketMike said:

That's a great story and I'm happy to hear of your enjoyment of the hobby. I've always been painfully shy but I had overcome some of it. Another hobby of mine is RC and I was able to seek out a club and go out to it's field and ended up joining. That was many years ago though and when I had my breakdown, it changed things to a whole new ballgame. For one thing, looking back, it's like I spent two years in a daze. They were trying to administer meds and I swear the Doc's just work by trial and error. I was functioning and carrying on with day to day life but I wasn't happy. I couldn't even go to church and be among a large crowd of people that I knew because of the social anxiety. I've gotten better about that but I still like to sort of sit in the back and stay to myself. My biggest source of unhappiness was that I felt my creativity had been robbed from me. I'm a very artistic and creative guy. I draw, write, paint, play music, you name it. I also have other hobbies besides rocketry that embody the creative element. RC has it and I'm a Model Railroader too. I've had an article published in that hobby.
Anyway, everything is as good or better than ever now except for the amplified shyness, social anxiety and really bad nerves in stressful situations. I'm now retired and my time is pretty much my own. My creativity has come back in droves. I was going like a house a fire on my train layout and I have ideas for a couple of articles with that. I've started a small backlog of low power kits, as mentioned, I've got an Estes Goblin sitting here ready to prime and there's an Alpha behind that before I get into the more adventurous stuff like my Nike X and Mercury Redstone. I also started a thread over in the Mid Power forum where I've been given more options on pursuing a Mega Der Red Maxx but now I'm seriously considering the Madcow Momba which I build and finish to display and give myself a motivational goal to aspire to launching someday. It's all good except for not really having a place to launch.

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Wow! Very impressive! I can’t wait to see more.

If this is not alright or too far off topic it can be removed but here's a link to my model railroading article
https://mrhpub.com/2015-10-oct/port/files/109.html
It's older so it uses flash.

RocketMike said:

If this is not alright or too far off topic it can be removed but here's a link to my model railroading article
https://mrhpub.com/2015-10-oct/port/files/109.html
It's older so it uses flash.

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Mike,

Wow . . . Nice detailing !

It's "on-topic" now . . . The modelling skills in model railroading can easily apply to rocketry . . . Think Scale, PMC, and dioramas.

Dave F.

Mike,
I wondered why I didn’t get a response to my email asking someone to reach out to you. I reviewed my sent email and found I had screwed it up in the dumbest way. I have redone that email and I’m sorry for my mistake.
I also reached out to another Prefect who’s even further away. I realize that might not be as helpful but maybe he’ll have some ideas.
Also, in the Watering Hole is another thread asking what our other hobbies are. You should put your other hobbies there also. You won’t be alone!

RocketMike said:

If this is not alright or too far off topic it can be removed but here's a link to my model railroading article
https://mrhpub.com/2015-10-oct/port/files/109.html
It's older so it uses flash.

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That is very cool.

Steve Shannon said:

Also, in the Watering Hole is another thread asking what our other hobbies are. You should put your other hobbies there also. You won’t be alone!

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Check who the OP of that thread is.

Yep, my old thread from 2013. I was kind of surprised to see it revived and going and was going to make a post in there again but haven't gotten around to it. No worries Steve.

Ez2cDave said:

Mike,

Wow . . . Nice detailing !

It's "on-topic" now . . . The modelling skills in model railroading can easily apply to rocketry . . . Think Scale, PMC, and dioramas.

Dave F.

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Missiles and Beer.....

beeblebrox said:

Missiles and Beer.....

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What could go wrong ?

beeblebrox said:

Missiles and Beer.....

View attachment 386484 View attachment 386485

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Where did you get that Sly Fox train car?

RocketMike---I totally understand your plight.

I started flying Estes rockets circa 1965 and my old flying field---McElwaine School in Birmingham is gone. It used to be adequate for B and C engines and I usually got them back. In those days, there was even a horse paddock adjacent to the school yard. But over the years, the field shrank with more school being built and the horses went away, and eventually the school was closed and I don't think the remnant of my old flying field even exists at all any more. Sad, but that's progress, I guess.

I don't have a local place to fly, but my brother-in-law has a farm in central FL where, once or twice per year, I can fly with up to composite motors (F power usually) and his field is big enough to get them back maybe 80% of the time. Wish it were closer so I could fly three or for times per year.

I’ve been traveling. Has anyone from Georgia contacted you yet, Michael?
I take off again today for a few days but I’ll keep working on this.
Steve

Just by way of update on this now old thread, I was just starting to pick up some good leads from various people who contacted me but then I got sidetracked by some other things and next thing you know, the pandemic hit. Add to that, that my dear wife fell and broke her ankle and then learned she had further issues that required some major neck surgery plus long recuperation and I'm just now getting around to thinking about rocketry again.
Where there's a will there's a way though and I decided to order a Micro Maxx setup the other day as well as putting out some feelers on some rocketry and local general interest facebook groups. I have a tentative possibility of meeting some folks in a couple or three weeks at the Perry Ga. Fairgrounds but I still wish I had something close by. There's an RC club in Gray Ga. but they don't allow rockets unfortunately.
Anyway, was just poking around here after a long while of not checking in and I thought I would let everyone know how I am doing!