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I am planning to build a 150% upscale of a Binder Design Velociraptor for my L3 project. The rocket will be made of 6" Blue Tube and will use a hand-laid fiberglass nosecone and tailcone (PML). I have started working with my TAP, but I'd like to crowdsource an idea to see if anyone has done...

I'm a big fan of OpenRocket, and I was excited about the new release because I'm working on a project that involves booster pods. But after upgrading to the newest version of OpenRocket, my simulations have been embarrassingly bad. I have also been flying two new rockets, so I don't have...

I have a 4" diameter fiberglass rocket with a 75 mm motor mount, and I'd like to display and store it vertically. There are lots of options for doing this with smaller rockets (I 3D print stands for 24 and to 29 mm motor mounts for my mid power rockets), but there isn't many good options for...

[Disclaimer: I know that adding an ejection charge to a stock motor like a D12-0 would not be allowed at a NAR launch. I would either fly this under TRA experimental rules or in a private launch and personally assume potential liability.] I recently built an Estes Ventris and attached two...

I am hoping to build a 6” dia rocket using Blue Tube for my L3 certification attempt. The design is a 150% upscale of a Binder Design Velociraptor. One of the key steps will be converting a PML Pinnacle nose cone into a tail cone. I think I’ll need to build a jig to hold the cone while I cut...

I'm the new president of RIMRA, the NAR-affiliated club that launches in southern Rhode Island. We have previously operated "casually"--without official non-profit status. This has not been a problem for our regular operation, but I'm exploring the option of registering as a non-profit via...

I LOVE the Jolly Logic Chute Release. I own two of them, and use them on nearly every flight--even for 4" rockets that are designed for traditional dual deploy. I have seen several people on TRF using cable cutters, particularly with high performance flights. What are the advantages of one...

Has anyone ever done a swing test and had the rocket stand upright while swinging it? I've seen backwards and forwards, but never upright. While I want to think that means that it will fly straight up no matter what I do, I suspect this isn't a good thing... (Sorry no pictures. My daughter...

I’ve been kicking around the idea of modifying my printer for ABS, but I haven’t built an enclosure yet. I found a few references to not needing an enclosure if printing in vase mode because the part rapidly cools, preventing the temperature gradients that lead to layer splitting. Most...

My daughter had a cool idea that she doodled on the back of a music test last month. She was then mad because she had to wait until she got the music test back to show me. Here are two of her early-stage drawings. The big idea is to make a rocket that can fly in both directions. It will fly...

My daughter wants me to build an upscaled version of her scratch-built QuadPod rocket. The easiest way to do this would be to buy a commercial airframe, but she wants to use 10" Sonotube and 4" mailing tubes. The rocket will probably be about 16' long. I'm intrigued by the idea of building...

I have been kicking around this idea for a while, but it looks like someone beat me to it. This is partly why I'm interested in SLA 3D printers and high-temp resin. Does anyone have any experience with ceramic nozzles? (I know they wound't be blessed by either NAR or TRA.) The aerospike...

There are two launches scheduled at KSC this week, and I couldn’t be more lucky. I have tickets on the LC-39 viewing area for the SpaceX launch tomorrow night (from SLC-40). This is the best place to watch a launch. Tickets were sold out for this site for the Atlas V launch early Thursday...

I'm thinking that I need to buy myself a 3D printer for my birthday next month. I have access to a few conventional, filament-based printers at work, so I guess I'm looking for something different. Plus, as a chemist, I'm interested in the photochemical reactions used in resin printing. I...

The city of Providence, RI, hosts festivals downtown nearly every weekend during the summer. They are called WaterFire, and they have a cool, artsy vibe. On July 20 the theme for the WaterFire will be "The Moon" in celebration of the lunar landing. RIMRA was contacted by the Director of the...

I just happened into three Aerotech F37 reloads. (It's a long story.) It looks like these things only can be used with a 29/60 case, which I don't have, and I'm not really in the mood to pay ~$80 for a new case that is only capable of launching two reloads. I do, however, have a RMS...

My daughter wants to fly an Apogee Aspire on an F10 motor at NY Power, but I don’t want to pay hazmat for just one or two motors from Apogee. Would anyone be willing to sell me one at NY Power next weekend?

RIMRA is Go for Launch! (finally) We will be launching at our usual site, Peckham Farm on the URI campus. Set-up will begin at 9:00, and if you help with set-up, you can hitch a ride to the launch site. As has become the new policy, please park before the gate to the field and cary your stuff...

I’m planning to buy a cheap HVLP gun to paint some rockets and some old furniture that I’m hoping to restore. I’d like to paint in my basement garage because it’s currently freezing outside, so that means I need an low-odor, non-toxic paint. Definitely no urethane. Do you guys have any suggestions?

Dude Perfect is playing with rockets again. I love watching these videos on Saturday mornings with my kids. Hopefully this is good PR for our hobby. If nothing else, it's a good advertisement for the Wilson FX system.