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I flew my new Der Big Red Max twice over Easter weekend and the second time it came back with a fin with the top third chopped off---photos attached. Question: Do you think it is safe to fly it again with this damaged fin? It seems to me that there's enough left to provide proper stability...

Some years ago---probably twenty years by now---I bought this launch pad from a guy on Ebay. I think. He was from Huntsville, as I recall. After all this time I've lost his contact information burt would like to replace this one with something similar---As you can see it's a home-built job...

I've been in touch with a local RC flying club and have been told they will allow me to fly rockets at their field. I have rockets like the Super Big Bertha and the Nike Smoke which use old school blackpowder engines and composites, respectively (F 26, F 32 sized engines). So they fly to a max...

I got an F32-6T 24mm engine for my Pro Series II Nike Smoke instead of a 29mm size. I ordered an adapter to so it will fit the 29mm Nike Smoke. But my question is---will that 24mm smaller diameter be ok to use in my Nike Smoke? My original plan was/is to use F27-4R engines (I have four of...

A friend just sent me this youtube clip of Steve Eves' 1/10th scale Saturn V that he launched in 2009: I'd never seen it before and was googling around for more informtion. But before I dig into the links, can someone explain the "N and P" class engines that powered this rocket? Are they...

I'm prepping to use the Astrocam HD camera over Thanksgiving. So far I've figured out the activation and even the downloading (!) to my hard drive. Question: Do you have to load the video you just took to the hard drive after each flight? Or does it record a sequence of more than one? I...

Sorry, but I haven't been following this important thread and I see it now exceeds 100 pages. But I'd like to ask---What do the forum members here think about NASA and ESA astronauts continuing to co-habit with Russian on the International Space Station? Should we bring our guys home as a...

Apologies if (or,, rather, that) this discussion is on-going and I'm not seeing it, but: What's the verdict on the new Estes rocket cam? I've got two in the closet, buy have yet to fly them. Did I get my money's worth on them??? Two = Close to a hundred bucks!! Or...?? Thanks for any...

I just orderd two (two--just in case) of these new Estes strap-on cameras as it will fufill my dream of visually being along for the ride as I imagined since I was a kid and wondered how I could fit an 8mm movie camera to a rocket. Never mind the weight. And that the Cineroc was beyond my...

I imagine this question has been asked many times before here, but not seeing such a discussion myself, I have to ask: What if the total number of flights you ever got out of a single rocket? Before it just plain wore out? Or otherwise lost it to a failure? Or a tree? Really would like to...

I just read that last week a re-purposed Minuteman first stage (solid fuel, of course) was used to launch a satellite. Or a Space Station re-supply mission; can't remember which. My point is the engine was cast in 1966. And It Worked Flawlessly Over fifty years later. So, I'm...

Just for the heck of it, here's a video of my recent Super Big Bertha launch. Note---No paint or decals whatsoever. My rockets need to prove themselves before I bother painting. So, now it's paint time.

I'm on my third Nike Smoke build and I'm going to share two pieces of advice for anyone who will come after me and build one: 1) Glue those fin halves together First! And make sure you get a good fit at the fin root. Even a slight gap will cause you headaches when you try to get them in the...

I'm half way through building my Der Red Max and, as always, need to worry about something---Those three part fins. Anybody got some flight experience with them? How are they holding up? Can't I get a rocket with fins made in one piece anymore? First Super Big Bertha, now this... Thanks for...

This past weekend I had a series of great launches with my Estes Nike Smoke--four launches using four Aerotech F50-4T composite engines. I'm still feeling my way with composites, so this is my question: I wasn't entirely satisfied with the high acceleration of the Nike Smoke on these...

My long time launch pad has pretty much worn out and I'm in need of a new one. I launch D, E, and F black powder engines and also F level composite engines (like for Nike Smoke, Ascender, Doorknob, Big Daddy, Super Big Bertha---those sized rockets). Attached are a couple of photos of the worn...

This weekend, after a two year hiatus, I will finally be launching my rockets again for a Mothers' Day Weekend family celebration. Down at the farm. (Any excuse is a good excuse!) First launch for my new Doorknob and my Super Big Bertha. One thing they have in common is---No Forward Engine...

Maybe I'm just cranky today, but I'm half way through building the Super Big Bertha (Estes Series II) and I'm really exasperated with some of its build features: 1) What's the deal with making the parts count so high on the fins? When you take the outer fin, then glue on that little extra...

I just noticed from the Estes website that there is a new (to me, anyway) iteration of the Astrocam and it uses a memory card---Not the 126 film that the last iteration used when I last flew it, gosh, going on twenty years ago, maybe. So, what's the verdict on this one? Does the memory...

In discussing the availability of the Der Red Max that will use F-16 engines, I noted on this forum earlier today that I have quite a few leftover F-16 engines that I want to use on the Der Red Max. Why, you ask?? BecauseI built an Estes Ascender to use them on. First flight---no parachute...