A Breath of Fresh Air!!!!

[swimmer]

Just happened on the Rocketry Forum after reading a lot of stuff not related to rocketry on other forums. I just wanted to say "Thanks" for a forum that is well moderated. I've been in rocketry for almost one year and am having a lot of fun. I'll be around learning from all of you and post some of my problems and experiences. I'm in my 50's and have found out an old dog can learn new tricks. I'll also be sharing why I call myself "Swimmer". Thanks again for a great forum!

 

[sandman]

I like it very much too, just a great friendly bunch.

But are half of us in our 50's and the rest in their 20's?

I'm in my 50's

sandman

 

[rstaff3]

Amen, bro! I have expressed the same sentiments myself. The admins have sucessfully set up a great resource which seems to have attracted great people. I think Milo just posted that the moderators have not had to scrap a single post in over a year.

And so, how many medals you got (blind stab regarding your 'handle' - oops - they don't call 'em handles anymore)

 

[rstaff3]

Originally posted by sandman
I like it very much too, just a great friendly bunch.

But are half of us in our 50's and the rest in their 20's?

I'm in my 50's

sandman

Geesh, I'm a young 48 (usually feel like I'm 68)

 

[Milo]

I have three days left being in my mid-30's. I turn 37 soon.

Thanks for the kind words about the forum.

 

[Jase]

Right in the middle. turned 31 in May.

 

[Lee Reep]

Originally posted by Milo
I have three days left being in my mid-30's. I turn 37 soon.

Mid thirties, huh? I can actually remember those days. No back pain in the morning, reading the rocket instructions without having to use reading glasses, no back pain in the morning, not repeating myself, and the best part, no back pain in the morning.

There are some really good things about turning 50, but they all escape me currently. I'll post another message when they come to me ...

 

[eugenefl]

Political-free forums, simplicity, live chat amongest peers, and the best staffing around...this forum is about as genuine as the fresh smell of paper and balsa you get when you open that new kit. I'm hooked.

Ok, so I probably have to be the youngest in here so far. I will be turning 24 in July. I guess it may seem odd for someone my age to be involved in a "hobby" such as rocketry. I certainly fill the age gap at our local launches. Usually you find kids (8-12) and the rocketeers that produced them. I tell ya, most people my age are way too cool to do anything related to math or science. Ah well...I enjoy it. It keeps me feeling like I'm in elementary school. Growing into adulthood doesn't seem like what its cracked up to be so I might as well hang on to being a kid.

Thanks again for the forums...

Eugene

 

[ibeblip]

Heck Yes, The Rocketry Forum is the kind of place all the other's want to be.
You can come in here looking for anything related to rocketry, and find it, without having to worry about some wanker trying to hack into your system.
The Administrators and Moderators of this forum have proven themselves to be infinitely patient in the process of learning while maintaining. And, is if that weren't enough, all of the members of this forum (excluding myself) are friendly beyond belief. Together, they are the one's who make it all happen.
Welcome to the group.
Uh, by the way, I'm gonna hit the Big Nickel this year.

Any suggestions, advice or ideas?

 

[dasein668]

Originally posted by ibeblip

Uh, by the way, I'm gonna hit the Big Nickel this year.

The big nickel? Wow, you sure sound mature for five years old!

fwiw i'm pushin' 28. Just got back from my wife's 5th reunion and man do I feel old... can't party like i could when i was in college.... or at least, i don't recover as quickly!

-nathan

 

[swimmer]

rstaff3 asked how many medals I had because of my name. I sat and thought last night before becoming a Rocketry Forum member a descriptive name I could use. Here is why I chose Swimmer: Last Thursday was a great evening to launch at a local park. The park has much open space and a large lake. Launched an Estes Black Brant II on C11's and had 4 great flights and three good recoveries. Yes, I said three. The wind caught the chute on the fourth and drifted toward the lake a long way away. When I got to the lake the Brant was 20 feet away from shore There were several options, go after it, watch it sink or hope it would drift to shore before it became waterlogged. When I thought of how much work went into it the only option was to go after it: hence, Swimmer. Sure hard to swim though dragging the chute. rstaff3, I do have one trophy come to think of, my rocket. I can detect no physical damage. I'll let you all know how she flies next time we launch.

 

[MarkABrown]

I too am in the middle. I just turned 38 this past January.

 

[KenParker]

Welcome to the forum, Swimmer. Loved the story about your forum name. Would have given a lot to have seen that. Did anyone record your rocket-saving swim for posterity, on either film or digital image?

Thanks to everyone else for your kind words about the forum and the staff thereof.

Now... for a serious question: Swimmer, you said you launched your Black Brant on C11's. I have a couple of packages of them, but haven't had a chance to try them yet. It sounds like the ones you used worked fine. Any other comments on them?

 

[rstaff3]

Swimmer, I too liked your story. You hear a lot about recoveries from rocket-eating trees, but not from other hazzards

 

[Austin]

Big welcome to ya Swimmer...I think you will have alot of fun with us here as we keep it upbeat and light hearted...

remember ...LOTS of pics on you projects!

Carl

 

[swimmer]

Ken, the rescue had to be a thing of beauty.

The C11 is a good alternative for "D" motors in a smaller recovery area. The .81 second burn time seems short but the motor packs plenty of power. I've used seven or eight C11 motors and not a faliure yet.

I save the "D's" for our monthly launches. There is a lot more area for recovery.

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by KenParker

Now... for a serious question: Swimmer, you said you launched your Black Brant on C11's. I have a couple of packages of them, but haven't had a chance to try them yet. It sounds like the ones you used worked fine. Any other comments on them?

Hey Ken...

I absolutely LOVE the new C11s! The pack a nice little punch of the pad. They are quite distinctive because of their short delay. Usually, most of the other club flyers are able to tell what kind of motor was used for a flight, but the C11 usually throws everyone off.

So far, I have used 4 C11s. All were used in my upscale Gyroc. I have pleny more in my box and plan to use them in some of my other 24mm Estes rockets.

Like swimmer said, they should be great for small fields.

It's good see yet another member join up on TRF. Welcome aboard! BTW, I would NEVER dare swim in a lake to fetch a rocket here in Florida. You can almost guarantee there is an alligator or snake swimming nearby!

 

[KermieD]

Hey guys! Another new member here, and I fall right in the middle as well. 34 going on 14 here, from Oshkosh, WI...b'gosh, where we have winter and July for seasons. We're the home of the EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association), and if we have any aviation nuts here, I have a spare bedroom for the fly-in, since you're not getting a hotel room less than 100 miles away. For the rest of you, airplanes are those other things you see in the air that seem to be weathercocking really bad with the really big fins halfway up the BT.

I remember playing with some of the Estes kits when I was a kid, and I think I'm one of 3 people on the planet who ever got a Mosquito back. I hope that having it be in one piece wasn't a requirement, as ony 2 of the 3 fins came back with it. Being kids (read: stoopid) and knowing NOTHING about aerodynamics, we figgered that it'd be no problem to just fire it up on 2 fins. I'd have given anything at that particular moment to have a lake nearby to jump in to hide from this rocket that seemed to have a guidance system that had a bead on me.

So, this last Christmas, I got my 9 year old daughter (who I hope is smarter now than I was then) the starter set with the Goliath and the Spitfire in it. Great starter kit for a kid with no modeling experience! The Goliath is an ARF kit and almost guarantees that your kid will be able to put one together on his/her own that'll both look and fly very well. The Spitfire is a little more work once the kid has some newfound confidence in their construction ability.

Anyway, when we launched a beautiful first flight of the Goliath to about 500 feet, her eyes turned the size of saucers when she realized that SHE made the thing and SHE made it go up that high! This, in turn, made me remember just how much fun I had flying rockets. Got the Initiator starters set for myself, and am now building a Yank 3" Black Brant X for my Level 1 cert (I think I can...I think I can...).

Anyway, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Thanks for tossing this out there for us, and thanks for the warm welcome I've already gotten from a few members already. Electrode waited for me to be a member for all of an hour before he IM'ed me and has given me a couple of good pieces of advice already.

Peace!

 

[PGerringer]

Ahhh, the Goliath kit. MarkBrown had one of those kits and we affectionatly gave the G the name of Pinky. Ahhhh what fond memories of Pinky we have. Mark, do you remember? Alas, Pinky is gone now, sacrificed to the rocket gods. But memories still linger.

... a moment of silence for all Goliath's (and poor Pinky) lost in battle with the rocket eating trees...

.... <silence> ...

BTW... 34 here.

 

[KermieD]

My daughter's Goliath ended up in a RocEater as well...about 45 feet up. Now, being that it was her first rocket, my brother and I decided that we weren't going to just let it go at that, so we got a croquet mallet and headed out to the tree. The tree was guarding its prize fairly closely with a couple of other branches. Well, needless to say, it was a hungry tree and apparently it was just as fond of croquet mallets as it was rockets. Fortunately for us, we happened to bring a croquet BALL with us as well......

 

[MarkABrown]

Ahh yes. Pinky was a fine craft. We shall all remember Pinky with great fondness. The Goliath/Spitfire starter set was my first experience with any rocketry. I enjoyed both of those rockets and I still have the parts of the Spitfire except the nosecone. I may try to repair it one day.

 

[PGerringer]

Hehehe, and I think I lost the nosecone for ya Mark... We used it on a rocket that lost its nosecone only to loose both rocket and Spitfire nosecone.

 

[ibeblip]

The Big Nickel? Wow, you sure sound mature for five years old!

Yeah well, Mom and Dad always said I was precocious.

 

[gothique_97]

Originally posted by eugenefl
Ok, so I probably have to be the youngest in here so far. I will be turning 24 in July.

I think there are a couple of teens that occasionally post [you still out there, Klint?]

I guess it may seem odd for someone my age to be involved in a "hobby" such as rocketry. I certainly fill the age gap at our local launches. Usually you find kids (8-12) and the rocketeers that produced them. I tell ya, most people my age are way too cool to do anything related to math or science.

22-24 years of age was about the time I was absent from the hobby. I'm now 26; rocketry these days makes a good excuse for a weekend road trip since I don't have the money to do much else.