MachMullet
New Member
Hello all! I am returning to the hobby as an adult after a childhood introduction.
[Then]
I built and launched several Estes kits in the 2000's with my father until fixed-wing RC aircraft stole me away. Shortly after that, so did school, sports, and work. Everything we did was low budget with many kits purchased at a local thrift/bazaar - one bag I found was crayon'd $2.99! We launched out of large grassy fields independent of a club. While I never did launch anything higher than an Estes C, I was lucky enough to have recovered all but one vehicle. I still have them, though the attic was not kind to the plastic parachutes and rubber elastics.
For those curious, young me built the following, all Estes:
Looking back, I experienced a nice little spread of LPRs - from squat to skinny, typical to gimmicky. I recall the Alpha III met an untimely demise, save for its fin can.
[Now]
Fast forward to 2024. I'm a young-blood mechanical engineer but with several years of accomplished design, simulation, and manufacturing experience. I wear many hats in a research & prototyping environment across mechanical, electrical, and software. While the idea of returning to childhood hobbies always lived in the back of my mind, I never pursued it as I felt I always needed to spend my resources on "productive" tasks instead of having fun. Thankfully, I've lifted my head out of that flawed mindset at 28. I've decided to pick back up the hobbies that brought me joy and, arguably, influenced my scientific endeavors.
[Club]
I'm now a member of Tripoli and reside in the Baltimore city, MD area - not exaaactly the place you can launch rockets at a nearby park. I'm actively looking for a rocket club around Maryland - currently planning to swing by MDRA for a launch.
[Rockets]
I've taken to OpenRocket quite quickly and pair it with SolidWorks, my bread & butter CAD. Additive manufacturing, both polymer & metal, is a field I've been involved in for close to a decade now. I've used many FDM systems from desktop prusa clones to industrial Stratasys F900's. AM was not something I had when I built kits, so I'm excited to leverage its capabilities in this context.
Over the past month, I took on the task of designing my own rocket from scratch. I didn't want to go too crazy, so I went with BT-50 and 18mm engines. As such, it is dubbed "YTAR" for "Yup, That's A Rocket". Yes, there's a wink-wink sounds-like-ITAR joke in there. My return goals were: A simple design for 18mm engines, 3D printed nosecone, and to just explore materials & techniques I did not have access to as a kid. These include kevlar shock cord [tied to the engine mount], nomex recovery protection, a threaded engine retainer, a 3D printed fin jig, and a fabric parachute.
It's simulating at >500ft on B's and >1000ft on C's without body paint. I've found the design and build process immensely enjoyable so far, and I look forward to launching when its ready. Already dreaming big to someday fill out those HPR certs
Happy to join the community.
Packed and unpacked YTAR, prior to applying white body paint. Elastic will receive a small swivel as I quickly re-learned how easily lines tangle.
[Then]
I built and launched several Estes kits in the 2000's with my father until fixed-wing RC aircraft stole me away. Shortly after that, so did school, sports, and work. Everything we did was low budget with many kits purchased at a local thrift/bazaar - one bag I found was crayon'd $2.99! We launched out of large grassy fields independent of a club. While I never did launch anything higher than an Estes C, I was lucky enough to have recovered all but one vehicle. I still have them, though the attic was not kind to the plastic parachutes and rubber elastics.
For those curious, young me built the following, all Estes:
- Alpha III
- Fat Boy
- Skywriter
- Cosmic Cobra, helicopter recovery
- Stormcaster
- Popfly, foam baseball recovery...
Looking back, I experienced a nice little spread of LPRs - from squat to skinny, typical to gimmicky. I recall the Alpha III met an untimely demise, save for its fin can.
[Now]
Fast forward to 2024. I'm a young-blood mechanical engineer but with several years of accomplished design, simulation, and manufacturing experience. I wear many hats in a research & prototyping environment across mechanical, electrical, and software. While the idea of returning to childhood hobbies always lived in the back of my mind, I never pursued it as I felt I always needed to spend my resources on "productive" tasks instead of having fun. Thankfully, I've lifted my head out of that flawed mindset at 28. I've decided to pick back up the hobbies that brought me joy and, arguably, influenced my scientific endeavors.
[Club]
I'm now a member of Tripoli and reside in the Baltimore city, MD area - not exaaactly the place you can launch rockets at a nearby park. I'm actively looking for a rocket club around Maryland - currently planning to swing by MDRA for a launch.
[Rockets]
I've taken to OpenRocket quite quickly and pair it with SolidWorks, my bread & butter CAD. Additive manufacturing, both polymer & metal, is a field I've been involved in for close to a decade now. I've used many FDM systems from desktop prusa clones to industrial Stratasys F900's. AM was not something I had when I built kits, so I'm excited to leverage its capabilities in this context.
Over the past month, I took on the task of designing my own rocket from scratch. I didn't want to go too crazy, so I went with BT-50 and 18mm engines. As such, it is dubbed "YTAR" for "Yup, That's A Rocket". Yes, there's a wink-wink sounds-like-ITAR joke in there. My return goals were: A simple design for 18mm engines, 3D printed nosecone, and to just explore materials & techniques I did not have access to as a kid. These include kevlar shock cord [tied to the engine mount], nomex recovery protection, a threaded engine retainer, a 3D printed fin jig, and a fabric parachute.
It's simulating at >500ft on B's and >1000ft on C's without body paint. I've found the design and build process immensely enjoyable so far, and I look forward to launching when its ready. Already dreaming big to someday fill out those HPR certs
Happy to join the community.Packed and unpacked YTAR, prior to applying white body paint. Elastic will receive a small swivel as I quickly re-learned how easily lines tangle.
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