Ok, fair enough.
How about this: how long will a properly built baffle last assuming normal motor and rocket operation?
I can’t speak for the average of the entire body of rocket builders, but mine seem to be hovering at what I’d estimate to be around 12 flights. Maybe lower than that, I don’t actually know.
Then again, I did get back into the hobby pretty recently, building Estes kits mostly stock but still wanting to try a little bit of everything, mainly experimenting with 2-stage conversions at the moment. I’m betting those with more consistent experience will have averages much higher than that.
So far I’ve lost:
A Firestreak SST due to damage to the plastic snap pins holding the body casing together. I had underpowered it on a 1/4A3-3T motor and blasted the casing apart on simultaneous impact/ejection some time previously.
A Mosquito that I never saw again after daring to shove a massive 1/2A3 motor in it in my local schoolyard.
A Gnome that bent under power.
Another Gnome that got eaten by a giant tree.
A Star Trooper that I had unknowingly loaded with a defective A10-3T, date code D21 0521. Estes replaced the pack it came in, free of charge.
A Luna Bug that I had converted into a booster for another Luna Bug, the booster being cooked by a failed separation.
A Phantom that got cooked after almost a dozen flights despite being meant to be a teaching aid instead of a flying model rocket.
Another Phantom that cracked along the tube after I accidentally glued the parachute to itself during a rushed night flight prep and decided to fly it with only nose-blow recovery.
A Generic E2X that survived a water landing and then crashed nose-first after a staging failure on a separate flight, bending the body tube. That rocket was retired, it was an act of mercy.
I have so far
not lost:
The booster that the first Gnome was converted into.
The booster for the Star Trooper that CATOed
The replacement Luna Bug booster and its matching sustainer. Several flights for each stage.
The booster for the Generic E2X.
My Goblin, converted to two-stage. 9 flights by my count.
My Hi-Flier XL. Currently in sick bay with a bent body tube. Repair planned, booster under construction. Survived water landing and being stepped on with easily repaired damage. 9 flights.
My Star Orbiter. Generally good condition, minor cosmetic damage to the nose after it separated, thrust damage to the spiral seam as is typical for this kit. 12 flights, including 2 on E23T reloadables.
My remaining fleet from when I was a kid. Uncountable flights, many good memories, some of which included losing rockets in spectacular fashion.
UPDATED: Flight totals corrected