- Joined
- Oct 8, 2024
- Messages
- 5
- Reaction score
- 17
I spent a ton of time as a kid building little Estes rockets and launching all over my neighborhood. Loved it as a kid and many found memories.
As I got older, life, school, sports, family pulled my away from rocketry until my son and his friend starting talking rockets last year. The original hobby store where I used to buy my rockets as a kid was still open, Tech Toys in Parsippany. After stocking up on a few kits and building them with my son, I found myself buying all the rockets I wanted as a kid and building them for myself. Pretty much what happens when you get back into a childhood passion with adult money…
As it goes, bigger rockets, higher power motors, we reached the size extents of the field we were flying at. Flying D’s was comfortable, with drift not too worried about losing rockets, E’s/F’s now we were gambling with drifting out of the field into the trees. Not wanting to lose a rocket, this led me to finding larger fields. It was October and drawing towards the end of the flying season so there was a push to find a bigger launch site. Not easy in Northern NJ. In the following weeks research NAR and Tripoli, and joined. I found an association launch a half hour away from my house. It looked promising so I went down to it and the field was smaller than mine and everything I brought was twice the size of anything they had. I launched two rockets and put everything away and went home. With the underwhelming feeling I had I was ready to pack it in for the season but there was one more launch to check out the following weekend at another association, METRA. The field looked amazing from google earth, however, I was on the fence about going because I didn’t want to have another disappointing experience like the weekend prior. I told my wife, and she encouraged me and said we have nothing going on, give it a try and then you’ll know. So I went.
The next day I drove up there, pulling into the field, I saw 20 cars lined up, vendors, PA system, full house. Found a spot, backed in and started unloading my car. A little Honda hatchback backed in next to me, greeted the gentlemen good morning then watched him pop the hatchback and started pulling this rocket out of his car, and it just kept coming and coming… When he stood it up it must have been 9’ tall. I'll never forget it, I sat there in disbelief, first how big the rocket was but second, it defied the laws of physics how he even fit that rocket, that was clearer longer than his car, in there. I knew I had found what I was looking for.
I launched everything I had with the biggest motors I brought. Recovered everything and knew I had a new home to launch. I now had my sights on all those bigger rockets I had seen everyone flying. Thanksgiving hit and with that came the Wildman sale, and took full advantage, bought 3 rockets, 1 - 2-1/2”, 2 - 3” and all types of Aerotech 29mm/38mm hardware and motors, capacity capped below the L1 threshold. Over the winter everything was built and started flying bigger this year. Next launch is Nov 2/3, where I’m planning to fly for my L1 certification. That will push me through the winter on a high note, where I have some 4” builds lined up and start looking to 54mm hardware, electronics, L2 and more…
As I got older, life, school, sports, family pulled my away from rocketry until my son and his friend starting talking rockets last year. The original hobby store where I used to buy my rockets as a kid was still open, Tech Toys in Parsippany. After stocking up on a few kits and building them with my son, I found myself buying all the rockets I wanted as a kid and building them for myself. Pretty much what happens when you get back into a childhood passion with adult money…
As it goes, bigger rockets, higher power motors, we reached the size extents of the field we were flying at. Flying D’s was comfortable, with drift not too worried about losing rockets, E’s/F’s now we were gambling with drifting out of the field into the trees. Not wanting to lose a rocket, this led me to finding larger fields. It was October and drawing towards the end of the flying season so there was a push to find a bigger launch site. Not easy in Northern NJ. In the following weeks research NAR and Tripoli, and joined. I found an association launch a half hour away from my house. It looked promising so I went down to it and the field was smaller than mine and everything I brought was twice the size of anything they had. I launched two rockets and put everything away and went home. With the underwhelming feeling I had I was ready to pack it in for the season but there was one more launch to check out the following weekend at another association, METRA. The field looked amazing from google earth, however, I was on the fence about going because I didn’t want to have another disappointing experience like the weekend prior. I told my wife, and she encouraged me and said we have nothing going on, give it a try and then you’ll know. So I went.
The next day I drove up there, pulling into the field, I saw 20 cars lined up, vendors, PA system, full house. Found a spot, backed in and started unloading my car. A little Honda hatchback backed in next to me, greeted the gentlemen good morning then watched him pop the hatchback and started pulling this rocket out of his car, and it just kept coming and coming… When he stood it up it must have been 9’ tall. I'll never forget it, I sat there in disbelief, first how big the rocket was but second, it defied the laws of physics how he even fit that rocket, that was clearer longer than his car, in there. I knew I had found what I was looking for.
I launched everything I had with the biggest motors I brought. Recovered everything and knew I had a new home to launch. I now had my sights on all those bigger rockets I had seen everyone flying. Thanksgiving hit and with that came the Wildman sale, and took full advantage, bought 3 rockets, 1 - 2-1/2”, 2 - 3” and all types of Aerotech 29mm/38mm hardware and motors, capacity capped below the L1 threshold. Over the winter everything was built and started flying bigger this year. Next launch is Nov 2/3, where I’m planning to fly for my L1 certification. That will push me through the winter on a high note, where I have some 4” builds lined up and start looking to 54mm hardware, electronics, L2 and more…
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