And the reason Estes has such wimpy motors recommended for the first flight is actually a good one. The lower and slower motors, means that the rocket will have a lower altitude, increasing the odds that you'll get it back in your field. What's more, you'll likely be able to see the whole flight, instead of just seeing a trail of smoke, and wondering where your rocket went, only to lose it because you never were able to re-acquire it.
One thing I'm thinking about doing from now on is attaching some kind of silver mylar in my recovery system (even just a small strip applied to the bottom of the nosecone's base). I had the smallest of bands of silver Trim MonoKote on my L1 rocket (
Deep Space OFFl (awful) puns & jokes), and as it descended, I could see a flash as the rocket spun down on its parachute. I never lost sight of that rocket, but it seems to be a small thing I can do to help insure that I won't loose a rocket that flies beyond my vision.
[video=youtube;lUy7qOt6mWw]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=46&v=lUy7qOt6mWw[/video]