Great time to be a BAR!

[Planet Andy]

Hello,

I'm a new forum member and a recent BAR. Thrilled to see what an amazing community you all have up here. I'm in the Hudson Valley of NY. My flight fields and budget are limited to Low Power. I got interested in rocketry again after about a 30 yr. lapse in April 2004. My wife was studying for college finals, ski season was over and I needed a quiet weekend activity rather than my usual recording original music (loudly) in my downstairs lab. Picked up a Estes mini meanie starter set with my 40% off coupon at Michaels and off I was. The Mini Meanie disappeared on an A10 and the cheesy mini launchpad has been scrapped but for 10 bucks I got the controller and still have the little Space Bus!I've built and flown about 10 kits in this flurry. Have lost 3 or 4. NOW I get that a C67 a slightly windy day and a 12" or less vehicle is a recipe for loss. Most notably have lost 2 Custom Razors. Razor "1" windcocked to I don't know where, Razor "2" parachuted into trees. Razor "3" remains with me with at least 6 succesful A83 flights. Spillhole added in chute. I also suspect the Razor "curse" is broken cause I painted it red rather than the stock yellow BT color. My current fleet which have all been flown and recovered successfully include the Custom Razor "3", Estes Baby Bertha (sometimes with a little parachute guy enclosed for xtra fun), Space Bus (currently decommisioned for sentimental reasons...it was from my starter kit) Bandito (currently decomissioned with a zipper injury), Guardian (great flyer and am really proud of the build and finish), Viking (painted by my wife and nicknamed "Green Valley Viking"), Quark, Sizzler nicknamed "#1", Custom Galileo Probe (nosecone blowout replaced and will fly again) and Ion Pulsar (also a challenging build...less decals please?) which looks and flies great. Still in the bag but clawing to be built are a Estes GBU 4 Paveway and a Custom Redliner. I've just begun to log my flights on EMRR and have a video (quicktime) of a #1 takeoff. #1 is an Estes Sizzler which my wife painted so I let her rename it and she named it#1. The video is hosted on my site and I hope to further document my BAR activities with more pics and descriptions soon. I like how when you step frame through the video you can see the ignition plug pop and the engine come to life as it roars off the pad. Hope you check out the video. It's about 1MB. it's at www.planetandy.com/siz.mov So...wife became a graduate and I became a BAR! Hope the weekend is good for flying! If not it'll be good for building and recording! Thanks.

Cheers,
Andy

 

[BobH48]

Hi Andy,

Welcome back to rocketry and welcome to The Rocketry Forum.

I know what you mean. I just returned to rocketry this last spring myself after a 30+ year absence and it's great to find all these people who are just like us.

I also have been in a building frenzy and have made almost 20 "real" model rockets.

The rest are "expendable" rockets. There are a couple of places where you can download free paper rockets. They only cost about a quarter when you figure paper, ink, glue, clay for nose weight, streamer, and shock cord (most expensive part)

You can put one together in a single night. It's a good way to use those C6-7's

 

[Missileman]

Hi Andy, Welcome to TRF and back to the hobby.
I know from experience that when the BAR bug bites after a long absence it bites pretty hard

 

[Fore Check]

Welcome!

On your Razor #3: ditch the chute altogether. Heck, there aren't any fins to break or anything. Tie on a streamer and let 'er rip!

(The Razor is a FABULOUS skill level 1 rocket. Easy, cheap, and a good flier. Once you ditch the chute for a streamer, throw in a C6-7 and hold on!)

 

[Planet Andy]

thanks to all of you...and in response...


Yes I've been checking out Jim Z's and other paper models. Might try the mercury redstone paper download (gonna do the estes one at some point) it's from around when I was born. And I'm also looking for something retro and "Fireball XL5" ish in the paper downloads. Got that 40% Michaels coupon for a Saturday bulk pack buy (week of vacation soon!) and probably throw in some card stock. Low investment...Big Fun! Also want to check out a Fliskit or two or three.

on razor#3...now that I think of it I did change out the spillhole chute for a streamer. I was on a 3 week or so (weather shy) launch hiatus and 8/07 was all about launching 3 previously unlaunched guys. I got 1" x 100' of red emergency streamer from Home Depot for $1.47 and installed that about a month ago. I got that tip and several others from all of you who have been there and lost that! Thanks to all of you who have provided me tips and info on EMRR and here before I registered.

on the bug...Yeah I can only pursue this on the weekend (work in NYC during the week) and all week I'm plotting what I want to build, launch or buy. I often have more than one build progressing at a time. I start checking the 5 day forecast on Monday. One good side effect is that my glue and paint jobs are usually given a full week to dry. And if it's not quite right I will do what's right and let it dry another week. I really enjoy "disconnecting" from computer related activities and just doing something with hands, mind and basic materials.

Okay thanks all again for your welcome
Andy

 

[jflis]

Welcome to the best rocketry resource on the web! You're going to like it here, I promise.

jim

 

[powderburner]

Welcome to TRF! You have probably already noticed what a great bunch of people we have here----smart, helpful, friendly, and extremely handsome too!

Get yourself an Estes Fat Boy for the B and C motors--you'll have a blast.

If no one has tipped you off yet, you need to know about the half-price sales at Hobby Lobby. They run these sales about every two or three months, and it's been a month since the last one . . .

 

[Elapid]

i'm just coming down from a building binge...

 

[eugenefl]

On behalf of the <a href="https://www.fliskits.com/tour_de_deuce/index.htm">Tour de Deuce Team</a>, WELCOME to The Rocketry Forum! I absolutely enjoy hearing of the kicks rocketeers get from even the littlest rockets! Welcome back to rocketry. Be sure and designate a special sanctuary in your home to dedicate to the rabbit-like multiplying rocketry collection.

 

[Planet Andy]

Thanks Jim...I DO like it here! Fliskits are distrubuted in my range at Hobby House in Wappingers Falls NY!

Powder burner... I like it here... only flames in the forum are controlled explosions from nozzles!
May send up my Guardian on a C... Max altitude 700' and flew great and stayed in sight on a B. also the Baby Bertha with added parachute guy may handle a C. Will lookout for HobbyLobby sale! woohoo!

Elapid... Time for a Launch Binge!

Eugene and the Entire Tour de Deuce Team Thank you... My little craft room has the build desk on one side and if I spin around 180degrees I've got the display desk...It is getting kinda crowded. Maybe I'll dress it up with a picture of Homer Hickham, Homer Simpson or Homer.

take care all,

Andy

 

[Dbarrm]

HI Andy and welcome. I to am a BAR with a very long gap inbetween. The bug has hit me and I cant believe I went from starting all over again to L1 in about a month and a half. I cant wait to see whats next for me in this hobby. Again Welcome and if you need anything, someone here will have the answer.

Dan

 

[jflis]

Originally posted by Andy Turits
Thanks Jim...I DO like it here! Fliskits are distrubuted in my range at Hobby House in Wappingers Falls NY!

Andy,

That's great! In fact, I will be calling Hobby House this week to tell them about the FarScape. Do you know of anything that they are missing? Any feel for how the kits are being received in that hobby shop? I heard from Glen Avalear that they are doing well.

jim

 

[Hospital_Rocket]

Andy

Welcome back to the fold....

Living in Duchess, you have the best of all worlds for flying.

You can launch with METRA at Wayawanda Farms in New Hampton, CTRA/NARCONN up North or in Central CT with Us at CATO.

Any and all of us look forward to flying with you!

Also with respect to tube fins and the Razor.

Fliskits has the Corona and Long Overdue - both neat roundy fin rockets

For me, there is a LOC Cyclotron which is a Razor on Steroids.

Anyhow welcome back, and lets see pictures of your work!

A

 

[Planet Andy]

Unbelievable you rocket guys...


DBarmm...Congratulations on the L1 cert...hmm now I gotta see what that means...Never really thought about the official qualifications or levels it still feel like I wanna stay Low Power for budget and time constraints.

Jim...your designs are great. It's an honor. your story is quite interesting and inspirational and I wish you and Brian the best of luck. Hobby House as I recall from last weekend's visit had at least one of each of the following: Flea, Overdrive (love the swept wings), Praetor, Corona (nice futuristically tubular and quite tall), Tumbleweed (hmm engine kicks back, shifts CG, tumbles down...cool), Cheetah, Tres and at least one of the Cougars but to tell you the truth all of those bags and display cards melt into one by the time I decide what to get. I don't see any of the full wing (glider shaped?) models as i recall. Most of the models from all the manufacturers seem to move through at a steady pace. not particularly fast but steady. Your personal involvement and great reviews have really raised my interest in Fliskits. I'll be acting on that soon and letcha know.

Hospital... Well I'll see where those meets fall in relation to my schedule and location. Yeah I like the corona with it's offset tube in a tube fin design and it's a tall one too! Possibly top of my priority shopping list. Did Jim name it from the beer ya think or did they named the beer from jim's design? But seriously, for my personal flying purposes I'm close to a Soccer field belonging to Vassar College attached to 600 acres of wildlife preserve...lots of srub and trees outside the field however...My fave place is about 6 athletic fields attached to each other at Arlington High School in the nearby town of Lagrange...like in the ZZ Top Song. I will be documenting some of my work and sharing.
Okay gang. gotta hit the rack.

Thanks for the chats n welcomes

Andy

 

[Hospital_Rocket]

Andy

Completely OT, but you might be able to comment. I have easy access to a Pinnacle DV500 and Adobie Premiere/After Effects/ Audition. Would that combination work for the novice if I want to edit down and post launch videos?

A

 

[Planet Andy]

Al,

I don't edit using that hardware or software but I consulted our graphics guy who does use exactly that stuff. He said that combination is exactly what you want to edit small web ready movies. Says the tricky part will be when you export your movie as a file you will probably need to experiment on the export format and codec combination to see which gives you a decent quality in combination with a web friendly file size. I hope that helps.

Take Care,
Andy