Hello I'm New

[Mike]

Hello just here to introduce myself.

Well I live in England and i've been into rocketry for about 6 months. I've built a few kits and done a basic bit of modifying. I'm also getting into scratch building and have just finished a two stage rocket that I have scratch built. Hopefully I'll launch that soon. Not to sure what else to say.

Hope that smilie worked

Mike

 

[sandman]

Mike,

Welcome aboard! We have lots of advice available here and we seem to be getting quite a following in the UK.

Go through all the posts and you can probably get most of your questions answered. Or come up with new questions.

Again, welcome!

sandman

 

[eugenefl]

Originally posted by Mike
Hello just here to introduce myself.

Well I live in England and i've been into rocketry for about 6 months. I've built a few kits and done a basic bit of modifying. I'm also getting into scratch building and have just finished a two stage rocket that I have scratch built. Hopefully I'll launch that soon. Not to sure what else to say.

Hope that smilie worked

Mike

Welcome! I think you've come to the right place. You'll find a lot of knowledgeable and sometimes friendly community members around. Like sandman mentioned, poke around for a bit. Read some of the old threads or whatever interests you most.

We're glad to have you here. By the way, we LOVE pictures!!!

 

[rstaff3]

Originally posted by Mike
...Not to sure what else to say. ...

We're always glad to get newbies! Don't hesitate to chime in, ask questions, tell us what you're up to, etc. Why don't you start by describing one of your scratch-builds.

 

[ibeblip]

Welcome to the Rocketry Forum, Mike.
I'm sure you'll find that many of it's patrons are eager to share their knowledge and experiences in rocketry without reservation.

 

[Milo]

We have the philosophy that the only dumb question is the one not asked.

Welcome aboard. Enjoy the community and stay as along as you like.

 

[cyberyokel]

Hi Mike

Glad to see I'm not the only Brit round here - I think that makes three of us now !

I'm in Torbay in South Devon, where abouts are you ?

Every one on the forum is very friendly and you'll get great advice. Welcome.

 

[Mike]

Thanks, good to know I'm welcome.

Well Cyberyokel I live in southern Hampshire.

Can I ask two 'dumb' questions, are balsa transitions solid or are they hollow? What is a bulkhead?

rstaff3, I'm just getting into scratch building so I'm just checking I'm not doing anything drastically wrong and my rockets aren't going to fall apart in mid flight. My two-stage rocket is a basic two stager and it's yellow. I can't think of anything more to describe it really. Couldn't give me a few pointers on what to say if I'm asked to describe a rocket again?

Thanks for making me welcome!

 

[rstaff3]

Originally posted by Mike
...Couldn't give me a few pointers on what to say if I'm asked to describe a rocket again?...

You could describe what tubing you used, where you got the nose cone (if you made it, tell us how), dimensions, etc.

Have you gone to EMRR's site? https://www.rocketreviews.com/
It's packed with reviews!

And did anyone say we love photos?

 

[swimmer]

Welcome, Mike. This is a great Forum with great people. Ask a lot of questions and you will find all are ready to help. Share with us the things you have been up to also.

Swimmer

 

[KermieD]

Mike, welcome!! I'm fairly new myself, and these guys have done a great job helping me out.

To answer your questions:

#1: I've never used them, but I think balsa transitions are usually solid.

#2: A bulkhead is sort of like a centering ring without a hole in the middle. It's frequently used to isolate a payload section from the rest of the rocket (i.e. ejection gases). I'm sure the rest of these guys can give you better answers than that, though.

 

[Lee Reep]

Originally posted by Mike
Hello just here to introduce myself.

Well I live in England and i've been into rocketry for about 6 months. I've built a few kits and done a basic bit of modifying. I'm also getting into scratch building and have just finished a two stage rocket that I have scratch built. Hopefully I'll launch that soon. Not to sure what else to say.

Hope that smilie worked

Mike

Welcome, Mike.

Probably nobody remembered to say that we like pictures here ...


I've been doing yardwork, so no rocket pics, but I've included a picture of my small lathe that I've used to turn parts like nose cones and other assorted pieces for scratch building. I'd include a picture of our Great Pyrenees, and our Quaker Parrot, but then I'd be asked to go post that to the "other newsgroup" (and make a nasty comment in the process ...)



You'll find folks here friendly and informative, and the talk all rockets, pretty much.

 

[Lee Reep]

Originally posted by Mike
Can I ask two 'dumb' questions, are balsa transitions solid or are they hollow? What is a bulkhead?

Balsa transitions are usually solid, since they are "turned" or "machined" like a nose cone -- from solid stock. Back in the old days, when Estes used balsa instead of plastic, they had lots of different transitions, or "balsa adapters". For applications like venting ejection gases to a different sized tube, you could hollow them out (and the instructions would usually say to cut in half, carve them, and reglue halves together).

Also, some plans had these transitions used as boat tails, and that required you to hollow them out for a motor tube.

As mentioned by "KermieD" -- a bulkhead is a centering ring without a hole. Or if you had BMS make you one, it would be a centering ring with a hole size of "zero" ...

And I'll answer what might be your next question: BMS, or Balsa Machining Service, makes custom balsa parts, and now fins, too. Check out https://www.balsamachining.com

 

[sandman]

Mike,

After you find what you want from Balsa Machining Services you can go to:

https://www.apo11o.com/

Tony, the proprieter, is a Texan living in Liverpool and he carries all the balsa Machining Services parts in the UK. He also has most of all the low power recketry parts you should need.

There...you have advice, parts, go get some glue and build something...Oh, yes, and take pictures!

sandman

 

[Mike]

Thanks
I placed an order with Apollo 11 a little while back (great place, also found this message board from a link on the Apollo 11 site) and it was whilst I was making up my latest order I came across that mysterious question 'Are transitions solid?'

Thanks for all your help I definatly feel welcomed. I will post pictures.

Mike

 

[PGerringer]

I really hate to confuse the subject.... hehehehe, no I don't... Balsa transitions are usually solid, but not all the time. It is possible to build spars out of balsa and then cover them with balsa. Voila, a non-solid, non-round balsa transition.

Oh yeah, and welcome to the forum Mike!!!