Howdy from Stephenville, TX

[gsitexas]

Returning forum member here living in Stephenville, TX who is getting back into rocketry after retiring from the US Navy and civilian workforce as a Laser System Product Manager and Technical Sales Engineer. I've been a Rocketry Forum member since 2012 but haven't been very active in the previous ten years.

I'm really interested in helicopter recovery rockets and have several in the build process. Hope to launch one at High Frontier 18 in OK next weekend. I really look forward to attending the FAI S9 event in Austin, TX next year!

I've ordered a Binder Design 4" Excel rocket kit and plan to build it for some G motor testing then Level 1 certification. I also have a Mini Magg almost finished but I think it may end up too heavy for any G motor test flights.

I am a NAR member and plan to join TRA in the not-too-distant future. I certainly look forward to participating in local NAR and TRA events as time and funds permit. I'm looking to participate in some Helicopter Duration competitions here in Texas and the South-Central US but I'm not having much luck finding any, please let me know if I'm just not finding them in my internet search.

Best regards,

Keith

 

[Hobie1dog]

Keith, Enjoy your retirement.

 

[smstachwick]

Welcome back! Post pictures if you have them available, we love those here!

 

[gsitexas]

Welcome back! Post pictures if you have them available, we love those here!

I’ll try to get some pictures of my “in progress” Minne Magg tomorrow and hopefully some photos of my helicopter rocket flying at High Frontier next Sunday!

 

[gsitexas]

Welcome back! Post pictures if you have them available, we love those here!

Thank you Shane, here are a few photos of my current Minni Magg build.

Rather than sanding away the fin edges to round them off, I attached carbon fiber rod to the edges of the fins.

In addition to automatically creating the rounded fin edge, my hope is the carbon fiber rod reinforces the fins and helps to cut down on hanger/landing rash with the addition of very minimal weight. I haven't decided yet if I am also going to add this rod to the bottom edge of each fin.

As you can see, I also reinforced the aft fin can area with blue body tube and epoxy.

I didn't do a very good job with epoxy of the top centering ring, way too much epoxy! The finished rocket may end up being the Maxi Magg instead of the Minni Magg. Sure not going to win any drag races with this one!

Comments and recommendations welcomed!

Best regards,

Keith

 

[tim cubbedge]

Welcome back!

 

[samb]

Welcome to the party gsitexas! Nice Mini Magg, short, wide fattys are cool. . Edge reinforcement for fins is one of my favorite hacks. Adds a lot of life to any wood fin for minimum extra effort IMO. Where are you flying in your neck of the woods ?

 

[gsitexas]

Welcome to the party gsitexas! Nice Mini Magg, short, wide fattys are cool. . Edge reinforcement for fins is one of my favorite hacks. Adds a lot of life to any wood fin for minimum extra effort IMO. Where are you flying in your neck of the woods ?

Thanks for your reply samb.

Well, I used to live on 26 acres and had a great place to fly on my own property but that's no longer the case thus I'm looking for a new local place to fly.

In the meantime, I plan to join and fly with one or more of the NAR/TRA clubs local to me. I used to be a member of DARS and flew at one of their events way back when. Was hoping to find a club that in addition to MPR/HPR also flew some competitions to include S9 Helicopter Duration.

 

[jazzviper1]

In Wichita Falss not far from you.

 

[H_Rocket]

Thanks for your reply samb.

Well, I used to live on 26 acres and had a great place to fly on my own property but that's no longer the case thus I'm looking for a new local place to fly.

In the meantime, I plan to join and fly with one or more of the NAR/TRA clubs local to me. I used to be a member of DARS and flew at one of their events way back when. Was hoping to find a club that in addition to MPR/HPR also flew some competitions to include S9 Helicopter Duration.

Tripoli North Texas flys in Seymour - that would be a touch over two hours for you. It’s right at two hours from me in Annetta. The only thing is there would be no real contest support as the focus is really HPR. DARS or, I think, Alamo Rocketeers in the Austin area would probably be your best options for contest oriented activities.

P.S. - y’all need a bigger motor hole in that Mini-Magg

❤

 

[gsitexas]

Tripoli North Texas flys in Seymour - that would be a touch over two hours for you. It’s right at two hours from me in Annetta. The only thing is there would be no real contest support as the focus is really HPR. DARS or, I think, Alamo Rocketeers in the Austin area would probably be your best options for contest oriented activities.

P.S. - y’all need a bigger motor hole in that Mini-Magg

❤

Thanks for the reply Al, I definitely plan on checking out Tripoli North Texas as I'm also into HPR.

Best regards,

Keith

 

[DRAGON64]

Welcome back to rocketry, and the forum! And helloo from Alabama!