Looking for "Goodbye Kitty"

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JAL3

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Not too long ago, I saw a rocket posted on here which I think was named "Goodbye Kitty". I do not remember the context. I do remember it was "cute" and had some sort of "Hello Kitty" theme as in "likely to appeal to a younger girl".

I'm looking for any information on this rocket. I pitched a youth program at my church tonight and it generally went over well. Somebody made the inevitable comment about rockets being for boys. I'm hoping to be able to do something to make them more broadly appealing and I remembered seeing the kitty rocket a while back.

If you have any info, please let me know.

Thanks.
 
If all else fails, let the girls do "Hello Kitty", and the boys do "Bill the Cat" ... assuming you are just looking for artwork. Lots of 3FNCs you could clone.
 
wasn't this one, was it?

kickkitty.jpg


Not sure where we got the picture (maybe from the Vatsaas Bros?).
 
If all else fails, let the girls do "Hello Kitty", and the boys do "Bill the Cat" ... assuming you are just looking for artwork. Lots of 3FNCs you could clone.

My memory is vague but I think the fins were cut in the shape of the "Hello Kitty" logo and something about the paintjob stuck in my memory. It just looked like a nice, girly rocket.

If all else fails, I certainly will use whatever I can to get their interest including 3FNC
 
wasn't this one, was it?

kickkitty.jpg


Not sure where we got the picture (maybe from the Vatsaas Bros?).

Now that's one I'd like to see, although it not what I was thinking of. Sure enough, though, it would alienate all the elderly cat lovers in my parish.

NAw, they'd never sign up for the program.
 
John,

Goodbye Kitty is mine.

You can read about its construction, and download PDFs of the fins and body here, on EMRR.

Check Walmart's kid's shampoo aisle to see if the "cone" is still available.

If you need some help, let me know.

kitty1.jpg
 
John,

Goodbye Kitty is mine.

You can read about its construction, and download PDFs of the fins and body here, on EMRR.

Check Walmart's kid's shampoo aisle to see if the "cone" is still available.

If you need some help, let me know.

THAT'S THE ONE.

Thanks.

Do you mind if I copy it to try to entice some girls from my church?

That sounds bad but you know what I mean.:eek:
 
THAT'S THE ONE.

Thanks.

Do you mind if I copy it...
John,

I'd be thrilled if you (or anybody else) copied it. That's why I put the PDFs on EMRR. As I make note of in the build article on EMRR, the kid's shampoo aisle at any of the big box stores is a great source of kid-friendly nose cones. The holes in the tops of the shampoo bottles are almost perfect BT-50 sized. Very easy to convert to rocketry, and really cheap.

Here's another rocket that the girls really like. I call it the Barbie Chucker but for a church group I'd probably call it something a little different. :rolleyes: Barbie ejects at about 400 feet on her own chute. Always really fun.

One of the biggest thrills of my life was to fly it in a "command performance" for a girl named Gleda at NARAM 49. :D She loved it.

Barbie1.jpg

Barbie2.jpg

Barbie3.jpg

Barbie4.jpg
 
John,

I'd be thrilled if you (or anybody else) copied it. That's why I put the PDFs on EMRR. As I make note of in the build article on EMRR, the kid's shampoo aisle at any of the big box stores is a great source of kid-friendly nose cones. The holes in the tops of the shampoo bottles are almost perfect BT-50 sized. Very easy to convert to rocketry, and really cheap.

Here's another rocket that the girls really like. I call it the Barbie Chucker but for a church group I'd probably call it something a little different. :rolleyes: Barbie ejects at about 400 feet on her own chute. Always really fun.

One of the biggest thrills of my life was to fly it in a "command performance" for a girl named Gleda at NARAM 49. :D She loved it.


I like the Barbie too.

Thanks. I'm gonna try and have the kitty ready right after Easter for the rollout of the program. Its called Holy Smokes.
 
John,

I've been thinking of a similar outreach program. Let me know how it goes. Around here, whenever I mention rockets in church I can see lot of eyes rolling...;)
 
Preacher,

Here's a Polly Pocket Rocket my daughter and I did a couple years ago. It's a Quest Payloader One, although Gus' scratch builds are too cool.

polly-doll.jpg

polly-payload.jpg
 
John,

I'd be thrilled if you (or anybody else) copied it. That's why I put the PDFs on EMRR. As I make note of in the build article on EMRR, the kid's shampoo aisle at any of the big box stores is a great source of kid-friendly nose cones. The holes in the tops of the shampoo bottles are almost perfect BT-50 sized. Very easy to convert to rocketry, and really cheap.

Here's another rocket that the girls really like. I call it the Barbie Chucker but for a church group I'd probably call it something a little different. :rolleyes: Barbie ejects at about 400 feet on her own chute. Always really fun.

One of the biggest thrills of my life was to fly it in a "command performance" for a girl named Gleda at NARAM 49. :D She loved it.

Steve, how do you get the Barbie to eject from the payload area? And, that chute looks interesting...any close ups of that chute?
 
I like the Barbie too.

Thanks. I'm gonna try and have the kitty ready right after Easter for the rollout of the program. Its called Holy Smokes.

To help recruit younger girls, I also recommend holding a can of hot pink paint in one hand and a jar of purple glitter in the other and saying "I promise you this is NOT your brother's model rocketry."
 
John,

I've been thinking of a similar outreach program. Let me know how it goes. Around here, whenever I mention rockets in church I can see lot of eyes rolling...;)

I get a lot of that too, except for one old lady who REALLY wants me to build a big rocket to scatter her ashes when her time comes.

I made it work this time by not mentioning rockets at first. I proposed an over-arching program called "Hearts, Minds and Spirits". I tried to recruit adults who are passionate about something. I mentioned cooking, fishing, sewing, dancing and some other skills I know that my have.

The premises are these three:
1. We are given minds and should not be afraid to use them to solve problems and do "great things".
2. We are creative beings and encouraged to make our own imprints on the world.
3. We are allowed to take breaks and "enjoy" creation instead of just working all the time.

People do different things to implement those three. Each has a short (very short) Christian message associated.

I did not mention rockets until everyone was on board and somebody asked what class I was going to teach. Then I hit them with a choice between Holy Smokes or introductory Moabite.
 
To help recruit younger girls, I also recommend holding a can of hot pink paint in one hand and a jar of purple glitter in the other and saying "I promise you this is NOT your brother's model rocketry."

Pink:(

2 Days a year, I have to wear pink. I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

john the pink.jpg
 
Steve, how do you get the Barbie to eject from the payload area? And, that chute looks interesting...any close ups of that chute?
Craig,

Regarding the ejection, it took me long time, and multiple approaches, to arrive at what turned out to be a very simple solution. The ejection charge separates the rocket below the transition. No ejection charge enters the payload bay. The nosecone sits on the payload section very loosely and is attached with a piece of very lightweight kevlar. The nosecone is loose enough that if you turn the rocket over it just drops off. At ejection the parachute pulls on the payload section from the underside causing the payload section to tip over, the nosecone to drop off, and Barbie to slide out. Theoretically Barbie might get tangled on the nosecone kevlar line but so far it hasn't happened.

You could actually adapt this technique to any payload rocket and turn it into a kid's-toy-lofter. That Quest Payloader One would work great if you sand the nosecone shoulder so it just slips out. We have launched a number of Polly Pockets as well. A baggie with a few strings works great as a parachute for the Pollys :). My girls are a little older now but they still look at the toys in any discount aisle in terms of "Dad, that's really chuckable".

I have also read of someone who did a similar midpower rocket, without a clear payload section, called the Pinata rocket. He would fill the payload section with small candy, gather all the kids around, then launch a low flight with the candy sprinkling down from a couple hundred feet. Huge fun for the kids who get to run around and gather up the candy.

The only thing I caution anyone trying to build one of these types of rockets is to do a very good RockSim to look at weight and launch rod speed issues. You really need to understand how much payload your rocket can safely carry. At NARAM 49 I used the chucker for the night launch and sent up a bunch of light sticks on their own parachutes. I just guesstimated the weight involved, got it wrong, and ended up ejecting the payload about 20 feet above the port-a-potties (basically, I cluster-bombed the port-a-potties). :eek:

My Barbie Chucker is built very lightweight so as to be able to lift a regular Barbie (4.2 ounces :eek:) on an Estes D or E motor. I use a 5' launch rod and don't launch in any significant wind. With a regular Barbie, especially on an E, the liftoff speed is slow so the rocket is prone to weathercocking. If there is any wind I go for a lower flight with a D, or I switch to a fake-Chinese-knockoff-dollar-store-Barbie that looks like Barbie but is actually hollow and only weighs 2 ounces :D.

As for the parachute, it is actually a cheap plastic parasail kite. We were in Mexico and the vendors on the beach were selling kites which come with a Barbie-sized hollow parachutist (most were Batman or Hulk figures, but they also had some Barbie-types). They were incredibly cheap (<$2) so I bought a few. There is no way they could sell these in the States because they wouldn't pass any safety regulations. The hats on the Barbies were held on with a small nail which went through the hat and into Barbie's head. The hat had to be there because they only put enough hair on the Barbie to go around the edge of where the hat was (the center of the head is bald, LOL). You could also not launch these Barbies at a church function because, to save money, the amount of fabric they used to dress them was the absolute minimum. Very sleazy, but the parachutes are great! I can only use those parachutes when there is zero wind, though, and only with a regular Barbie since the ones that came with the chutes aren't really heavy enough to pull them open.

Anyway, hope that helps. The thing I like most about the Barbie Chucker is that it is great for teaching. It immediately grabs peoples interest, both kids and adults, but there is really a fair amount of science behind making it work successfully.

Let me know if you build something similar.
 
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Pink:(

2 Days a year, I have to wear pink. I don't think I'll ever get used to it.

I wear a robe...well... almost never (maybe twice in five years)

I hardly ever even wear a tie.

If I wear a dress shirt and khaki pants I'm still (generally) the best dressed person in church. In the summer my folks will come to church in shorts...even in the over 80 crowd.

I like rural America.

More on topic, we often launch small toys with parachutes from our Estes Amazon. I've been thinking of building something bigger that can drop multiple toys for a kids launch. The pinata idea is super cool.

Bombing the porta pots... ROFL!!
 
I wear a robe...well... almost never (maybe twice in five years)

I hardly ever even wear a tie.

If I wear a dress shirt and khaki pants I'm still (generally) the best dressed person in church. In the summer my folks will come to church in shorts...even in the over 80 crowd.

I like rural America.

More on topic, we often launch small toys with parachutes from our Estes Amazon. I've been thinking of building something bigger that can drop multiple toys for a kids launch. The pinata idea is super cool.

Bombing the porta pots... ROFL!!

That sounds a lot like mine. Very casual for most of them. There are a few exceptions who always wear coat and tie but many are still in their farm overalls.

They don't care what I wear because I do wear a robe. They do want that and, because of my upbrining, I'm more comfortable that way. I'm glad the new church has AC.

I like the pinata idea too. I'm going to have to try it during fiesta.
 
Bombing the porta pots... ROFL!!
Oh, John, I was mortified. It was the first weekend of my first NARAM and here I am launching in front of all these REAL rocketeers... and I cluster-bomb the port-a-potties. I was afraid they might suspend my launching privileges after that. :eek:

But my daughter thought it was REALLY funny.
 
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