- Joined
- Mar 27, 2013
- Messages
- 22,529
- Reaction score
- 14,925
UPDATED With new badges!
I see these as "Merit/Demerit badges" for remembering the stories behind them...
"Founder's Special" - Getting to meet any of the "Legends" of the Hobby. Points for autographs, and photos. Vern Estes, G. Harry Stine, Lee Piester, etc.
"The Armstrong" - Getting to meet any actual astronaut in person. Points for autographs/photos.
"@The Cape" - Getting to see any launch of a rocket from Cape Canaveral.
The Goldfish Club... For those who have lost/and or recovered a rocket from a body of water.
Lawn Darts? We're stuck with a large number of them. Especially from members who've flown the Estes Big Daddy.
Arbor D'OH!!!? We need a branch for that... (more times than I'd like to admit. See my signature file)
Powerlines? Shocking, but true...
Cats? AKA "Paws"... They're Purrfect for knocking off our rockets.
Dogs? AKA "Jaws"... You have to chew them out for turning survivors from cats and taking advantage of the rockets laid low.
Children? No kidding... Sure, they're the future, but why can't they mind where they put their feet?
Cows? AKA "Mad Cow"... I've got a beef with them... (destroyed the Estes Defender I had a steak in after it came down from the tree it was stuck in)
Cars? AKA "Hit and Run" They seem to AUTOmaticaly home in on anything that lands on the road.
Insects? It bugs a lot of us when a mosquito decides to become part of our hobby.
Orbital? Who hasn't lost their Estes Mosquito when it decided to go for orbit? Mine's catching up with Voyager II.
Miracle Worker? Actually finding your Estes Mosquito.
CATO? A blast to join!
Shell Shock? The yolk's on you.
Shutterbug? Let's see what develops.
Two-to-none? When the booster becomes the only stage to burn
Cluster F***? When you didn't Whip it, Whip it good.
Fusion? When your chute becomes wadding.
Saint? When your chute is holely
Blizzard? Snow way you'll ever find it.
Twister? Give it a spin... Dustdevils/Tornadoes (Go Team Dominator).
Roof? Give me a shingle reason not to add this.
Over the Rainbow? When the updraft sends your rocket off to see the Wizard.
Oh (John) Deere? When the recovery was done post harvest/lawnmower.
Brier Patch? You know where to stick it.
Immovable Object? Hung up on the pad.
Campfire? Where there's smoke...
The Split? When your nosecone/parachute go one way, and the rest goes another.
Pop Fly? Can a Can o'Cola fly? (Answer: Yes)
Hold my Beer? Kegs UP! "Hopscotch" AKA "FlaskKitCase"? Sending the Dram thing up...
The Zipper? When your FLY(ght) begins its return to earth is a little late (or a tad too early).
The Pathfinder? When you need a map and a compass (or GPS) to find your way back from where it landed. Extra points if you should have brought a tent.
Trick or Treat? When you launch a payload of candy for the kids to recover.
KillerBzzzz? AKA "Hornet's Nest" The latest buzz in a bad luck landing.
"Macbeth"? AKA "Shakespeare" Break a Leg!!!
"RodRyder"? You'll poke your eye out, kid
Heatseeker - Does a 90 off the pad and goes after your friend’s sister.
Meatseeker -A Heatseaker, but only if it went after your friend's brother
The Fugitive -. Your helicopter recovery looks like a one-armed man.
The Olympic Flame - Ask Gregory Eberly.
"landshark" - To hell with that baby shark song... Look Out!!!.
"Overthetop"? AKA "Homing Missile" The Loop-dee-loop where the rocket starts out unstable and loops but straightens out as propellant burns and lightens the aft end.
"Stripper" When you exceed the speed of balsa wood.
"Wile E Coyote" When the chute opens as the rocket crashes on the ground.
LIMBO? AKA "How Low Can You Go?" When a parachute deploys at the lowest possible altitude (mere feet above the ground) and the rocket is not damaged. My 2" Estes PSII based Cherokee D nosecone popped off and so did the recovery bay, trapping the chute inside it. It worked its way out, and deployed less than 20' above the ground. Extra points for the body to touch the ground when the shock cord extends to full length
"Cheeky"? When you do your best stripper act to recover your rocket (typically given with a "Goldfish", unless the rocket is dry, but on the other side of the river). (GUILTY)
“the introduction”. Get to know the neighbors. So, they’ll let you retrieve your rocket out of their back yard (or off their roof)(GUILTY)
The "Cowflop"... AKA "Bull$***" or "BULL'S PEYE" Yippee aye ay, Cow Patty!!!
OMG!!!? When the weathercocked rocket goes heatseaker, heading straight for the people on the 2nd story balcony... Only to pop the chute just short of them, and then drift back into your hand... Several hundred feet away from them (and less than a dozen feet from the pad) (I had a whole soccer field of witnesses to that one). My epic response to this flight... "I meant to do that!!!"
SAM's Club? AKA "Ack Ack" My revenge on those F*^%%$g Seagulls! Nearly shot one down with an Estes BBII, all without even trying. Imagine an image of a flying birds in the crosshairs.
"Blast In Show" AKA "Blue Medal" a spectacular CATO of a museum worthy build.
"Straight Shooter" AKA "What Goes UP" A short rocket* with lots of clay in the nosecone CATOs... 4 seconds after the last of the balsa and cardboard confetti hits the ground the nosecone finally whistles in.
"Popflop" A rocket with helicopter nose (i.e. Heliocopter, Cosmic Cobra, etc.) gets stuck on the pad and goes nowhere just to have the ejection charge deploy the nose and body's parachute. The nose doesn't get enough altitude to actually begin to spin, so it just flops to the ground with blades deployed.
"Pump Action" or "Double Barrels" Rocket Recovery via 12 Gauge
Premature Ejection - when the engine mount fails and the body tube fails to contain the forward momentum. The engine blows out the nosecone shortly after leaving the pad.
"Search & Rescue" - When they are brought out to find *YOU* (and not the rocket)!
"Snake Eyes" - When your recovery is interrupted by a grumpy legless reptile.
"Rocket Widow/er" AKA "Black Widow" When your hobby becomes too much for your significant other (GUILTY - BUT... It likely saved me from a nasty divorce w/kids later)
"The Sandlot" You're killin me Smalls! Denied recovery
Any more you guys can think of? For transparency, I'm not the source of all of these... (most of them but not all)... Check out the Model Rocketry Fanatics Facebook thread (and this one) for full credits.
I see these as "Merit/Demerit badges" for remembering the stories behind them...
"Founder's Special" - Getting to meet any of the "Legends" of the Hobby. Points for autographs, and photos. Vern Estes, G. Harry Stine, Lee Piester, etc.
"The Armstrong" - Getting to meet any actual astronaut in person. Points for autographs/photos.
"@The Cape" - Getting to see any launch of a rocket from Cape Canaveral.
The Goldfish Club... For those who have lost/and or recovered a rocket from a body of water.
Lawn Darts? We're stuck with a large number of them. Especially from members who've flown the Estes Big Daddy.
Arbor D'OH!!!? We need a branch for that... (more times than I'd like to admit. See my signature file)
Powerlines? Shocking, but true...
Cats? AKA "Paws"... They're Purrfect for knocking off our rockets.
Dogs? AKA "Jaws"... You have to chew them out for turning survivors from cats and taking advantage of the rockets laid low.
Children? No kidding... Sure, they're the future, but why can't they mind where they put their feet?
Cows? AKA "Mad Cow"... I've got a beef with them... (destroyed the Estes Defender I had a steak in after it came down from the tree it was stuck in)
Cars? AKA "Hit and Run" They seem to AUTOmaticaly home in on anything that lands on the road.
Insects? It bugs a lot of us when a mosquito decides to become part of our hobby.
Orbital? Who hasn't lost their Estes Mosquito when it decided to go for orbit? Mine's catching up with Voyager II.
Miracle Worker? Actually finding your Estes Mosquito.
CATO? A blast to join!
Shell Shock? The yolk's on you.
Shutterbug? Let's see what develops.
Two-to-none? When the booster becomes the only stage to burn
Cluster F***? When you didn't Whip it, Whip it good.
Fusion? When your chute becomes wadding.
Saint? When your chute is holely
Blizzard? Snow way you'll ever find it.
Twister? Give it a spin... Dustdevils/Tornadoes (Go Team Dominator).
Roof? Give me a shingle reason not to add this.
Over the Rainbow? When the updraft sends your rocket off to see the Wizard.
Oh (John) Deere? When the recovery was done post harvest/lawnmower.
Brier Patch? You know where to stick it.
Immovable Object? Hung up on the pad.
Campfire? Where there's smoke...
The Split? When your nosecone/parachute go one way, and the rest goes another.
Pop Fly? Can a Can o'Cola fly? (Answer: Yes)
Hold my Beer? Kegs UP! "Hopscotch" AKA "FlaskKitCase"? Sending the Dram thing up...
The Zipper? When your FLY(ght) begins its return to earth is a little late (or a tad too early).
The Pathfinder? When you need a map and a compass (or GPS) to find your way back from where it landed. Extra points if you should have brought a tent.
Trick or Treat? When you launch a payload of candy for the kids to recover.
KillerBzzzz? AKA "Hornet's Nest" The latest buzz in a bad luck landing.
"Macbeth"? AKA "Shakespeare" Break a Leg!!!
"RodRyder"? You'll poke your eye out, kid
Heatseeker - Does a 90 off the pad and goes after your friend’s sister.
Meatseeker -A Heatseaker, but only if it went after your friend's brother
The Fugitive -. Your helicopter recovery looks like a one-armed man.
The Olympic Flame - Ask Gregory Eberly.
"landshark" - To hell with that baby shark song... Look Out!!!.
"Overthetop"? AKA "Homing Missile" The Loop-dee-loop where the rocket starts out unstable and loops but straightens out as propellant burns and lightens the aft end.
"Stripper" When you exceed the speed of balsa wood.
"Wile E Coyote" When the chute opens as the rocket crashes on the ground.
LIMBO? AKA "How Low Can You Go?" When a parachute deploys at the lowest possible altitude (mere feet above the ground) and the rocket is not damaged. My 2" Estes PSII based Cherokee D nosecone popped off and so did the recovery bay, trapping the chute inside it. It worked its way out, and deployed less than 20' above the ground. Extra points for the body to touch the ground when the shock cord extends to full length
"Cheeky"? When you do your best stripper act to recover your rocket (typically given with a "Goldfish", unless the rocket is dry, but on the other side of the river). (GUILTY)
“the introduction”. Get to know the neighbors. So, they’ll let you retrieve your rocket out of their back yard (or off their roof)(GUILTY)
The "Cowflop"... AKA "Bull$***" or "BULL'S PEYE" Yippee aye ay, Cow Patty!!!
OMG!!!? When the weathercocked rocket goes heatseaker, heading straight for the people on the 2nd story balcony... Only to pop the chute just short of them, and then drift back into your hand... Several hundred feet away from them (and less than a dozen feet from the pad) (I had a whole soccer field of witnesses to that one). My epic response to this flight... "I meant to do that!!!"
SAM's Club? AKA "Ack Ack" My revenge on those F*^%%$g Seagulls! Nearly shot one down with an Estes BBII, all without even trying. Imagine an image of a flying birds in the crosshairs.
"Blast In Show" AKA "Blue Medal" a spectacular CATO of a museum worthy build.
"Straight Shooter" AKA "What Goes UP" A short rocket* with lots of clay in the nosecone CATOs... 4 seconds after the last of the balsa and cardboard confetti hits the ground the nosecone finally whistles in.
"Popflop" A rocket with helicopter nose (i.e. Heliocopter, Cosmic Cobra, etc.) gets stuck on the pad and goes nowhere just to have the ejection charge deploy the nose and body's parachute. The nose doesn't get enough altitude to actually begin to spin, so it just flops to the ground with blades deployed.
"Pump Action" or "Double Barrels" Rocket Recovery via 12 Gauge
Premature Ejection - when the engine mount fails and the body tube fails to contain the forward momentum. The engine blows out the nosecone shortly after leaving the pad.
"Search & Rescue" - When they are brought out to find *YOU* (and not the rocket)!
"Snake Eyes" - When your recovery is interrupted by a grumpy legless reptile.
"Rocket Widow/er" AKA "Black Widow" When your hobby becomes too much for your significant other (GUILTY - BUT... It likely saved me from a nasty divorce w/kids later)
"The Sandlot" You're killin me Smalls! Denied recovery
Any more you guys can think of? For transparency, I'm not the source of all of these... (most of them but not all)... Check out the Model Rocketry Fanatics Facebook thread (and this one) for full credits.
Last edited:
CowFlop!!! AKA "Bull$**+" or "BULL'S PEYE"
" Special recognition for those who support those with mobility or other challenges (Even if they're not personally into it)
