Oldie/Newbie

[gnurph69]

Okay, so the last time I broke out the rocketry gear was...1998, according to the price tags on some of the boxes. Now I have a 4-year old who is tired of stomping on the air-filled blob and shooting a "rocket" 20 feet in the air.

I used to do this quite regularly, I'm just out of practice and I've got a dozen old rocket kits I might start building. However, before I kick it into gear, I have some safety questions and a regulatory one.

The igniters still work; I replaced the batteries in the launcher, attached the alligator clips to an igniter that I had sitting on a brick, inserted the launch key (lo! light! I'm shocked it still works) and hit the launch button. Igniter did a quick flare/glow, circuit breaks, and I think we're in business.

Next test: put one in a very small engine, clamp engine to stable surface, put something solid in front of, behind and around engine, and see what happens. That's a back-yard thing.

Which leads me to my first question: What's going to happen to an 11-year old Estes engine? It should be shelf-stable (and they were stored in zip-lock baggies to prevent moisture from entering), I'd think - but I'll ask here, as other bad things might have taken place that one wouldn't usually encounter because of the age.

And then my second question. I used to drive down to the local park, make sure nobody was around, and shoot'em off. Apparently, that's a no-no nowadays. Ignoring my immediate knee-jerk "nanny government" thought, I figured that either somewhere, insurance might have made this cost-prohibitive, or some unthinking being inadvertently caused some damage, pain, injury, death or worse resulting in the county (nay, the state) from banning this. Is this a country-wide phenomenon?

I'd join a club, but frankly, the thought of my younger years fun of hitting the button, watching it go, capping the launch rod, and hauling butt after it - of losing that fun - well, my guess is that clubs probably frown on that, and prefer that you stand 25 feet away and wait until your rocket is stuck in a tree that you get to find, etc....and you get 3 minutes to do that, because the next kid wants to launch *his* rocket, and of course, there are 15 other people doing the same thing. Pretty much blows half a day if not longer, when it used to take an hour for 5 or 6 launches. Watching other folks' rockets brings me no joy - I'm not a rocketry geek, thrust-to-weight ratios don't excite me, and debates about the merit of "scale model" vs fantasy don't do it for me. Let's not mention how my 4-year old will react.

Ergo, club...probably a no go. Yes, I know I shouldn't opine without having been to one of these events, judge a book by it's cover, etc.

Is the event of my youth just banned by the government nowadays? The world will be a less pleasurable place if the answer is yes.

 

[Zeus-cat]

Welcome back to rocketry.

Some places are pretty strict about rockets; the big one is California. And a lot of places have burn bans in the summer due to the high heat and lack of rain.

Your best bet is to contact the local park authorities and ask if you can fly model rockets. If the answer is no, then finding a local club might be your best bet. Don't pooh-pooh clubs. The club I joined is mostly older guys like me and we have a great field to use in the fall and winter. I got into high power this year because of the club and the field they use. However, I still pop on over to the local park and launch low power rockets there quite often.

 

[pick1e]

I fly at local school fields when they're unoccupied. Sometimes people are walking their dogs or something and I just give them a heads up that I'm launching model rockets and they generally stick around to spectate and cheer.

I'm in Michigan where fireworks that leave the ground are illegal (fair enough, people don't use them responsibly) but there is a special law from 1965 regarding model rockets, making them legal if used safely (electronic launch, safety distance, reusable rockets, recovery system, predictable flight pattern, less then 1500 grams, no pyrotechnic payload, etc). I carry a copy of that law with my flight supplies. I would think most states have something like that.

The only person that ever complained was an elderly man walking his dog without a leash. :confused2:

 

[kjohnson]

As for the motors, the other thing you'd have to be worried about is temperature cycling. If they were stored in a place that sees wide temp swings from season to season, you may get some cracks that form between the BP and the casing. If the motors were inside your house all this time, they're probably fine.

kj

 

[gpoehlein]

I echo Zeus about clubs - I have a lot more fun launching rockets with the club than I do flying by myself. First, there's the "show-off" factor - it's always great to have an audience to witness the first flight of your newest baby. Second, there's the advice. There's always someone around who can answer just about any question, and most members of most clubs I've seen are more than willing to answer questions (just like here). And, unless there's a contest going on, I doubt you'll be under any pressure to move through the launch que quickly. Most clubs understand about taking your time, hooking it up right and picking the right weather for your flight. And, believe me, it's always helpful to have several sets of eyes on your rocket as it comes down, and if you have a hard time finding it, others will often help you do a ground search. (We've had times when the entire club was searching for a small model that had an altimeter in it.) And should your rocket end up in a tree, the club will probably have an extensible pole or other device for retrieving treed rockets and the expertise to get them down. Doesn't always happen, but you'll get your rocket back a higher percentage of the time when flying with a club.

So, yes, please search out a club and go fly with them. Once or twice and you'll be hooked. A good place to look is the NAR website:

https://www.nar.org/NARseclist.php

Find the one closest to you and check them out. Many clubs (ours is one) welcome non-NAR members to fly with them any time. We have no restriction on the number of times you fly without joining - if you want to just fly with us and don't want to join the NAR, you can do so for as long as you like. But joining the NAR and a chapter does have its benefits and adds a lot of new facets to the hobby as well, so don't immediately discount it.

So, welcome back to the hobby and to TRF - feel free to ask questions, and be sure to post pictures of your rockets and flights whenever you can!

 

[Beergnome]

Im a newbie/oldie myself. Of course I was just a wee lad the last time I did serious launching. now I'm one of them dang responcable adults.
Thing is, the mojority of my hobby time has been taken up by RC boating... well... there aint any clubs around here for that unless yer into model sheet boat racing.. and I'm more of a scale live steam boater than a racing yacht guy. so.... there ya go.. I'm activly looking for a local club to join just for the comradery, senior advice, and decent launch site.

the field I shoot from right now is activly used multi field soccar pitch and there is the big issue of threading in launch time between when the soccar moms get there with there brood so I don't interefere with them. I park fly Electric planes as well and use that same field for that, and there is a wee little pond hidden in the woods that I use for my steamers... its actually a great park for RC stuff, and I'm freindly with the cities Head of the parks and recreations as well. Virginia, and the city of richmond parks seem very freindly to my hobbies...

my BIGGEST issue however is that Im the weekend guy here in the beer mines. I do the big weekend free tour of the facilities, get beer ready for packaging during the week, and educate apprentices. So even if I WERE to join a club, of any sort the majority of the members of any club are most active on the weekends while I'm toiling away at work... this is my friday night and Im banging this out on my laptop in the dart room of the pub, i go back on the clock wendsday morning at 7am!

but enough of my rambling, welcome back to the fold! as said before, as long as your engines were kept dry, and at a stable temp, they should be fine as far as I know the igniters are just tungstun light bulb filimits dipped in match head stuff... they may have oxidized over time, but they should be fine as well. I would dare say that if you have a dud launch I would blame the igniter before I would blame the engine in your case.

as for launch sites? be aware of your local laws as stated above, and at least be courtious of others using the park. for the most part, as far as my experience goes, if you have an audience, they will get into the fun yer having as well, and help you with recovery. especialy if they come attached with a gaggle of kids.

last time I threaded the needle at the park, the early kids got to see a couple of rockets go up as the grown ups were setting up the practice lanes. and from all the " that was so awesome!!" and "WICKED!!" I got from the little varments I hope that the next time that thier parents drag them through micheals and hobby lobby so that they can decorate their suburban homes in the late century "applebee" motif, the kids find the model rocket section and appropriatly hassle thier parents.

 

[Fred22]

Welcome back to the hoby and welcome to the board I wish there was a club in my area but there is not. There are some in my province so some day I will either get to see one of their launchs and maybe head further south. If you need any help with anything around here please do not hesitate to conatct any member of the mod team.
Cheers
fred

 

[Beergnome]

yep, as fred there said. if anything, use this place as a serogate club for any questions you may have

 

[jflis]

Welcome back to rocketry and welcome to TRF

Many of your questions have been answered so I'll just add that we LOVE pictures! Enjoy the forum and don't be shy! We're a friendly bunch

Enjoy
jim