Pet mistakes?

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dragonshiprider

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I have a fun,curious question to ask.What is your "pet" mistake?In other words what is the one rocketry related bad habit that you just can't seem to get over?What is the one thing that you do that has you looking around to make sure that nobody was watching.Doesn't matter if it's building or flying.If you have no perpetual bad habit(or just don't want to admit it)then a one timer will do as well.
I'll go first.My one thing that I do is that I get to the check in and forget the size of my launch lugs.I don't know why I do it but I always put down the wrong size,walk to the pad,discover my mistake and then have to ask for another pad.Duuuuuhhhh!!!!!!
Another mistake I've made a few times is getting to the launch pad and discovering that I'd conveniently forgotten an igniter.My french gets a lot of practice on those.
Well that's it.I wont blame anyone for not wanting to answer this one.Also,one last thing;If your habits are dangerous then you might wanna keep`em to yourself.Don't wanna get anyone in trouble.
 
I for one forget to put on the launch lug. Ill go to the pad and twist the rocket to look for the lug and I seem to just keep twisting. good thing for Fast drying glue.

Dan
 
Hmm...put an engine, igniter, and wadding in the rocket but no parachute. Yep - I've been known to launch a rocket or two without chute. Luckily they've all been LPR (<BT55) rockets. I've become accustomed to "sharing" a 12" nylon chute between my rockets and sometimes I forget to transfer the chute before liftoff. As a habit - and being that I prep all my rockets the night before - I *always* put a piece of masking tape over the lug hole and write "no chute" on it just as a reminder. :rolleyes:

How about this one - (sorry if I stole your thunder): Walk to the pad, carefully place the rocket on the rod, tilt/angle to perfection, go to hook up the leads and WHAM! - no igniter! :eek:
 
I believe that building is my one area of not being good. I can't build pretty much anything over skill lvl 2 worth jack. Never had good motor skills.
 
I am guilty of forgetting launch lugs,
When it starts to look like a rocket it is time to start painting.
I always forget to take tape to the pad with me and don't realise until I need it.
 
Hmmm.

Instinctively trying to catch the x-acto knife between my legs, as it rolls off the table.
 
Most of my problems historically have been brain farts due to multiple projects. Can't think of a repeat offender, but an example is getiing the front CR, and TTW fins in, removing the rear CR, and instead of adding the internal fillets I went ahead and glued the ring on. Duh. That's what the ring was across the room away from the rocket, dummy. :eek: I guess I've forgotten to hook the Kevlar leader the front CR a couple of times on LPRs.
 
Originally posted by vjp
Hmmm.

Instinctively trying to catch the x-acto knife between my legs, as it rolls off the table.

Haven't lost anything important, have you..eeek :)
 
Originally posted by Dbarrm
I for one forget to put on the launch lug. Ill go to the pad and twist the rocket to look for the lug and I seem to just keep twisting. good thing for Fast drying glue.

Dan

oh man, can *I* relate to this one... :p

Probably half the time I have someone proof read a new instruction set with a pile of parts in front of them they come back to me and say "Jim, what's this part for?", holding up a launch lug. ...I look at them deadpan and say "I forgot that step, didn't I?"....

it's a killer LOL

jim
 
mainly Recovery problems

I've forgotten wadding a few times ,Doh !
and I have put the wrong chute in a couple times(usually too small) again ouch!
 
Originally posted by vjp
Hmmm.

Instinctively trying to catch the x-acto knife between my legs, as it rolls off the table.

Either that or my hand. Having fast reflexes is not always a good thing. Neither is having to cover all those red spots on the fins.

I can't count the number of times I got the fin lined up perfectly on the line and started to glue it to the tube facing the wrong direction. Luckily I rarely use CyA.
 
Originally posted by eugenefl


How about this one - (sorry if I stole your thunder): Walk to the pad, carefully place the rocket on the rod, tilt/angle to perfection, go to hook up the leads and WHAM! - no igniter! :eek:


Steal? Hey,I'm givin' that one away all day long.Take all ya want!
 
I forgot. A one time thing (I hope) I once glued the fins on the wrong end of the body tube, opposite end than the already installed motor mount.
 
On 3 ocassions in the last 4 years, I have forgotten to put the ejection charge in an RMS casing (This is caused oddly enough by BSing at the table with others while you assemble the motor). Strangely all 3 times it was my PML Callisto and amazingly all 3 times it suffered no damage. Except for the scratchs on the nose cone from the time I forgot to put the charge in an F-40. After we got out the shovel we measured the hole it was almost 16" deep LOL
 
Me, way to much glue all the time! :p Most instruction say to place a drop of glue on fins edge or lunch lug and spread it over the edges? What? One drop of glue - no way! Why put a drop on when a whole line of glue along the fins works better! :D (same using calking too!)

And I paint way too close too (again too much!? :confused: ) I have many paint streaks on my rockets!

"Ease up Ripley, ease up" :rolleyes:

Pat
 
Let's see,

Forgotten launch lug--did that.

Forgotten parachute--did that.

How about ignoring the fact that many light coats is better than one heavy coat?

How about meticulously hooking up the clip whip to the cluster, but forgetting to hook up the clip whip to the battery end?

How about giving that tube coupler one last good push and shoving it all the way up inside the body tube?

MetMan
 
Originally posted by rstaff3
Haven't lost anything important, have you..eeek :)
Not yet! But I think I've got the reflex thing under control now.

Nothing like a little negative reinforcement to validate Pavlov's theories on conditioning.:D
 
Originally posted by UncMikesRktShk
On 3 ocassions in the last 4 years, I have forgotten to put the ejection charge in an RMS casing (This is caused oddly enough by BSing at the table with others while you assemble the motor). Strangely all 3 times it was my PML Callisto and amazingly all 3 times it suffered no damage. Except for the scratchs on the nose cone from the time I forgot to put the charge in an F-40. After we got out the shovel we measured the hole it was almost 16" deep LOL


You're a much braver man than I Unclemike! I wouldn't admit THAT in a million years.:rolleyes: ;)
 
... than a 'pet mistake'.

I will occasionally build something that looks like crud, just to fly!

Most times, you just gotta have a daily fliers- and that second kit
becomes the beautifully finished masterpiece that only flys once
a year...
 
Originally posted by brianc
... than a 'pet mistake'.

I will occasionally build something that looks like crud, just to fly!

Most times, you just gotta have a daily fliers- and that second kit
becomes the beautifully finished masterpiece that only flys once
a year...

every once and a while? I do all the time:D
 
:)

You will have to add me to the "forgot the launch lug" group...!!!

 
I have four:
1) After I paint the rocket, I always find a way of knocking it over when the paint is still wet.
2) The last fin I put on will always be out of alignment. It will be set higher than the rest and will be on an angle.
3) I constantly misplace the nosecones. If I am using the tape or scissors or something else, I will set it down for a few minutes and come back and not know where they are. (I still need to find the nosecone for my upscale quark.)
4) I will accidently "hide" stuff from my father. For instance, he was looking for the tape the other day. I had put it under the "rocket table" that we have. :D
 
I'm a lug-forgetter as well, but I also have another that has yet to be mentioned.

I've screwed up more rockets by getting the motor mount halfway in, and it gets stuck. The wood glue takes a tack, and I can't push it in, and I can't pull it back out. Oh yeah, I dry fit it several times, and practice pushing it in with one smooth stroke, just like the instructions say, but inevitably, when it comes time to DO it, it gets stuck halfway-in. :( :rolleyes:

WW
 
Originally posted by MissileDaughter
I have four:
1) After I paint the rocket, I always find a way of knocking it over when the paint is still wet.
2) The last fin I put on will always be out of alignment. It will be set higher than the rest and will be on an angle.
3) I constantly misplace the nosecones. If I am using the tape or scissors or something else, I will set it down for a few minutes and come back and not know where they are. (I still need to find the nosecone for my upscale quark.)
4) I will accidently "hide" stuff from my father. For instance, he was looking for the tape the other day. I had put it under the "rocket table" that we have. :D

MissileDaughter.... I have all of those traits myself... somehow something botches up a perfect paint job... one fin does not seem to want to cooperate, I misplace stuff all the time, and my dad always asks me were tools and stuff are... ;).
 
I make clip whips by the gross. Twice in the last year I left my soldering iron on....overnight! Now it's on a timer and I have a huge note tacked to each cellar door (2 exits).

Ther is NO worse feeling then that.
 
Originally posted by flying_silverad
I make clip whips by the gross. Twice in the last year I left my soldering iron on....overnight! Now it's on a timer and I have a huge note tacked to each cellar door (2 exits).

Ther is NO worse feeling then that.

Man...If I were you, I would be paranoid by now each time I leave the cellar. How do you cope with such a feeling?
 
mine are
I spray paint to close to the rocket
I usually make my fins too big, but this isn't so bad, more stability
 
....THEN there was the time... :D

I am gluing (CA) something or other to some other thing, using the super thin CA glue. I set the glue bottle down and get into a comfortable position as I know I will have to sit here for a minute or two to be sure it has set up good.

Elbow on the desk, holding the model, palm of my left hand on the desk (and old oak railroad desk), right next to the bottle of CA... ...suddenly I notice my hand getting warm... as I look down I notice this growing puddle of CA glue!! There's a leak in the bottom of the bottle!!! OH MAN!

Sure enough, I'm glued fast to the desk... Now, I always have debonder close at hand. Well, not *close* at hand... ...at least not close *enough* at hand...

I have about a 5'6" reach and my debonder is a good 6' away and I'm glued to a desk that weighs at least 150 pounds... I was going to wait for my wife then I realized I could reach my pocket knife and I proceeded to carve my hand away from the desk. Didn't loose too much skin, but that hand imprint was there for a LONG time.

I am always gluing myself to something, or something to myself (one of the worse was when I glued my pants to my leg with CA...)
 
My wife's pet mistake is when I spray paint outside near one of the windows and don't close it first. She has pet names for me then too.
 
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