Retiree Rocketeer in NorCal

[TomLee]

After lurking on this site I finally decided the information was too good to take for free. I retired from teaching almost three years ago and have only built a couple rockets since then but enjoy flying them with my grandkids with whom I've built--and lost--several. I bought my first Estes Alpha in 1967 as a high school sophomore and actively enjoyed the hobby for a number of years. I've never lost my interest in rockets small or large even if I wasn't too active in my middle years. I think sounding rockets are pretty cool in purpose and in looks and prefer building scale models over the many other types of rocket kits available to us. I like the process of building as much as the flying and have a couple rockets I won't fly just because I don't want 'em dinged up. It's all low power for me; don't have time, money, or launch sites for the big stuff even though I enjoy watching YouTube videos of those who take mid- and high-power rocketry seriously. Thanks, belatedly, to everyone who has shared their construction tips from which I benefited while I was lurking on the Rocketry Forum.
All the best,
Tom

 

[Hobie1dog]

to the forum Tom. Get busy building some rockets, and get those grandkids out launching too. You should at least try a mid power (E and F) motors which also gets you into some nice sounding rockets.

 

[Worsaer]

Hello Tom,

You have a couple of opinion for flying with clubs in your neck of the woods. I realize the distance to drive to LUNAR (NAR) or Tripoli Central Calif launch sites is not trivial from where you live, but make a day of it!

Attending a large club launch will give you an opportunity to meet others, witness a wide variety of rockets, and fly what you like.

TCC has a big semi-annual launch near Helm on May 19-21. TCCRockets.com

LUNAR’s events are also on their site: LUNAR.org

Have Fun!

 

[pugachu]

Welcome to the forum, Tom!

I would second the suggestion to attend a club launch when you can. The grand kids may like watching other people's rockets fly. I know my kids like watching rockets, and flying their own

 

[Huxter]

Welcome! I, too like LPR better. The launch fields in Utah are "drying up" - not many places to fly bigger motors.

 

[prfesser]

Legal(not) notice:

TomLee:
You are hereby requested and required to:

• purchase, build, and launch rockets; and
• attend a day-long club launch, preferably with children/grandchildren; and
• post herein, including photos.

Having fun is mandatory. Do not ignore this notice. Penalty for disobedience is not-having-fun!


Glad to see you here!

 

[TomLee]

Good morning, everyone. Thank you for the many comments; I didn't really expect any since I was just checking in for the first time. Regarding hobie1dog's encouragement to try something in the mid range I'd be open to it but the field I have easy access to is rather small and linear (a couple of football/soccer fields) with woods all around. All of the rockets I've lost were launched with C engines and winds up high enough to carry them off into the trees. I'm just finishing an Estes Red Nova which takes a D-size engine and I'm going to buy an adaptor so I can use Cs, hoping I can keep it contained in this field, maybe even using a smaller chute to bring it down faster. But I agree that there are some beautiful models available if I'd be willing to step up a size or two. I've even thought of just buying one to build and keep on display. And I've visited the TCC and LUNAR sites now, worsaer. Thanks for the introduction. The upcoming event in Hollister is possibly doable.

 

[smstachwick]

Hey! Welcome.

We’re usually pretty quick to respond around here. My very first thread was a question that got answered inside an hour.

You might have more options for bugger stuff than you realize. Consider trying your Red Nova on a C11-3, no adapter required. If you’re so inclined, take it out to LUNAR and ramp up the power to explore the envelope. D12, E26, and F44 motors might be good bets.

 

[Dane Ronnow]

Welcome to the forum, Tom!

 

[TomLee]

Again, thank you to each one who's commented or offered the great advice. Prfessr, I'm with you on the items in that list. The problem is, of course, time priorities, isn't it? Besides rocketry I have a latent interest in rubber powered free flight model planes; two kits are waiting for me to finish the rockets so I can attend to them. I'll bet if I joined a RPFF forum someone there would send me a list much like yours, requesting/requiring my active participation. But I do appreciate the encouragement to have fun that this is all about, so thanks! Life is good.

Btw, with my Red Nova I'm going to use a Kevlar shock cord which will stop short of the body tube end to prevent zippering. Having been an Estes user for nearly all of my rocketry this is the first time I've not attached the elastic shock cord with the tri-fold paper mount. I've read so much about zippering that I'm a little freaked out. And to reduce the exposure to the heat of the ejection blast I've wrapped the Kevlar cord with a few wraps of a metallic, heat-resistant tape extending about 4" from the motor mount. I hope this will lengthen the life of the Kevlar. Here's a pic of the assembly. Has anyone tried this? Does it work?

 

[teepot]

Welcome to the Forum. Yes, I have wrapped heat resistant tape around shock cords. I usually use a shock cord protector made of Nomex now. Only works with bigger rockets though. I have used two kinds of tape. One, a yellow heat tape a lot like cellophane and an engine compartment friction tape. Like the friction tape the best and use it regularly to tape Kevlar cord ends. If you have a soft landing field you could try a streamer. That would bring your rocket down without wind drift.

 

[Huxter]

Welcome! Your setup looks great. I tend to overengineer the kevlar - IE I use 300-400- lb kevlar to stand the test of time. Adding an ejection baffle also adds a point to connect the kevlar to - the baffle will protect the laundry! (mostly)

 

[Johnly]

Should you be traveling North...

 

[Johnly]

Should you be traveling North:
http://southernoregonrocketry.com/http://www.oregonrocketry.com/Come join us at a launch.

John

 

[TomLee]

Thank you, teepot, Huxter, and John for the ideas and support. I just looked up engine compartment friction tape and see that it's easy to find; not too expensive either, though a roll is going to last me a very long time at the rate I'll use it. I visited the Oregon sites you included, John. We actually get up to SW Washington a couple times/year to see kids and g-kids so I'll check the calendar to see if anything's happening when we drive up next time, probably early August. By that time of year I'm not launching anything with flames around here. Fires are on everyone's mind and I don't want to either alarm the neighbors or, heaven forbid, have an accident and set woods, brush, or grass on fire.

Tom

 

[cls]

Fires are on everyone's mind and I don't want to either alarm the neighbors or, heaven forbid, have an accident and set woods, brush, or grass on fire.

oh man... your area has had more than a fair share of that... is there anything left to burn!? low and slow on the school field sounds great.

 

[Buster]

After lurking on this site I finally decided the information was too good to take for free. I retired from teaching almost three years ago and have only built a couple rockets since then but enjoy flying them with my grandkids with whom I've built--and lost--several. I bought my first Estes Alpha in 1967 as a high school sophomore and actively enjoyed the hobby for a number of years. I've never lost my interest in rockets small or large even if I wasn't too active in my middle years. I think sounding rockets are pretty cool in purpose and in looks and prefer building scale models over the many other types of rocket kits available to us. I like the process of building as much as the flying and have a couple rockets I won't fly just because I don't want 'em dinged up. It's all low power for me; don't have time, money, or launch sites for the big stuff even though I enjoy watching YouTube videos of those who take mid- and high-power rocketry seriously. Thanks, belatedly, to everyone who has shared their construction tips from which I benefited while I was lurking on the Rocketry Forum.
All the best,
Tom

After being away from rocketry for about 50 years I ran across an Estes Patriot at Hobby Lobby. One thing lead to another. Didn’t think I’d ever get into HPR but 10 years ago I got my L1. Enjoy the ride.