I've never felt akin to model rocketry, or actually accepted by your, and yes it is a small community. My paper model designs go out al the planet, and for every model rocket download, there is as many as 100 downloads for my their static type models.
I have actually gotten hurt. almost, or even everyone posting thus far is a user, and not a designer. How many of you have to read hate mail about what some IDIOT did with a paper rocket, thinking that they knew more than the designer, only to have things happen like:
...The )&(&&^ thing came down in my pasture and caused the cows to stampede and kill a calf.
... JAH ok, I know you only offer it up as a model, but the guy that made built it sent it straight onto my roof, and it's clogging the gutter. I have no way to get up there!
...Or my personal favorite of all time.... YOU'RE SICK! Your scuds being offered out there are the most evel ting I can imagine and you're encouraging children to build models of weapons of mass destruction!
Now that last one I was proud of, and even typed back- &^)& RIGHT!!!!!!!
.....As for the rest.
Look, I'm not a company, and won't try to speak for anyone else. I'm just a dood with a few ideas about how to shape pieces of paper and fun with them. That's all! I get my share of hate mail, and until the last couple of days, it outnumbered the positive mails 2-1! The worst ones are from people who think they know more than I do, and re-design/size my models into some Frankenstein creation, and then type me wanting to know how to make them work after failures. HA-HA-HA!!!!!
Then there's the folks who write to tell me that my designs are a good start, but they can do better, and I should ask 'them' for help! After seeing what they have posted, and know, how about if I just shortcut things and hand a monkey a Machine Gun in the middle of Washington D.C.?
It hurts getting these kinds of mails, to the point where I delete my own addresses just to stop them.
I'm not a company! I don't have insurance for lawsuits or otherwise. I'm just a guy with a few, what I think are neat ideas/designs. If someone sues me, I take the full hit! I have to take time out of my life to pay the bus fare, go to a court, just to spend maybe 10 seconds in front of a judge to tell him, "HEY JUDGE! You can't fix stupid!" Do I get any of that time/money back NO!!!!
MY biggest...fans/clients whatever- are not model rocket folk! Just good old average folks across the world, who can't get plastic models and like paper art.
As such, they will now come first.
So, while I'm glad model rocketry will keep it's online paper toys- You ALL better darn well think about what you're doing with them, and police/support each other in their proper use... or you may find yourselves with a bit less in the future.... Laugh/POO-POO now, for it may not be so funny in the future, and while this is my last post on TRF, there is a future for your hobby! ...and the future, is coming fast!
Good luck to you all, and I may/will be designing things that the smarter of you may/will be able to fly.
AX'E- aka Eric Truax....signing off and out........................