Id like to share a "little"(I've been on the phone typing this for 35 mins..lol) bit of my story or thoughts...
I got back into this in May, after 10 years of not doing this at all. I didn't really in the end quit by choice back in 2013/14, it was just lack of information that I could get even back in 2012 and 2013 for clubs and flying. Even on here, I went back and looked at my posts asking different members. Sending PMs to ask information, calling, emailing... I found one club close to me that's ironically in the same town as I'm in now...
Let's fast forward to May of this year. I needed a hobby or something to do with my daily life while on and fighting of for permanent disability. So I'm not sure where or how I saw something maybe on Facebook about rockets. Or ran into a YouTube video, is wasnt me looking for this hobby again. But I ran into whatever, then ended up hitting Hobby Lobby for the first time ever to pick up an Alpha III launch kit and a few motors. A and B, with supplies, etc..
Well I brought that home and built it, and during this whole time told myself I wasn't going to buy anything more or anything that takes a while to build I just want to have fun. Well I got that done around May 23rd or something, the neighbor and I went over the local High School. I put the Alpha III up a few times, even caught it once coming down, he has it on video you'd think I woke the dead from his response, lol.. He's never seen anything like these forna long time and was having fun going with me.. But unfortunately I think on the 5th or 6th flight it landed on the Milton High School roof. About a week after that I was in the hospital for 4 or 5 days with bad virus so I took a break during that. Now going back to when I built and bought a huge collection after getting injured at UPS on 2012, the thoughts of buying another Alpha III were already in my head to buy just that. Because I knew I had quite a bit of stuff at my house in Bloomsburg which is about 30 mins from where I'm temporarily at now. The family owned house I was in when I left town in 2020(that I've lived in since 2001) was given to other relatives to stay there shortly while I was out of town, and they were getting there house fixed they inherited.
Long story short on that of you've seen my posts earlier this year was I was using my mother for communication as the family(My Younger Sister) in the house and I had some bad blood. So, it turned into the point of me posting on Facebook to ask advice as to how to get my collection back. As every time I tried to go get it I was told no, and understand that all my furniture, too big of a TV, tools, extra clothes, etc...Is all still at that house I didn't tka all that with me I didn't have the room. I was told they wouldn't use the downstairs as its a fully finished basement/apartment I lived it. It has access to the outside, etc. Yeah the entire house now is full of boxes and tall thier crap too.. But in the end it was miscommunication to me getting my things mostly from my mother to them, I got both of then on the line finally after I posted asking legal advice. They sent a date which was like 4 or 5 days after this phone call. But that day came, I borrowed a moving van and went to get it all. Wow, it was opening a time capsule to my builds from 2012. Some where half done, some where not even started, a few had been flown but had damage, others jusy needed repairs, etc...
So this was about the end of June or so I got that bigger collection back. In the mean Time the end of May until then, I spent about 1500 bux buying all kinds of Estes rockets and scratch parts from Rocketryworks. Even picked up man chute release and had a L1 rocket I planned to use. But after posting here and taking advice, I held up and joined one club. SPAAR here in Pennsylvania, flew with them a few times as well still locally at the Milton High School. Out if about 100 flights this year from about 20 different rockets I've lost two, that first Alpha being one.
Now my goal I said to myself back in May of this year it that I wanted to have an L1 certification attempt in within a year. And the goal was ultimately to have a L1 certification by next summer then that was it. I decided I need to go further than just low/mid power(Up to G80). I wanted that accomplishment of having built and earned a high power certification with a rocket that was special to me. Well after learning and finding OpenRocket then doing sims, realized that my L1 flight with the rocket I scratch built from Rocketryworks was going to go pretty high. High enough that it would require the use of a chute release, DD, or really big launch area.
Now that reason leads back to why I gave up and stopped in 2013. I realized I would be building these rockets and I wouldn't have anywhere close to launch them, and really had no luck with any clubs. That club I mentioned thats in the town I'm in, well they don't do anything. I've emailed the club President going to back to 2012 about flying and where they go. I never heard back from him until this year, when be said be was busy and on a road trip for the summer, but would get back to me when he returns to talk about a club. I haven't heard anything back, again. Apparently it's a NAR club but they don't fly. I don't even think they have a website. And it's funny because over the years I've often thought of going to his house and talking to him in person, I knew or know where its at. Its in the same town about 10 mins away. Either way I found out they don't fly and apparently haven't. So that was one thing that led me to stop years back.
But I ended up getting that collection back and fixing them for 20 hours a day to fly them with SPAAR in July. I bough a table, canopy, huge range box, etc. Flew with SPAAR then a few times then went September 10th to URRG in NY, just to watch I was burnt out at this point mentally and physically. But had a great time and got to talk to a few people, Larry the club President and Teddy from OneBadHawk.com about getting my L1. The following weekend went back to fly then at a SPAAR meet. Took a bunch if rockets with me, I think I got in 18 flights that day, 9/16/23 @ Halifax, PA.
But after going to URRG September 10th, and watching Jr members get certs. I told myself ots time. I started this hobby back in 1990 at 7 years old. I want that accomplishment or respect that I feel when someone says they are an L1, L2, or L3. Not so much to brag, but it says I can build and launch a high power rocket.
All my skills, knowledge, field testing and fails are all going to be put to the test for an L1 certification. Now after leaving URRG 9/10 my plan was to look at what future lances they had yet, and when they were. Well they were supposed to fly at the beginning of October, but I thought that would be too soon to build it as it was just about 3 weeks away I think I saw they had a November date too for the 4th and 5th. But I thought for a while after the trip on the 10th then never started building my L1 until Nov 4th. As the launch days were all canceled due to poor weather, even Sunday the 11th of September was scrubbed. So at the end the bonus launch they planned too for October 21st and 22nd, something like that was also scrubbed for weather. So they added the date new date of 11/3 to the 11/4 and 11/5 launch date. To nake it a threw date event. So I decided then October 4th or 5th to start it now and make the L1 attempt either Saturday or Sunday as they added Friday later. I did that over the next few weeks and made the L1 attempt 11/4 and got the certification. Had a horrible tooth infection in still dealing with but they pulled 3 out, lol.
But after getting some bad Information or just false and me not looking into it. Though dual deployment was a L2 requirement, but its not. I was told by that same person who was correct that its an L3 requirement. So, that info came just not long ago, about 2 weeks for thinking DD was an L3 requirement. And since September that I was told by a random person that L2 requires DD. I know it wasn't anyone I talked with 11/4 but some random person at URRG September 9th. No disrespect to them I have no clue who it was or why I thought that.
But that info changing or me learning the L2 and L3 rules I knew them for sure. I wasnt paying attention to L2 and L3 stuff at first as I had no plans to go past L1 really. But after finding out the rules, have decided to go for my L2 next spring. I want to do it for me, nobody else. Its not a mid life crisis or I need to feel significant or noticed its just always been my passion. And going for my L2 attempt right away, if its successful will give me a wide range of motors for DD. And then after I achieve the L2 certification, stay there for a few years to have fun. I may not have a successful first L2 cert flight but found a spot that they fly well.
Part 2 below.