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ALL Carbon Fiber: My Fastest, Highest, Craziest Rocket YET!
Xyla Foxlin is at it again...
- Thread starter K'Tesh
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I knew one was coming soon; there's been a short about her "cute" payload bay up for a little while.
Youtube threw some of her videos recently so I've now watched a number of them. I thought launching Christmas trees was pretty silly but they seemed to have done a reasonable job of it. A lot of the things she does seem to be similar to the average youtube creator who is more interested in making videos to get views than in actually creating something. She seemed to have enough background to be able to do something other than youtube.
NateB
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The money from Youtube is probably better.
I dunno, she doesn’t have a particularly large number of followers yet to be making the big bucks. But doing YouTube means being your own boss, choosing your own projects, etc. I find her builds to be an interesting mix of substantial stuff (boats, rockets, that trailer) and the silly (Christmas tree launch, bulletproof dress).
NateB
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All good incentives too.
If I knew I could make my current salary doing my own thing from home, I would too.
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She was able to buy her own plane. I don't have money like that, so unless she's got a side gig as an actual engineer, she's making youtube buck$$.
She has an engineering degree, and she saved up for 13 years to buy her plane.
The way they beat that liner into the case though… wow. I almost want to see a video of them getting it out.
Also, Im guessing she had a flyer of record for the flight since she never mentioned going through the L3 process.
Also, Im guessing she had a flyer of record for the flight since she never mentioned going through the L3 process.
Neutronium95
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I really liked that fin jig she used. I've seen a lot of jigs that haven't quite felt right to me, and if it didn't require a CNC mill this might be my favorite.
Did you notice her SpruceX t-shirt? Probably came from her Christmas tree launch.
I enjoyed that, thanks.
It's also got her a lot of her shop tools as sponsorships, and I would definitely take that deal if I could.
Ah, but does she? She doesn't put videos out very often, which makes me suspect there's a day job in the picture.
She first came to my attention through a This Old Tony video, sort of. The first time that he participated in the annual YouTube makers' Secret Santa round robin, he got her in the draw, and did a quick rundown of stuff she might be interested in but had already done for herself. I realized immediately that I had had to check her stuff out, and soon found that I had already seen one: her wood rocket. Subscribed.
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Noticed the product placement for Georgia's very own csrocketry.com!
Interesting. But I imagine the motor was purchased under the guise that it was for an L3 attempt as I believe that is a requirement for purchase?
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Yes, the logo on the box was very well centered in the frame. I notice that on a lot of Youtube videos. For example on Rocket Vlogs, Braden shows the West System epoxy cans all the time, and with Xyla it's always the boat epoxy (even the mixing cup) -- which makes me wonder if they get that stuff free from the manufacturers as long as it's prominent in the videos. I'm always suspicious watching these things because I'm aware that every second of every day someone is trying to hit me with advertising.
She definitely has some kind of relationship with Total Boat, but she also clearly is a fan of the stuff.
Sponsorships are to be expected. What you don't want to see is blatant and/or false promotions purely for the dollars (common, it seems, for Instagram influencers (god I hate that term)); I don't see any of that in her videos.
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True, she not only showed the csrocketry.com logo on the outside of the box, she obviously used the reload, a CTI ProMAX, in her rocket. (Another product placement, but not egregious or "in your face.")
Yeah, in general I have no problem with overt sponsorships and with product placements as long as the endorsements, explicit or implicit, are sincere; hers appear to be, as to the endorsements in some of the videos from other YouTubers I watch.
- "I received this thingumabob from the National Thingamabob Corporation (NTC) for free in return for talking them up here in this video. I'm happy to do that, because I use NTC thingamabobs anyway and they really are terrific."
- "The National Thingamabob Corporation (NTC) gave me this thing for free to try out in return for talking them up here in this video. I've never used this brand of thingamabob before this build, and so far I'm really happy with it, so thanks, NTC."
- "If you're the sort of person who usually watches my videos, you're likely to also like this cool product from CoolProductCo. I use it, and my family and I all really enjoy it."
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Likely that is coming from her uncle... He builds kayaks and canoes, and has helped her with her builds.
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She has discussed her Boatal Tote sponsorship many times, though as @neil_w says, she also seems to be a genuine fan. Based on some of her older videos, it seems she may have come into woodworking from boating.
I'm not sure that every other product that's mentioned in a video is necessarily product placement though. If I videoed myself building and launching a rocket, many logos on boxes would appear, you'd see the labels of paints and epoxies I use, brand of case and/or motor, etc., and I've paid for it all, aside from a few things friends have given me.
I'd guess this was an actual L3 cert with NAR, and the paperwork aspects were left out of the video as being the least interesting parts. So far as I know though, NAR doesn't publish a certified member list so you'd need to know her NAR number to confirm. Several TRFers are FAR regulars so may chime in eventually. Joe Barnard and Andrew Adams - who both appeared in the video - are both L3s though so could have served as flyer of record, among many others I'm sure.
Nice rocket, nice flight, good video production. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. I enjoyed watching the video and think it represents rocketry in good light. Not sure I would have used that motor without talking to Cesaroni first though (maybe she did).
Edit to strike out bad info. She shows as NAR L2. However, it takes NAR a month or so to update certs.
I'm not sure that every other product that's mentioned in a video is necessarily product placement though. If I videoed myself building and launching a rocket, many logos on boxes would appear, you'd see the labels of paints and epoxies I use, brand of case and/or motor, etc., and I've paid for it all, aside from a few things friends have given me.
I'd guess this was an actual L3 cert with NAR, and the paperwork aspects were left out of the video as being the least interesting parts. S
Nice rocket, nice flight, good video production. Everyone seemed to be having a good time. I enjoyed watching the video and think it represents rocketry in good light. Not sure I would have used that motor without talking to Cesaroni first though (maybe she did).
Edit to strike out bad info. She shows as NAR L2. However, it takes NAR a month or so to update certs.
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Rschub
Well-Known Member
No-one asked me about my certs when I bought my level 2 attempt motor, put it in the cart and clicked buy. Just sayin...
The vendor may have looked you up by name.
On the other hand, I had a vendor ship me sparky G motors when I was still L0, so clearly the process isn't always followed. (I hadn't realized they were sparkies; could be the vendor didn't realize you need to be L1 to fly a sparky.)
NAR has completely different requirements for an L3. It’s a much faster process typically, based on my personal experience and observations, as it does not require nearly as much documentation as TRA. Since she is apparently a NAR member, it could have been an NAR L3 attempt launch. But my guess is she would have mentioned that.
But other than that, I have no knowledge of her activities. Just an observation.
Tony
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What!!!???? Talk to her directly? It's much more fun to be talking smack about her behind her back.
Besides, I watch youtube on my "smart" TV, where I cannot post comments nor subscribe, nor click the bell thingie they are always referencing. And I love when they point to a linked video that I can't see. They are just pointing into dead space. I only started doing this about 18 months ago, and never watched youtube before this so I'm still catching up on things like Amy from Vintage Space, who is always pointing to other videos. I hope her cat is doing well.
I will say this though, 18 months ago I started youtube and like the 3rd or 4th video I ever watched was the Wooden Rocket "Fifi", which was Xyla's L2, and I did enjoy that video although at the time I knew almost nothing about what she was doing. I recently re-watched it, and it's amazing how much more I understood after having done quite a bit in rocketry in just 18 months.
Sounds like it's not a very smart TV. On mine I can subscribe and check on channels I'm subscribed to. I'm not sure if I can "click the bell thingie." But beyond that, yeah, I have to switch over to a computer, or at least a phone.
