Estes model rockets... anyone still fly these things?

nedc wrote: I had the coolest rocket ever when i was 12-13. It was all aluminum and was powered by FREON! Back when a can cost about a quarter.You'd fill it until it vented out of a vent at the top of the fuselage. Had little 'fingers' that gripped the nosecone/parachute section that released their grip when the fuselage depressurized from running out of Freon. I even remember the company- Vashon Enterprises in Washington state. Took it to school and some a$$hole stole it...

Estes actually sold Vashon rockets for a minute in the mid-70s.

http://www.videorocketry.com/Vashon/vashon.html

Because nothing says "I care about the environment" like venting ozone-depleting chemicals directly into the atmosphere at the highest possible altitude.

Well...but that was before there was an environment way up there...

My dad scratch-built a rocket powered glider that he let me use once in junior high school. Lost it on the first flight. Never forgave myself after the look on his face.... Thanks for bringing back that memory. You might as well have given me a paper cut and poured lemon juice on it....

fast_eddie_72 wrote: My son and I love them. We built one as small as we could and still get it stable with a D Engine. It really does go darn high! I didn't even realize they have E Engines now! We would have done that if we'd known.

There are F and G motors too, which you can fly without certification. Through the TRA or NAR (or local equivalents outside the US), you can be certified to fly H, I, J, K, L, M, etc. motors. I'm not sure exactly how big the high-power motors have gotten, but I think the high-power altitude records are over 10 km now.

could be wrong, but I thought the tripoli guys had sent one above the 60 mile mark in their attempt to have a amature rocket reach space

I think the amatuer record is up to 77 miles now. Amatuers

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3f4Kml9dumI

Yes, the amateur record now extends into (internationally recognized) space, and it was over 50 miles by the mid-1990s. Those are all very large custom boosters, though, and launched under special conditions at remote sites. Still very cool stuff.

I was talking about commercial off-the-shelf hobby motors like you see launched at normal High Power meets. Those aren't nearly as powerful as the space-capable rocket in the film, but they can still break 10 km (1/10 of the way to space) in the right rocket.

Duke wrote: Because nothing says "I care about the environment" like venting ozone-depleting chemicals directly into the atmosphere at the highest possible altitude.

Eh, the reason the damn Vashon "Cold Power" things never caught on was because an Alpha on a B could kick its ass.

OTOH..I never saw anyone flying the things having to get it out of a tree, or having to chase it for damn near an entire kilometer because the parachute caught a thermal..