I did a bit of model rocketry back in the late '90s starting at 13. Last week I had a 40% of coupon for Michaels and ended up with a new launch set for $16. Now she is full assembled and I plan to send it up in the morning.
That said, now being twice as old and more mature, I want to get back into it at a new level. Maybe new rockets from scratch, rather than kits.
Any advice or stories from other oversized children still playing with these?
Did it when I was younger and recently got a rocket as a gift. One thing that was a bit disappointing was the current selection of rockets. Almost all the rockets now are "modern" plastic style. None of the cool wacky ones they used to have. I think there are only 2 Estes rockets that are based on real rockets and one is a huge Saturn 5 model.
I really wanted to build the V2 I had back in the day, but that one is long gone, and would be pretty hard to recreate. Building your own is a great idea. There really is not much to them anyway and you can get a kit of parts. The most useful part is probably the nose cone, which would be hard to build from scratch.
Also, if the launcher does not work, like ours did, you can use your car battery to fire the ignitor,
My only advice is tape lego wheels to the rocket to make it into a rocket car. Then stand behind something solid. My 14 yr old self just about took a rocket to the face because he was not standing behind anything. It sure was pretty sweet though 
Our cool shop teacher gave us a project to complete the school year: build your own model rocket from scratch. Only one piece of raw material (other than the rocket engine) was required: it had to be made from an empty toilet paper roll. We made the nose cone and 'fins' out of balsa. That was a fun project; I never had messed with rockets before and my "TP-1" actually flew the hightest of the class. 
I've launched several with my boys and plan to launch some more very soon. Years ago I had a successful flight with a totally scratch-built rocket made from a paper towel tube. Fins can be made from laminated cereal box cardboard. I used a carefully rolled and taped piece of heavy cardstock for the nose cone. Surprisingly, it flew nice and straight.
Advice? Unless you've got a very large, treeless launch area, a little wind is too much. I've lost many a rocket to strong breezes aloft. For this reason, I almost always use a streamer in lieu of a parachute. Better a rocket that sustains light damage from a too-fast landing than a rocket that is never seen again. 
In reply to neon4891:
If you want to step it up a bit look into high powered model rocketry. The sky's litterally the limit with them. If you're not familiar with them got to youtube and check out some of the videos. Another interresting niche is water rocketry using large plastic drink bottles pressurized to outrageous levels and partially filled with a mixture of water and soap to create a foam. Some guys have bound the bottles with carbon fiber and pressurized them enough to reach amazing altitudes. Even recovery systems that function well are being used.
1988RedT2 wrote: Advice? Unless you've got a very large, treeless launch area, a little wind is too much. I've lost many a rocket to strong breezes aloft. For this reason, I almost always use a streamer in lieu of a parachute. Better a rocket that sustains light damage from a too-fast landing than a rocket that is never seen again.
^^This! I've also attached small cameras made specifically for rockets, but alas, lost the rockets
When I lived in the Wichita area, I got back into rocketry at the high power end of things. Lots of legal issues with BATF at the time, but I belive those are past. We had a 30,000 foot waiver from the FAA at our Argonia launch site.
High power rocketry is definitely a case of anything worth doing is worth overdoing. Much like some Top Gear episodes, success or failure, it's going to be spectacular either way.
Personal best was running a 54mm K size motor in a 4 inch airframe with dual electronic parachute deployment -- did about .86 Mach and 6600 feet.
At that I was a real piker. I remember seeing a launch of what I recall was a P motor that went to 29,000 feet. Other rockets push well in excess of Mach 2.2.
Here's a link to some photos that a little google-fu turned up: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jurvetson/with/253409227/
In reply to Karacticus:
Yeah, I'm too cheap to engage in that activity. I cringe when I see what a 3-pack of C6-5 engines is selling for these days.
http://www.tripoli.org/
You can even go to hybrid rockets and all the associated ground equipment if you're looking for an alternate use for any oxygen and nitrous bottles you just might have lying around...
This morning was perfect conditions, clear and ZERO wind. Sent it up on it's first flight with an A engine. It flew strait and the small 12" 'chute brought it down at a nice pace, 20' from the launch pad.
The only down side of launching at home is my clear area is only 150' wide.
Also, material recommendations for home made streamers, please.
+1 on the no wind thing. We've lost 2 or 3 over the past 2 years because of a very light breeze. There may be almost no wind at ground level, but 800+ feet up is a different story. As tempting as it is, unless you have an open field that's hundreds of acres don't go with the biggest motor that'll fit. Go with a B motor, or even an A for first launch. We've never had a rocket come down within 300' of where it was launched.
EDIT: Just saw your post. Very cool, and very lucky it landed so close to you. As for the streamer, really anything that's pretty flexible and not ultra flamible will work. Just make sure it's bright color, so you can see it. Most hobby stores sell the streamers pre-made and they're cheap.
thatsnowinnebago wrote: My only advice is tape lego wheels to the rocket to make it into a rocket car. Then stand behind something solid. My 14 yr old self just about took a rocket to the face because he was not standing behind anything. It sure was pretty sweet though
That is a direct violation of the rocketry ethics code included with Estes rocket engines!
I got into them for the first time, as an adult, about ten years ago. I don't know a ton about them, but I will offer this: Rockets with parachutes are quickly lost to trees. Also, a hot glue gun makes assembly much faster, but rocket motors get even hotter, the glue melts and they fall apart during their maiden voyage. Eventually, I stopped spending huge amounts of time building nice ones and just bought cheap drones and spray painted them florescent orange so I could see them in the air and find them when they come back down.
I have a friend who's into really big stuff: five feet tall and four inch diameter. He can't even launch them in this state. He goes to a place in New York and has to get FAA clearance to fire them.
I'll tell you the following:
Going up and down is fun, but it will boring, especially for a car guy.
-Rockets don't like tape. If you tape a rocket engine to a sled, it will break the tape.
-Rocket engines will not ignite when you stand behind them with a can of hair spray and a lighter in lieu of an igniter. It will, however, melt the back of the plastic toy truck that it's "mounted" to.
-Rocket engines shouldn't be launched without any actual rocket - your Mom will be pissed when she sees the broken bedroom window.
-Rockets wedged into the back of a roller skate work, but not that well. Roller skates are heavy.
-If you specifically make a rocket car out of R/C airplane wheels and Luan plywood, it will get stuck in a tree after launch.
-Building toys like Construx or Erector sets make fantastic rocket cars
I hope that helps.
Re the streamers, I've actually used crepe-paper party streamers well-taped to the shock cord. If you use the non-flammable wadding that Estes sells, it should sustain but minimal damage. Don't expect it to last forever though.
In reply to Woody:
Ah yes, orange hi-viz paint, that will be the go to for future builds.
Klayfish wrote: +1 on the no wind thing. We've lost 2 or 3 over the past 2 years because of a very light breeze. There may be almost no wind at ground level, but 800+ feet up is a different story. As tempting as it is, unless you have an open field that's hundreds of acres don't go with the biggest motor that'll fit. Go with a B motor, or even an A for first launch. We've never had a rocket come down within 300' of where it was launched. EDIT: Just saw your post. Very cool, and very lucky it landed so close to you. As for the streamer, really anything that's pretty flexible and not ultra flamible will work. Just make sure it's bright color, so you can see it. Most hobby stores sell the streamers pre-made and they're cheap.
Shoot. Where's the fun in that!? We'd launch ours off our 1/4 acre lot in a neighborhood in Florida. Sure you and all the other kids in the neighborhood had to spend the next couple hours looking for it, but that was part of the fun!!! We'd try to have the thing land on somebody else's house in the neighborhood, so you could call your buddy 1/8 - 1/4 mile and countdown the launch, then everybody hopped on their bikes and started trucking, trying to watch the for the chute.
Ever launch one and then ride your bike 1/4 mile, swim across an Alligator infested river and climb a 30' tree to retrieve your rocket?
Ahhhh to be young and retarded.
And of course, don't ever, ever, pack a payload rocket with gunpowder. Especially not when you're in your 30's. You should know better. 
poopshovel wrote: Shoot. Where's the fun in that!? We'd launch ours off our 1/4 acre lot in a neighborhood in Florida. Sure you and all the other kids in the neighborhood had to spend the next couple hours looking for it, but that was part of the fun!!! We'd try to have the thing land on somebody else's house in the neighborhood, so you could call your buddy 1/8 - 1/4 mile and countdown the launch, then everybody hopped on their bikes and started trucking, trying to watch the for the chute. Ever launch one and then ride your bike 1/4 mile, swim across an Alligator infested river and climb a 30' tree to retrieve your rocket? Ahhhh to be young and retarded.
Yep, that's fun when you're a kid. We did the same thing when I was a teenager. But when you're almost 40 and spending 2 hours searching for a rocket because your 7 year old wants you to, it loses some of its' charm. 
poopshovel wrote: And of course, don't ever, ever, pack a payload rocket with gunpowder. Especially not when you're in your 30's. You should know better.
I always wanted to do that. Fortunately I never had easy access to gunpowder.
Using one of the micro keychain cameras might be a fun thing to mess with also. I have one, I might have to give it a shot.
BTW - A pack of C-6-5's is about $10. Funny how I remember that number so well. It was the "big" motor when I was doing it. Now days they sell D motors at the hobby stores.
Klayfish wrote:poopshovel wrote: Shoot. Where's the fun in that!? We'd launch ours off our 1/4 acre lot in a neighborhood in Florida. Sure you and all the other kids in the neighborhood had to spend the next couple hours looking for it, but that was part of the fun!!! We'd try to have the thing land on somebody else's house in the neighborhood, so you could call your buddy 1/8 - 1/4 mile and countdown the launch, then everybody hopped on their bikes and started trucking, trying to watch the for the chute. Ever launch one and then ride your bike 1/4 mile, swim across an Alligator infested river and climb a 30' tree to retrieve your rocket? Ahhhh to be young and retarded.Yep, that's fun when you're a kid. We did the same thing when I was a teenager. But when you're almost 40 and spending 2 hours searching for a rocket because your 7 year old wants you to, it loses some of its' charm.
Put kid on bike. Crack beers. Watch Football. Launch. Repeat.
This might help with recoveries:
In reply to poopshovel:
I have heard that a condom full of acetylene and oxygen, between the motor and nosecone, is also a poor idea , in populated areas.
pilotbraden wrote: In reply to poopshovel: I have heard that a condom full of acetylene and oxygen, between the motor and nosecone, is also a poor idea , in populated areas.
Do you have to use a condom?
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