Quarentine Update: Card Stock

The Thrity Rocketeer blog continues....

It's been a while since I've added a posting.  No doubt you've heard about a little thing called Covid-19, so I won't go into that here.

However, while quarantined, many of us have been building rockets or organizing or painting... getting ready.

And it occurs to me to share a tip that you may find quite helpful in the field.

If you're like me, you've got more than a dozen rockets now, and the memory fades on which rocket takes which motor.  Was that a D12-3, D12-5, or D12-7 in that High-Flier rocket you completed last month?

There are several ways to deal with this:
  1. Some rocketeers write the most common value of motor to be used on the inside lip of the nosecone.  But this also gets in the way of printing contact info on the nosecone for later return...(A variation of this is to print it in sharpie marker on one of the fins, but it's always visible.)  
  2. Some keep a small notebook with all the pertinent data on the rocket including motors used or recommended... best flight....first flight... last flight, etc.  Some use their phone or computer.
  3. Some keep a massive notebook with the instruction sheets for each rocket built filed alphabetic or in order of construction.  This can become clumsy out in the field, and puts the plans at risk if you ever want to refer back to them or share them with someone else.
  4. My favorite was when Estes was producing a corner 'trading card' with a small picture of the rocket along with the recommended motors for first flight, and subsequent flights.  Kids were to cut the card out and put it in their wallet.  Soon, the wallet becomes overloaded...
So, my son came up with a simple solution. He donated a small notebook that is nothing but clear vinyl pages with pouches for trading cards. Originally, these were for Poke-E-Mon cards, but he's out-grown that, so the small album notebook was sitting unused.  The clear plastic pouches are perfect for holding those Estes cards in one convenient place, easily transported out to the launch

The problem became that Estes redesigned, and no long prints those "trading card" summaries in the lower or upper corner of their box or card stock.  In fact, many of the  packages now use just a thin cellophane envelope with black printing to hold hold the kit, and a printed full color card showcases what's inside with all information. It's a perfect pegboard hanger package and works for Hobby Lobby sales.

But we've lost the trading card feature....  not quite.

I have found that somewhere on each stock card, there is fine print that lists the first-use motor recommendation, and usually two other rocket motors that will also work with this model.  The location varies but it's always there someplace. More prominent is the expected height of the flights.

I have found that the standard credit card, debit card or store gift card is almost exactly the same size as a box corner "trading card".   So it is easy to lay  a hard plastic credit card over the card stock and trace out the shape of the trading card with a pencil or fine tip ballpoint pen.

Then, it's an easy step to simple cut out the shape once you're finished with the kit or card stock, and file the card away in that convenient small notebook your son gave you.  Presto, all the info is once again in the same place and easily transported.
Stock card with template removed

Only twice have I found that by tracing over the recommended motors, and cutting the shape out, that I had no clue what the name of the rocket was. (That's easily solved by writing the name on the back of the card in ballpoint or Sharpie marker.)

But if you're careful and creative, I have found that usually you can position the credit card in such a way that you include either a portion of the body tube image, the rocket name, or something else that will distinguish which rocket this data goes with.


I've scanned three examples for you here in the blog to illustrate.  Unfortunately, I cut two of them out  before I even thought to scan and show you my technique.

What tricks have you developed to deal with this problem of tracking the launch motor data?  Is there a better, SIMPLE system?   Please add a comment and let me know your thoughts.

Until next time, keep your glue caped and save your balsa scraps!

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