The Thrifty Rocketeer

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... It should be obvious by now that I'm a low-power kinda guy who is straying into mid-power, but not very experienced with high power. Now, recently, there's been a fad to build upscale Der Red Max and Estes has responded with a kit called Der BIG Red Max.  When the price fell on a special sale to what I could afford, I pulled the trigger and got one for $29 plus tax. Almost immediately, I was advised that there is/was an upgrade kit to buy plywood centering rings and plywood fins to improve the rocket to accept higher power motors. Note that the original kit specifies E16-5 or F14-5 motors.   I weighed the value and decided to invest the $20 that I had saved for the upgrades.   Now, I had also invested in some BSI two part epoxy that cures in 30 minutes, so I could make higher power rockets.  This cost me some $15 as well. So, when things got slow, and the launch season was about to start, I had all I needed to b...

 The Thirfty Rocketeer blog continues... A fellow Rocketeer learned that I was building a up-sized Der BIG Red Max the other day. I had bought it on a sale from a regional rocket supplier and decided to upgrade it with plywood fins and centering rings to allow more powerful motors someday. But this has opened up an interesting can of worms that I thought I might share. Now remember, I bought the licensed kit produced by Estes new in the box, PLUS a separate baggie that holds replacement 1/8" plywood fins and centering rings.  I am not reselling nor producing anything other than my personal rocket with these materials. So, my friend, who is preparing to build his Level 3 rocket from scratch, asks me if I could give him the measurement of the nosecone for him.  No problem.  It is 12.5" long, and fits into a 3" body tube. As it's hard to find balsa wood, I figure he's either going to turn his own nosecone on a lathe, or order a nosecone of the same dimensions.  Eit...

 The Thirfty Rocketeer blog continues...   My very first rocket ever built was the Freedom III, which was a skill level 2 rocket without much sophistication. In fact, the clerk tried to talk me out of it, as I was an adult with some wood working skills. But I remember being SO SLOW and CAREFUL as I built it, as I had no idea what I was doing, nor how it could go wrong. (In fact, the things that DID go wrong were as a result of  my choice of the wrong glue, --not the fault of the kit.) Now, I recall being amazed that the punch-out centering rings would fit so smoothly, so securely into the body tube, that I was surprised to see the rocket coming together.  Later on, it dawned upon me that EVERY rocket must have some form of centering rings and that it would be a common design element. I recently purchased a box of Big Red Max, the up-sized version of the classic Der Red Max. Everyone I spoke with urged that if you were going to use larger/stronger motors, you HAD t...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues...   I don't know if you've seen it, but there's a posting on Facebook that has introduced another challenge for Rocketeers that are tempted.  Recently, Hobby Lobby has put a lot of their rockets on reduced price, including a 12-rocket bulk pack.   It's dropped from $29.99 down to $11.99 or roughly 40% of value.  Now, I'm not familiar with the Viking , but I understand that it's a simple build and this bulk pack is appropriate for cub scouts, school class, or similar first-rocket experience where everyone builds their own rocket, but then decorates it to taste.  The experience is usually capped off by a launch in the school yard or something similar. But in this instance, an experienced rocketeer has suggested that those who can find a bulk pack answer the question... "What could you design and build that utilizes ALL tubes and parts from ALL 12 bulk packs AT ONCE?" The idea is that you build and design your own...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned an interesting set of videos on YouTube by Inverted Pursuits Lab , and they have continued to post short, to the point videos.  Recently, I saw one that demonstrated two versions of a simple rocket rack for mid-to-higher power rockets to set on your work bench. Now, I haven't build any mid-power rockets yet t hat required a cradle, but it seems to be a common thing in most rocketeer's workshops, so I thought I might invest in it.  See what you think. I looked at his design, and decided I could combine the two into something that took advantage of both designs.  But first, let me describe the rack in the event my camera craps out on me again... The cradle is basically two X-crosses of six inch 3/4" PVC pipe, joined by a 4-way connector. This connector is easily the most expensive of the parts, at almost $3 each.  Each blunt exposed end of the PVC is capped by a 3/4" cap, which you may fee...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... As you may have already heard, there's a world wide shortage of Balsa wood available. One reason for this is the proliferation of wind generators and their need for blades.  At least, that's the rumor. But for whatever reason, the supply of balsa wood products has dried up, and many model rocket manufacturers have turned to blown plastic nosecones and fin cans, etc. As a result, I have been on a campaign to save my balsa scraps and flashing from laser cut fins. And I always urge others to do the same. You can sometimes fix or replace a broken fin or strut for a low power rocket from these salvaged parts. However, if you have land in the deep south...and by that, I mean REALLY far South... like Central America or South America,  you could consider an investment in balsa wood trees. Now, I know it's not very likely for you to plant a plantation and harvest a forest, and find a saw mill to plane some wood and ship it back to the USA.....