The Thrifty Rocketeer

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... It's no secret that I will occasionally peruse the Facebook Marketplace looking for a bargain in Model Rockets. ( The Big Score ) You can sometimes find either a good value on a used rocket, an OOP rocket kit or maybe a pack of motors that aren't available anywhere else. Of course, as soon as I say this, there's immediately someone who pipes up and says, "You'd do better to buy a brand new kit from an existing distributor for confidence in the product."   Yeah, you're right.  But part of the appeal is the thrill of the hunt. ...And the thought that you're rescuing a rocket from obscurity or  investing in something that you don't mind if it goes  sideways or doesn't come back.  You have little invested in it. So, with that in mind, let me share with you something that I discovered just this week.  In order for your ad for a model rocket (or anything else, for that matter) to stand out, you need either a

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... I have commented before about how sometimes one hobby will overlap with another, and some of the tools from one will be used for another. Well, this is another one of those times. Recently, our Amateur Radio club held a group build during the warmer weather, outdoors on a picnic table at the county Red Cross chapter house.  This basically means that we borrowed their parking lot, worked at their picnic table, and used an extension cord to borrow a cup of electricity to power a soldering pencil or electric drill. I won't bore you with the details of what we were building or how many people were involved, except that it was a pleasant fall afternoon and we were done within a couple of hours, so that others could attend or watch the college football game. But one thing we asked club members to do, was purchase the supplies from the group leader, and to bring a few tools with them.  In most cases, the newer club members didn't have a solderi

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues.... Here's a really short tip, borrowed from another listing. Looking for a safe way to load some weight onto the tip of a small, tumble recovery rocket? Concerned about the piercing of something soft or vital by an errant rocket? Did you have a mother who wouldn't let you have a "Indian Bow and Arrow Set" back when you were a kid cause "You'll shoot your eye out?" Well, your worries are over with this $1.25 package of nosecones at Dollar General.   Note how buried inside this variety package of rubber tips is a green nosecone that bears the name and contact information for the original manufacturer.   "Greenbriar International"  It even features a toll-free phone number too!

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... If you've ever built low power kits, you're familiar with motor tubes, motor retaining hooks or clips, as well as how they are mounted and the function they serve. But let's review just a little. It's my understanding that the NAR (National Association of Rocketry) organization have a line in the safety code about not using metal parts.  This always confused me, because in every kit I've assembled, there's at least a metal spring (a motor retaining hook or clip) as well as a metal screw eye into the nosecone.  Now, that might not seem like much, but to my mind, those are definitely metal parts.   Perhaps I mis-understand the prohibition against metal parts, so let's move on. As I understand it, the metal spring motor retention clip is used specifically to keep the low power motor from kicking back and exiting the motor mount tube when the exhaust charge is blown or fired.  (Now, there ARE some very small gliders and s

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... Someone suggested this in another listing, and since it was available at Walmart, I thought I'd try it out. We're snowbound this weekend, and just as they lifted the snow emergency, I made a run for a few supplies. I had also checked this out on Walmart.com and found a larger one for a little more that could be ordered in, but then I found this on the shelf for under $5.50 It's basically just a mini hand sander with changeable grit sanding strips that adhere via Velcro. The small yellow mini sander has indents for your fingers to nestle, and a strip of black Velcro on the bottom.  This package, which sold for just $5.13 included four tear-off strips that fit the bottom, in 80, 120 and 220 grit.  They are color coded as well.  Oddly enough, though each level of grit is printed on the back, under the soft Velcro layer and easily readable, the printing runs horizontally, not vertically across the strips.  This means ONE of the four stri

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... So, several years ago, Estes introduced a new silver coated rocket to Hobby Lobby as part of their pro-line.  That is, I think that's where it was positioned.  I'm not sure, 'cause I never bought one.   I took a look at the silver foil body tube, and the plastic fins, and thought, "nope, not for me." I've since rethought that and come to regret my decision.  When I saw one fly in the bright sunshine and the highly reflective foil rocket,  I knew I wanted one. I began calling around the Hobby Lobby stores in my state, asking if they had one in stock.  No, not a one was to be had anywhere. I sighed and gave up, assuming that I would never have one. Until today. I was fiddling around and saw a couple of listings for old, used rockets, none of which were floating my boat.  But one had a silvery purple finish to it.  I sat up and took notice. It turns out it was a completely assembled "Majestic" that someone had cl

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... This is going to be a short one. When I first heard the expression "Launch Lug", I didn't know what they were talking about. It seemed to me that "Lug" was like "Lug Nut"...something that held your wheel on your car. When I figured it out, I thought "stand off" would be more appropriate term for the thing.  But then, I didn't name them. So when building my first few low power rockets, it occurred to me that the "launch lug" was nothing but a soda straw, like the ones we used to have as kids to drink out of our pop-bottles.  More recently, they were plastic straws that were packaged on the side of the juice boxes for the younger generation. But then I built a few larger mid-power rockets, and noticed that the 'launch lugs' were somewhat larger than before.  And I guess that made sense, because I had noticed that there were a variety of rod sizes at club rocket launches.  And there