The Thrifty Rocketeer

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... We've all done it. You're shopping in a hobby store, and looking at the rockets they have for sale, and one catches your eye.  Gee, that looks like a fun little kit. I could probably enjoy making that.  So you buy it. And before you can get to your build pile, you visit another hobby shop, and spot an interesting little kit. It looks like you could do it. So you buy that one. And when you get home, you discover that you now have TWO of the same rocket kit. Oh, I know, sometimes it's because someone gave you a gift, that you wind up with two.  Or perhaps one CATOs or crashes, and you want the fun of building that kit again. But this time, I did it to myself.  Bored on a Thursday evening, I popped over to HL just before closing.  The clerk caught up to me after I dashed in the door, just to remind me that they were closing soon, and spots me checking out what they've got on their wall. He's made an overture to me befor...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... Of the several rocketry clubs that I am affiliated with, one has successfully switched from an open farm field to a small, sleepy county airport when the landlord decided he didn't want to be a landlord any more. So, with some salesmanship and putting our best foot forward, we secured permission to launch alongside the runway at this small airport.   The price was right.  As a landlord, they didn't require any payment from us,  with assurances that we had permission from the FAA and would manage all NOTAMs and that we had insurance through the National Rocketry association, they accepted us. There was a small price to pay, however... As an aging group of pilots, the airport board of directors/volunteers are in need of new blood.  That is, they need volunteers to keep the airport going. As a result, they requested that our group volunteer at their major fundraisers each year.  This would be in the form of volunte...