20 Items for your Range Box

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues...


Recently, we conducted a poll of Facebook members asking what items would you

tell a new rocketeer they need in their Range Box/Jump Kit/Tackle Box? The

following is a list of the first 20 items in no particular order. See if you

agree:

1.Spare parachutes-- every low power rocket eventually melts or rips a chute

2.Clothes pins-- great for a temporary clamp while gluing; also used on launch rods

to keep the rocket elevated off the blast shield

3. Hobby Knife-- razor sharp, this cutting tool performs a host of services from

slicing Kevlar cord to slicing balsa wood


4. Spare Swivels-- these fishing tackle devices can help repair a chute or connect


5.Spare Igniters-- sometimes they just won't start, and you need a replacement


6.Masking Tape-- great for a wrap around a motor to snug up a friction fit

or to be used to mask off an area to be painted... or not.


7.Scotch Tape-- especially 3M Magic Mending Tape, used to CHAD stage a booster onto

the end of a main stage rocket motor. The heat melts the tape & it falls away.


8.Baby Powder-- a great way to powder your chute so it won't stick together as much


9.Wadding Tissue-- if you don't have dog barf to protect your chute, you need these


10.Super Glue-- great for those last minute repairs where you can hold it til cured.


11.Ignition batteries-- everyone's batteries go dead on you sometimes. Fresh pack!


12.Needle Nose Pliers-- great for tight spot rescues, compression or winding wire.


13.Nail clippers-- poor man's side-cutters to clip wires, string or start a cut.


14.Emory Board-- poor man's sandpaper strip on a popsicle stick. Very handy tool.


15.Engine Adaptors-- Those cardboard spacers that all a weaker motor to be used instead.


16.Launch Lug/Soda straws-- those paper straws from juice boxes or milk cartoons can be a

lifesaver when you forgot to glue on your kit's launch lug. Cut to size.


17.Awl-- great for poking holes through plastic chutes, etc.


18.Wooden dowel-- great for poking a spent motor you can't reach out of a body tube.


19.Popsicle sticks-- great for spreading glue, reinforcing a repair, etc. 


20.Baby Wipes-- again with the clean up, after a sooty launch or handling things


So there you have it. The first 20 items most rocketeers would tell a newbie to carry in their tackle box.  Of course, there's an infinite list of things we would like...from a complete launch pad, to extra black powder, to a multi-meter... but remember, this was for an entry-level kid who doesn't have room, resources or knowledge of why they might need those additional items yet.

Maybe we'll ask another poll again soon, and get some additional five or ten items that weren't mentioned.... like "Dog Barf".

This has been the Thrifty Rocketeer saying, "Don't forget to pack your spare motors!"

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