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...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... Well just tonight, after receiving some bad news, I was on-line with an older Rocketeer.  It was a zoom call and I could see the rocket kit he was working on. Something about the lines looked familiar, and I swear that I have seen or handled one of the support parts in my hand, though I swear I have never ordered nor possessed the kit.  There's just something about that kit that bugs me. Now, I suspect that I have written about this in the past, so I'm likely to be covering familiar ground here. It was a Jihad rocket kit, produced by Semroc, and part of at least three "goonies" that were made tongue-in-cheek, with a heavy dose of sarcasm. The one that I DID have and built, was a Kamikaze goonie, complete with a Japanese pilot decal and a rising sun flag for the fins.  I thought it might be in a little bad taste when I bought it, but it was nothing compared to the Jihad. Now the Jihad looks a lot like my Japanese version, excep...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... We've all done it... Asked to borrow something from another at a club launch site... Perhaps the term "Moocher" is too strong, as it definitely has a negative connotation to it. However, the situation at the launch site often dictates that you sometimes need to borrow something to accomplish your task...ready to launch. One of my first experiences was when I had a friction fit motor inserted in a rocket and found that after launch, it had scooted too far up into the body tube... I could not reach it, and could not extract it. I was stumped...and so I turned and asked a more experienced rocketeer what he suggested. We have a name for this type of advisor in Amateur Radio... he's an "Elmer".  It's an affectionate term for a senior advisor or kindly experienced senior member who teaches or instructs those below him.   And I think the term works here as well. He turned and rummaged around in his tackle box for a few m...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues.... A couple of Star Trek topics for this week's topics. First, I was saddened to learn of the passing of Nichelle Nichols, the actress that originally portrayed "Lt. Ohura" on the original Star Trek series.  She was a pioneer in so many ways, and also became a great spokeswoman/recruiter for NASA in her later years.  She will be missed. And that's as a good a jumping off point for my next topic as any. Perhaps you have already noticed that Estes has adopted a new typeface or font for all packaging.  I first saw this modern slanted font on packages of D12-5  when they started stocking them at HL a year or so ago. While I love the modern look to the font, I have to state for the record that I hate with a passion the fact that they are using them for motor blister packs...specifically the 5.  To my eye, the 5 looks like an S. Oh, I know what you're going to say....that anyone familiar with motors will immediately know tha...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... We've all done it before... rushing a little too fast... or forgetting to double check... Suddenly we step back and realize that we've assembled that rocket kit wrong! Now, it's not that we don't understand how kits go together, but sometimes, you're just not thinking it all the way through and see the error before you make it. It seems like there's always been a practice of posting a picture on line and asking "Can you spot what I did wrong?" Usually, it's fairly obvious, and most of us have been there. But there's a new wrinkle that seems to have reared its head recently. All too often, it's that we've glued a fin onto a body tube along the wrong edge.  That is, the proper edge is termed the "root edge", and it usually involves the wood grain running perpendicular to the root edge. If you glue along the wrong edge, specifically along the wood grain, your fine is not strong in the righ...

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues... So this entry is going to concentrate on "da Leaper". No, not the 'Evil Leaper' from "Quantum Leap" fame.... this is the MARS LEAPER, from Estes. Let me apologize to Estes right up front for this, cause no one likes to see their product in a bad light, but I want to share my impressions and explain how I came to this. You see, it all started with my regular semi-weekly trip to our nearby HL (do I really need to hide their identity from y'all?)... where I regularly check the Rocketry sales area, as well as a stroll to the back corner of the store for "clearance" items.  Sometimes, I spot a bargain, but usually, I just glance at what's there and try to imagine how I could use them in some other manner. But today, I spotted no less than three Estes products setting in a row on the Clearance shelf. There were THREE Mars Leapers new in the box.   I glanced at them, and determined rather quickly that this ...