Rediscovering the hobby now for the 3rd time.......
In the mid 60s when Gemini was winding down and Apollo was hitting it's stride, I got into model rockets. At the time, I got both the Centuri and Estes catalogs. Something about Centuri's rockets, and probably more that there was something I liked about the variety of their parts supplies tipped the balance in that direction. I carefully built and painted everything to a high standard. At least as high a standard as an 11 year old could. Being young and the pedal to the metal type (which I still am...), I only bought light rockets and usually used C6 motors. Which means I lost every one on the 1st or 2nd flight. Hmmm. Must be a lesson here somewhere. Lost interest when I discovered girls and cars.
Fast forward 25 years. My son was 10 or 11 years old and had an interest in rockets. So I dusted off my old launch equipment, and bought some kits, motors, and supplies at a local hobby shop. I had mellowed a bit, allowing myself to use B6 motors this time around. Took longer to lose the rockets this time. Had an Estes Mean Machine that had a D12 CATO. It's still standing in the corner of my office with a broken fin and a burned out motor mount. I just recently bought some supplies to attempt a repair. My son lost interest when he discovered girls and cars.
Which brings me to now, another 30 years later, and my 9 year old grandson who just got interested in rocketry. He has discovered cars, as he goes to watch my son race at Road Atlanta. But he's still young enough that girls have yet to distract him from rockets. So I have that going for me. He was here (Oregon) for a short visit, so I bought some RTF rockets including an Athena and Firehawk (almost RTF). Also, I decided that we needed a Grandpa rocket, so I bought a Mongoose for myself. As third time's the charm, I learned from previous experience that launching the Athena with an A8-3 would likely make possible another flight, and allow me to assess wind a couple hundred feet up. We had a few days of flying together. On the last day, he had been insisting on using a C6 in the Athena (where does he get those tendencies?) and I reluctantly agreed. It just barely stayed within the 800' square field we were in. Grandpa? Well, for the last flight of the day, I put a B6 in the Mongoose booster, and a C6 on top. Went up a bit crooked, likely from some previous crash damage. When we finally spotted it in the sky, it was floating to a grove of tall pine trees. Where it still rests, some 50 feet up.
This time around, I'll likely stick with it, as fast cars have gotten too expensive and I'm too slow to chase girls.
Hans.
In the mid 60s when Gemini was winding down and Apollo was hitting it's stride, I got into model rockets. At the time, I got both the Centuri and Estes catalogs. Something about Centuri's rockets, and probably more that there was something I liked about the variety of their parts supplies tipped the balance in that direction. I carefully built and painted everything to a high standard. At least as high a standard as an 11 year old could. Being young and the pedal to the metal type (which I still am...), I only bought light rockets and usually used C6 motors. Which means I lost every one on the 1st or 2nd flight. Hmmm. Must be a lesson here somewhere. Lost interest when I discovered girls and cars.
Fast forward 25 years. My son was 10 or 11 years old and had an interest in rockets. So I dusted off my old launch equipment, and bought some kits, motors, and supplies at a local hobby shop. I had mellowed a bit, allowing myself to use B6 motors this time around. Took longer to lose the rockets this time. Had an Estes Mean Machine that had a D12 CATO. It's still standing in the corner of my office with a broken fin and a burned out motor mount. I just recently bought some supplies to attempt a repair. My son lost interest when he discovered girls and cars.
Which brings me to now, another 30 years later, and my 9 year old grandson who just got interested in rocketry. He has discovered cars, as he goes to watch my son race at Road Atlanta. But he's still young enough that girls have yet to distract him from rockets. So I have that going for me. He was here (Oregon) for a short visit, so I bought some RTF rockets including an Athena and Firehawk (almost RTF). Also, I decided that we needed a Grandpa rocket, so I bought a Mongoose for myself. As third time's the charm, I learned from previous experience that launching the Athena with an A8-3 would likely make possible another flight, and allow me to assess wind a couple hundred feet up. We had a few days of flying together. On the last day, he had been insisting on using a C6 in the Athena (where does he get those tendencies?) and I reluctantly agreed. It just barely stayed within the 800' square field we were in. Grandpa? Well, for the last flight of the day, I put a B6 in the Mongoose booster, and a C6 on top. Went up a bit crooked, likely from some previous crash damage. When we finally spotted it in the sky, it was floating to a grove of tall pine trees. Where it still rests, some 50 feet up.
This time around, I'll likely stick with it, as fast cars have gotten too expensive and I'm too slow to chase girls.
Hans.