Hi! You're going to find a lot of changes if you haven't done rocketry for 30 years. Most of them are great!
If you haven't already seen it or heard about it,
OpenRocket is great fun and is absolutely free! Build a virtual rocket, insert a virtual motor, see how high it'll go, best delay time, top speed, speed off the rod/rail, etc. If you're building a kit you'll probably be able to find a file for it, there are files for hundreds of kits and even more for scratchbuilts.
The other biggie: It took eleven years, six figures before the decimal, and an appeal, but the GoodGuys won over the StinkyFaces. A few dozen pages of science- and evidence-based affidavits, plus a video (I think), prevailed over literally thousands of pages of blather and bluster in the court battle over APCP. Judge Walton (HERO!) ruled that BATFE had not demonstrated its claim that APCP was an exp***ive; had not been able to do so despite using
their own criteria... So federal permits, storage units, inspections, limitations on amounts, etc., etc. are no longer needed to purchase and store APCP rocket motors.
And a few other random items:
- Railbuttons for every rocket size; launch rails are far superior to rods IMHO.
- Chute releases (JLCR et al) lets you do dual-deploy recovery in single-deploy rockets; some do not need ematches or BP charges.
- Q-Jet composite motors are the same size as Estes (18x70mm) but in A thru D impulse; there are also 24mm Q-Jets in E and F impulse.
- Estes has BP motors in 29mm size; full E and baby F.
- Almost all APCP motors of G-impulse and lower can be shipped without hazmat fees! (very recent)
- Altimeters, flight computers, GPS transmitters and receivers, and kits for same. Eggtimer Quark kit will fit a BT50 (even a BT20 with minor modifications), does dual deploy, beeps out the altitude, all for under $25. Rocketeers are finding it practical to have an altimeter for every rocket. (Cris at Eggtimer just brought out a dual-deploy rocket kit that includes an altimeter designed for the rocket! Easy to build!)
- Mach1 rocketry has fiberglass tubing in the same sizes as Estes body tubes if you want to build a hard-to-destroy rocket. (I am a master at turning balsa&paper rockets back into kits, sorta
)
- In addition to regular single-use motors and reload kits, Aerotech has "Disposable Motors" with adjustable delays.
- Delays can be adjusted in most reload kits, too. Buy an H220-14 reload, drill the element to get any delay from about 4-13 seconds.
- All sorts of propellants to choose from; newer ones include Black Max, Warp9, Super Thunder, Propellant X, Metalstorm, Dark Matter....you got your black smoke, white smoke, blue or red flame w/o smoke, green flame with smoke, sparks, high impulse.... Warp9 burns so fast that you'll think the motor CATOed! Several more traditional propellants to choose from.
- Lots of model, mid-power, and high-power kits from multiple vendors.
- Wireless remote systems for launching anywhere from one to 64 rockets.
- Research rocketry is here: Tripoli L2's may make and fly their own APCP (or "sugar") motors at TRA launches.
I'm pretty sure I've missed a few dozen important items and a hundred less-critical ones. Have fun!
