Model Rocketry

Started by Red Riley, October 02, 2025, 05:48:23 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

Dan Moffet and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Red Riley

I recently decided to open up the container of model rockets, tools, catalogs, plans, etc. that I've been dragging around with me through 23 years of Air Force assignments, a couple of different careers, 3 marriages and 20 years of retirement. I started the hobby at about ten or eleven years old (around 1969), and some of the stuff I still have is that old.
I'm having a great time relearning the skills and rebuilding my old fleet, along with starting some new ones.

PXL_20250804_211747199.jpgPXL_20250804_211812409.jpgPXL_20250818_202941437.jpgPXL_20250925_130845059.jpgPXL_20250924_020444737.jpgPXL_20250924_181105483.jpgPXL_20250827_193800218.jpgCherokee D launch.jpgAstron Falcon 0831250006.jpg

94touring

That's probably fun.  I remember when I was a kid out in the country, my best friend built a rocket. His dad and the 2 of us went out into the field for launch day. It went off as planned and kept going vertically until the 3 of us couldn't see it anymore. And we never did!  As kids we probably thought it went right into outter space.

MiniDave

It's cool that you live where there's a place to do this, do you belong to a club? Good photography catching them right as they lift off, they take off so fast!
Complete failure at retirement - but getting better!

1972 Mini Racing Green
1972 Mini ST hotrod
2017 Audi Allroad - Glacier White - His
2018 Audi Allroad - Floret Silver - Hers

MPlayle

I'm curious about how you are able to recover the plane shaped ones.

My understanding of the normal rocket ones: the launch, go basically straight up, pop a chute and float down.

The plane shaped ones appear to go up the same manner, but they would glide back down?  How do you track where they glide to for retrieval?


Red Riley

The plane shaped rockets are called boost gliders. You have to get them trimmed just right so they go up straight with the extra weight and thrust of the rocket motor, then the motor ejects and they glide back down. It's not going to go high enough to get lost if you keep an eye on it.

ADRay

fun. reminds me of the school project when we made them out of cardboard and non were successful.

Gotta have an easy hobby when owning a Mini. I returned to RC cars again while my Mini was off the road. And they recently rereleased this:
1982 Mini 1000 HL
@andyray998

ve9aa

Mike in NB

30 minutes in a Mini is more therapeutic than 3 sessions at the shrink.