So, I have been waiting to see how the chat was going and decided to weigh in.
I really think that nylon is better for shock cords than Kevlar.Oh, the other chat, I thought I would break my response into two parts, I will send my suggestions going forward as a separate post.
*Part 1, on the personal side,* BARPersonally, most of my projects live in the back or middle rows.It has been a long time since Payton and I did much in the front row. But that is how I got (re)started in the hobby.You all know the story, launched back in the day when you were a kid, got out of it, your own kid is born, pick up a Estes starter kit, not sure where to launch it rediscover the hobby with bigger projects..... And you are back in it.
*/What links you as a kid launching, and you WITH your kid launching, is the front row./*
Science and Space.Again going back to when I was a kid, I didn't come from a family that did projects like rockets.My friend Doug and I started doing rocket stuff on our own from kits we picked up at the small toy store by our house.His dad was an engineer and would help us out if we asked but most of what we learned was trial and error.
I remember having a failure of a rocket and asking Doug's dad questions, he never told us what to do, but would answer our questions to help us figure it out on your own, and sometimes we did figure it out, other times we just wanted to see what a hot wheels car would do on an A motor.Learned a lot, not just about rockets but about 'figuring things out'.This stuff was fun, including the figuring it out part.
Oh, turns out Hot Wheels don't track very well with a motor glued to the top, but we sure did try it a bunch more times because the failure was spectacular!
I have enjoyed helping out the TARC teams that have asked me for suggestions, wow these 'kids' are smart and I get a kick out of seeing how they 'figure it out'.
*/When people ask why did I decide to go to college for engineering? I think back to launching rockets and model planes when I was a kid. 40 years later I have a job where I get paid to 'figure things out'.How many of the kids that get introduced to rockets by ROC will be engineers in 2050?/*
ROCtober.Some of you have asked why did I get so involved with ROCtober?Here is the short story.Going up to ROC launches quickly became 'guy time for me and Payton' something we would look forward to, starting with a few Estes up to the bigger projects we have done.When he joined Cub Scouts, I started bringing up the kids to November ROCstock.I didn't really think about it, but 'our time' became other peoples time.So I figured if I dedicate my time for ROCtober to the groups, ROCstock goes back to being father and son time.
Not to say that I don't enjoy ROCtober but it hasn't ever been about 'me and the boy' flying rockets it has always been for me, my time to (fill in the cliché here) pay it forward, give back to the group, give back to the sport, volunteer time or whatever you call it.But ROCstock, that is my (and Payton's) time.
*/I wonder if that is how ROC should look at ROCtober vs. the rest of the year, ROCtober is giving back, but the rest of the year is mine.
/* /*Suggestions on groups, coming next*/ *//*
