[roc-chat] Re: High Desert Rocketeers
- From: Mike Riss <rockt_dude@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: roc-chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Wed, 17 Oct 2012 14:37:15 -0700 (PDT)
Coffee family,
I have no specific recommendations for a particular kit, as there are many that
will work for what you want, and likely you will end up with several in your
fleet :-) However, there are a couple of generalizations that I'd like to
offer:
1) Consider your budget and near-term plans, as the depth and breadth of what's
available can quickly become overwhelming (either, "Man, I can't decide what I
want", or "Man, I want one of everything!").
2) Pick something that appeals to you. For example, one of my first larger
rockets was a V2, which I fell in love with when I built a small one for extra
credit on a high-school history paper on WWII. Whether it's the shape, size,
or something you can't quite put your finger on, it's just like your first car,
a memory that will stick with you for the rest of your life. However, if your
favorite is something like a Saturn V, maybe make it your second or third
purchase ;-)
3) Propulsion is just as important as the vehicle. If you're looking at
reloadable motors instead of single use, consider one of the adapter systems.
They allow use of a "smaller-sized" reload in a larger case. In other words,
you only need one casing as opposed to several. It's a little more $$$ up
front, but pays for itself pretty quickly. You'll enjoy the versatility it
allows as your fleet expands.
4) Sometimes it's hard to get out to the lakebed early enough to help with
setup ;-) But, if you can stick around after the launch, consider tear-down.
I find it a little easier to get used to the equipment seeing it already set
up, plus it's a good time to talk and ask questions about any and all things
rocketry-related, as well as to get to know other people in the club. Also,
consider helping out during the launch as either Pad Manager, or as a spotter
for the LCO. As PM, you get to see a lot of people and rockets, which can help
you with ideas on the direction(s) you want to head in the hobby.
Mike
P.S. In addition to the links that Chris K. provided in another post, there's
another group that flies somewhat close to you (near Mojave), MDARS:
www.mdars.info
They have a launch coming up on the 27th. If you're free, you might want to
check it out for a way to get "face-to-face" before ROCStock with some people
kind-of in your area that may have leads on local rocketry resources.
--- On Tue, 10/16/12, rtd@xxxxxxxxxxxx <rtd@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> From: rtd@xxxxxxxxxxxx <rtd@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Subject: [roc-chat] Re: High Desert Rocketeers
> To: roc-chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Date: Tuesday, October 16, 2012, 3:44 PM
> Welcome aboard, Chris!
>
> I'm glad to see that you got signed up OK to ROC-Chat.
> I'm sure we've got folks up in the high desert area who
> would be able to help you in-person, and I know that we've
> got a ton of folks who'd also be happy to help you out right
> here, online, in any way that we can (myself included).
>
> When I talked to Chris on the phone earlier today, he
> mentioned that he was contemplating the purchase of an
> Aerotech Initiator kit as his first foray into
> mid-power. I let him know that it's a great little
> flyer, and hard to go wrong with, but I suspect that just
> about everyone here probably has a favorite "getting your
> feet wet" rocket kit to suggest, and I'm curious to see what
> everyone suggests.
>
> I'll keep my mouth (mostly) shut, for now, to see what
> develops....
>
> Cheers,
>
> Rick Dickinson
> ROC President
>
>
>
>
> On 2012-10-16 15:35, Chris Coffee wrote:
> > Hello,
> >
> > We are the Coffee family. We are interested in getting
> into the hobby
> > of rocketry on a little higher level than what we have
> been doing thus
> > far. We have only been using the Estes model rockets
> found at Wal-Mart
> > and other retailers, but would like to move into
> something a little
> > bit bigger. We live in the city of Barstow and would
> love to find
> > someone in the High Desert area that would be willing
> to meet with us
> > and spend some time discussing the different aspects of
> the hobby and
> > guide us on our way to bigger and better launches. We
> will be joining
> > ROC next month as Executive Members and are hoping to
> be able to
> > launch at the ROCStock event. However, that will all
> depend on the
> > outcome of this post and if we find someone to help
> us.
> >
> > If you or someone you know is willing to give us a
> hand, please
> > contact Chris at 760-985-7075, or Samantha at
> 760-985-7735, or April
> > at 760-985-2181. Thank you in advance.
> >
> > Chris Coffee
>
>
> -- ROC-Chat mailing list
> roc-chat@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> //www.freelists.org/list/roc-chat
>
>
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