Here are the G. family entries for the rocket launch:
Rockets!
Interestingly enough, we got all of them back except the littlest one. The discerning rocketeer will recognize the Estes model rocket "Mosquito" as the diminutive model; it employs a ½A mini-engine with "tumble" recovery (basically, it's so light that it tumbles back to earth with no parachute or streamer to slow it down and lands intact). The other three are the "Wizard" rocket, a simple three-finned A/B/C engine design perfect for budding young physicists.
Several of the Scout parents came up to me after the launch and thanked me, letting me know that this was the first time they'd ever seen a model rocket launch. Now, I'd been launching rockets (both authorized and, well, not-so-authorized) since I was just a few years older than TheBoy. I was utterly fascinated by the Space Program - remember, I came of age with the Space Shuttle in its various incarnations as well as having been a young child as the Apollo program finished its run. Robert Goddard occupied a place in my heart that most other boys filled with sports legends. The first chance I got to build and launch my own rocket was pure magic.
And now I get to share that magic with my Cub Scouts. Model rocketry offers just about everything a young man could ask for: there's the challenge of putting together a model, with ever-increasing complexity as well as kits to build your own creations entirely; there's lessons in physics, with thrust, altitude calculations, and the effects of wind velocity on landings; and lastly - and not inconsequentially, you're basically using a concentrated explosive to launch a missile hundreds of feet in the air. And it's educational, so you can guilt mom and dad into buying you more equipment!
Next year, though, I'm building a Big Bertha to launch...
That is all.
15 comments:
Oh Yeah!, I think my boy's rocket is still stuck in the high school roof. Rocket was authorized, lauch site was another matter. +1 to the Big Bertha!
My favorites were always the two or three stage rockets...but they always tended to go high enough to get caught in low-altitude sheers, and drift off enough to be lost.
Heck with the Big Bertha, Jay - get an Astron Scrambler or even (drumroll) a Saturn V. Now, THAT's a sight to see lifting off!
I'm an old fan of the Estes series from way back. Earned my geek badge in the 60's putting a whole bunch of rockets in the air. I launched the Mosquito, Sprite, Astro, Shuttle, and even Big Bertha.
Of course, after a failed chute extraction, BB took on the trajectory of a spear and made landfall in the field. Was still able to extract her and put her back up in the air (minus a few inches of tube).
The small rockets are fun - the neck-snapping acceleration is always cool to watch - but I have a special place in my heart for the big ones. A large two-stage on C motors always looks good, or a plain old BIG single. I had a "Mean Machine" that only got launched a handful of times, and seeing the huge thing slowly lift was awesome.
It may be a good thing I got out of rockets - high power rocketry costs about as much as guns do. (Twenty-plus bucks for a single motor...)
My favorite rocket is a mock-up of an SR-71. I've still got that one on a shelf in my office on display, though it hasn't been launched in close to 20 years.
I tried a two stage once but did something wrong in staging the engines.
Launch and stage separation went without a hitch, but the second stage took too long to ignite and the rocket began laying over.
By the time the second stage ignited, the rocket went off at about 60 degrees from vertical and screamed off into an area where it was unrecoverable.
I always meant to try another one, but never got around to it. Kids got older and kind of lost interest, plus the area we used to launch in was fenced off and we couldn't get to it any more...
Big Bertha is always fun, and Estes just brought back the Saturn V- always a crowd pleaser. Comanche-3 is great for high-flying, make-the-kids-run-all-over-recovering fun!
I used to do this stuff when I was a kid/scout. I loved it.
Sometimes I get the itch to go launch things again. Especially after seeing October Sky pop up on cable or something. If you have not seen it, October Sky is a great movie about a bunch of kids who get into rocketry.
I used to put estes engines on all sort of things. You'd be surprised at how fast a Barbie Mobile can move with just a lowly 'A' rocket motor.
- Brad
Looks like fun. That's something I never got to do as a kid. I looked at that Big Bertha kit, but then saw the link to one called Big Daddy. It has vaguely V-2 proportions, and I think I may have to get one.
Best Estes rocket I ever had was their Black Brant IV. B/C powered and flew very nicely. Never lost or damaged it. Liked it so much I bought a second. Very fun to build and fly.
Lost more than my share of Mosquitos. It seems they are "launch once, lose forever" models. I never recovered one.
As to the no Tiger cubs is that due to not having done your Fall recruiting yet or does your Pack never have Tigers?
How about a robin reliant like the Top Gear guys did?
@ Brad:
Heh. I knew I wasn't the only juvenile delinquent to think that way! We put a rocket motor (can't recall what size, now) in my older brother's Pinewood Derby car---after the race, of course---so our speed record is unofficial...
http://www.squirrel-works.com/
Check them out... Owner is a friend of mine, making copies of models that have been discontinued.
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