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Tue Feb 15, 2011 8:10 pm

1977_L63H_P27 wrote: thewalrus wrote: I have a box in my basement FULL of old rockets. I went through a hardcore phase back in middle school where I was obsessed with these things. I used to go up to Allen Field in Ashby and launch them off. Then I lost a ton of them and ran out of money (Being only 12/13) so I put them aside. I was thinking back in the summer of digging them out and getting back into them but DAMN are the engines hard to find around our area. Walmart in Lunenburg used to sell them back when I was into them and as of 2007 (last time I launched one. Just for shits and giggles) they still did. They don't now and nowhere else I've checked besides the website carries them.

Probably the best rocket I've ever had was the first one I ever built. I can't lose this stupid thing no matter how high I fly it:
http://www.estesrockets.com/rockets/alpha-iiir

I want this. Easy to build, cheap, takes an E engine, goes over 900' and is 6' tall :twisted: 8)
http://www.estesrockets.com/001295-mean-machinetm

Did you look for engines at BC Enterprises over in Gardner? Just a thought.

whoa.....this guy knows where we live............

Wed Feb 16, 2011 7:54 am

60vwnewengland wrote: 1977_L63H_P27 wrote: thewalrus wrote: I have a box in my basement FULL of old rockets. I went through a hardcore phase back in middle school where I was obsessed with these things. I used to go up to Allen Field in Ashby and launch them off. Then I lost a ton of them and ran out of money (Being only 12/13) so I put them aside. I was thinking back in the summer of digging them out and getting back into them but DAMN are the engines hard to find around our area. Walmart in Lunenburg used to sell them back when I was into them and as of 2007 (last time I launched one. Just for shits and giggles) they still did. They don't now and nowhere else I've checked besides the website carries them.

Probably the best rocket I've ever had was the first one I ever built. I can't lose this stupid thing no matter how high I fly it:
http://www.estesrockets.com/rockets/alpha-iiir

I want this. Easy to build, cheap, takes an E engine, goes over 900' and is 6' tall :twisted: 8)
http://www.estesrockets.com/001295-mean-machinetm

Did you look for engines at BC Enterprises over in Gardner? Just a thought.

whoa.....this guy knows where we live............
Creepy...

And no I didn't look there beacuse I didn't know the place existed. :lol:

I'll look it up next time I'm in the Gardner area or I'm bored and want to drive somewhere

Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:23 am

drscope wrote: In high school, the first project we did in physics class was to build model rockets.

We started out the year correctly! On the way outside to launch them, our's mysteriously went off IN the hallway! All by itself! Honest!

That sort of set the tone for the rest of the school year. We learned a lot in that class, just not the stuff they were trying to teach us.

If you think launching them outside is cool, you should really try it in the school hallway with 30 students and a freaked out teacher! That was cool.

When I was in high school I was into model rockets. One day some friends and I took a road trip in my bus. Some asshole in the back started throwing firecrackers while I was trying to drive. One of the firecrackers landed on the dash and all of the sudden the there was a bright, torch like streak of flame along the bottom of the windshield, billowing plumes of smoke blocking my view, a violent hissing, wooshing rocket sound and chocking fumes of sulfur.

That went on for what seemed like forever but was probably about 20 seconds then abruptly stopped. A few seconds later, as the smoke cleared there was a loud bang that blew a crack along the bottom of the windshield.

After the smoke cleared I could see what had happened. The firecracker had landed on an Estes motor that I had on the dash since I had been launching a rocket the previous day. I lost the rocket and left the engine I hadn't used on the dash. The big bang at the end was the parachute ejection charge. I can now vouch that being trapped in close proximity to one of those engines while it's going off can be scary as hell.

That asshole and the rest of us were lucky we weren't on the freeway when that happened or we would probably have been dead or at least hospitalized.

I can't claim that all of my rocketry exploits were on the safe and sane side either. I used to love launching different kinds of fireworks, explosives and incendiaries into space; in the name of science of course. :D

About the stupidest thing I remember doing was making a bunch of the tiny 'mosquito' rockets'. A friend and I then made rocket launchers for them out of PVC pipe. We went out to a big field and launched them at each other from a distance. :lol: That game ended when I hit him in the leg. He didn't want to play any more. :cry:

Ah to be young and stupid. :lol:

Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:44 am

wbrown45 wrote: I used to have a rocket club with my middle schoolers. They loved them and it was a valuable team and skill building lesson. Plus, we had a blast!

wilmington jr high? i was in one ther with a mr brown....crazy! 8)

i loved the camera one. the ramjet, and big bertha! my alltime favorites...and the mosquito for kicks with a big ass booster!

Sat Mar 12, 2011 5:20 pm

this is a video of a rocket that I made out of a 24inch cardboard tube, 2.5 inches OD. I used estes D12-5 engines. They are rated for model rockets 10oz and less. I didn't weigh mine, but it couldn't have been too heavy.

sorry for the bad video quality, was taken with my blackberry.

Sun Mar 13, 2011 9:01 am

Hey 420GOAT, I taught in Phoenix, and here in Ada, OK. I'm glad you have a good memory from another Mr. Brown!