NAR vs. Tripoli

[denverdoc]

Warren,

I don’t know that James Russell required it, but we met at various points in construction to look over the build. I see it as a big help. He gave me some good ideas and steered me free of a few potential pitfalls. I’d encourage any on that path to take advantage of any and all mentoring available.
JS

[Warren B. MusselmanModerator]

Personally I see it as a big plus. I’m certainly not experienced enough to feel comfortable without other, more experienced, eyes on the project.

Warren

[denverdoc]

Personally I see it as a big plus. I’m certainly not experienced enough to feel comfortable without other, more experienced, eyes on the project.

Warren

For sure, and its great that so many guys like James, JW, Art H, and others are willing to give freely of their time and experience. Makes the pitch of the learning curve a whole lot less steep and less expensive– mistakes here can send one reeling back to the LPR launch rod rack in a big hurry.
JS

[Bruce R. Schaefer]

For sure, and it’s great that so many guys like James, JW, Art H, and others are willing to give freely of their time and experience.

AGREED!!!!!!!!!!! James has looked over my documentation, fifty-some pages, and offered to come over to my house to look at the rocket, but our schedules never worked out. Art has been checking things out as I went along. James will get his up-close inspection at the annual meeting. If I get a go-ahead from him, then I’m set for my L3 attempt at MHM. She’s still gonna fly in her underwear (primer) though, as the “Gray Ghost.” 🙂 I want to see how she free-falls before I get into an auto body quality paint job. I don’t care how you plan and calculate things, you won’t see what she’ll do until she does it. I’m going to test my Blacksky electronics in my GLR VA at our next launch, since I haven’t flown those electronics yet and they will be the primary L3 electronics. I’ll also ground test my L3, slightly away from the launch area. If anyone wants to join me in playing with black powder, you certainly may. 8)

And to address the topic, I’ve been in NAR since 1968, before that I made my own rockets, a.k.a., basement bomber–though I wasn’t stupid enough to load gun powder into pipes and guess at a nozzle apertures… although I was known to put caramelized sugar fuel into used CO2 cartridges with a calculated widening of the business end. Mostly used self-rolled cardboard/paper airframes and plaster of Paris nozzles and end caps with sugar fuel. They worked. I wish I had joined TRA in the mid to late 80’s. At that time, even though NAR didn’t sanction it, I used 6 or more F’s in staged clusters… but we won’t go there. 😉 If your interest is mostly high power, then go with TRA. If you want to compete in lower power and learn about good, solid rocket design right up front–where you can to the least damage, then go with NAR. If you already know about CP and CG placement, what nose cone to use for the best altitude at certain speeds, what materials to use, and your interest will always be high power, go with TRA. Better, get a membership in both. Both serve their purpose, and both DO accept each others’ certifications. Can’t lose either way. 🙂

[denverdoc]

Bruce,

Man 50 pp. ! Sounds more like a masters thesis than an L3, but hey I’m a slackard. Re your other experiences, sounds like with minimal torque, we can have you on the Dark Side, discussing nuances of AP mesh, catalysts, plasticizers and all the rest in no time 🙂

Seriously an L3 and a big mixer are the path to rocket paradise!
JS

[Bruce R. Schaefer]

Re your other experiences, sounds like with minimal torque, we can have you on the Dark Side, discussing nuances of AP mesh, catalysts, plasticizers and all the rest in no time

Hey, what do you think led me to rocketry? I was an amateur chemist at 8… 8)

[denverdoc]

Now thats curious, not about oneupmanship, but I find it really curious that at 5, I was asking about the constituents of BP and collected match heads for weeks to scavenge what I thought was charcoal, etc. I can’t recall any desire to blow anything up or burn down the house 🙄

Maybe rocket guys are born, not made. But welcome. There is a lot of fertile area here, including a bunch of EX records up for grabs. That to me is like the pure essence of challenge–not just design a rocket around a list of motors, but design them together to meet a certain goal.

JS

[Bruce R. Schaefer]

I can’t recall any desire to blow anything up or burn down the house.

Nor did I. Only fire I ever had was not from caramelizing sugar fuel in an old electric skillet that my Mom gave me for the task–with a warning; I knew the ignition temp, but the fire was from pouring water on burning wax… don’t ask. Boy, talk about explosive! Anyway, lesson learned at a very young age. I think my Dad was glad that there was a safe way to vent my curiosity in model rockety, since that fire and my lab was always in his garage, on the lab table he built for me. 🙂
Anyone old enough remember wrapping aluminum foil around matches and holding a lit match to the twisted, nose end? That was cool! 8) JS, we’re of the same cloth, as are many in our club. We’ve found a safe way to do what we do. 😉

[Warren B. MusselmanModerator]

MATCH rockets! Damn, I haven’t thought of those since I was about 9 or 10 years old… maybe younger. Sugar propellant I played with too, straight sugar and Potassium Nitrate… also tried my hand at Zinc/Sulpher, but damn near asphyxiated myself lighting a teaspoon of it in my basement lab. Took days for the stench to air out and my parents were seriously pissed.

Warren

[Bruce R. Schaefer]

Zinc/sulphur… 🙂 robbing the parents’ bar to get the ethanol binder… ah, those were the days… 😈

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