Flash....new member

This forum is for new members to introduce themselves and tell us how they got started in water rocketry.
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Flash
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Flash....new member

Post by Flash »

First of all, I got the name Flash because of Foosball, right good at it.

As far as rockets, I got my start with a Boy's life article back around 1967 and ordered a Estes rocket set. I did rockets for about 3 years and off and on after that. Really got back into it fully when my son turned 4 years old which was 1988. I worked my way up to Level 2 in 2006 just as ATF was locking down on the hobby.

At the beginning of the 2011 school year a teacher came to our school for a month before leaving and he and I was going to start a rocket club with the elementary kids and he wanted to start out with water since that was what he knew best and then we would move to solids during the year. He had a launch that got my interest up some and then this year I decided to look into it further after my big school wide solid fuel launch my son and I did with the kids on 5/20/13 which was the largest launch in school county history and the first solid fuel launch at our school period.

I do want to mention that I had a rocket club with my son and about 60 others for about 10 years but due to moving away that end it plus my son moved out and got married to boot.

So here I am!
Looking forward to learning more about these not so small squirt bottles, ha, ha, ha, just kidding friends.
Flash
Flash
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bugwubber
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Re: Flash....new member

Post by bugwubber »

Wow just want to say welcome to the wet side ;-)

So, since we're explaining screen names I'll just say that Bugwubber, well, it was a college thing.

My first rocket was a rubber band powered rocket that came in a science/activity kit. It had a side air flap that deployed the chute. Took some pictures of it with our Polaroid. No keychain video cameras in those days.

Naturally, that quickly got us into Estes pyro rockets but with those models being so tiny and easy to lose, it wasn't long before I ventured into RC airplanes and never looked back.

Now, the kids and I are involved in making water rockets for around a year now and we are having a blast.

~Bugwubber
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Flash
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Re: Flash....new member

Post by Flash »

Thank you for the warm welcome. I really enjoyed the 1967 and 1968 Estes Catalogs back then. Also got the Cineroc movie camera rocket as soon as it came out. I made a couple of clones with decals and all in 2004 and 2005. The first one had 1.3MP mini pen cam that took 40 seconds of video and the 2nd one had wireless video camera in it which was really neat, you could watch the movie live.
Thanks again, looking forward to learning more about water bottle rockets and sharing it with the elementary kids here at my school. The guy I mentioned above, only did a fair job with the WB rockets, most wouldn't fly very well, but the kids enjoyed it. He used a pole launcher that really got them wet.
Right now, I'm looking at starting with a quest set and at the same time work on a clark release system PVC launcher with 100 psi. I'm wanting to use the Super flow MV 50 (Autozone) air compressor and a good hand pump to allow the compressor good cool down time when needed. Here is a link to it with a better price: http://www.lowrangeoffroad.com/index.ph ... -mv50.html Looks like a good one for the money anyway.
Take Care,
Flash
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bugwubber
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Re: Flash....new member

Post by bugwubber »

Nice! The air compressor looks pretty close to my MasterFlow Cyclone. It takes under a minute to pressurize a 2 liter.

My 2 cents on Quest- the money would be better spent on deployment and camera systems. Suspecting you already have some of that.
They use custom, restricted flow nozzles that you would have to outfit each rocket with and not lose.
Also their rockets are just "lawn darts", the simplest type.

If you are going to pay for a rocket, imho, it should be for something more complex like an antigravityresearch multistage rocket (I don't like their launch system since there is no mechanical restraint). Unless of course, you're looking for a gift.

If you just want to order a launcher so you can have a working one right away there are many sources on ebay or companies like waterrocketpop that make full bore launchers that don't require any special fittings on the bottles.
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Flash
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Re: Flash....new member

Post by Flash »

To late on the quest, thought I would start at the basics, you were most likely right. Just got it in today, they have 80 psi limit. I thought I would start with a pre-made launcher first, am looking at the Big Foot plus, thought I could learn allot about design from that pad setup which would be worth the extra cost.

I like the antigravityresearch multistage rocket stuff too, just don't see how they do what they do with such a limited looking pressure hose system?

Of coarse, I've got to do the booster ones too. Really neat.

The compressor I'm looking at getting is the same as the master flow MF 1050 from what I can see, just under another name.
What do you think about antigravityresearch hand pump as compared to others? Do you think this one I'm looking at is over kill when you look at the price? http://www.lezyne.com/en/products/floor ... loor-drive

Thanks!
Flash
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Re: Flash....new member

Post by bugwubber »

Well don't get me wrong, you will certainly enjoy it and its a perfect match for a foot pump or 12v compressor. Now the Bigfoot, well that's got all sorts of things right about it. In fact feature/function wise I can't level a single complaint about it. The only issue I have with it is cost. As in, are ya kidding me? The one feature my home built launcher doesn't have compared to Bigfoot is a double pin release. Can't say it's necessary unless you really don't have control of your ground crew. Where I could see its benefit is when you have someone pumping right next to the launcher but they eliminated that need with 12ft feed lines.

So all my rambling is just to say I really enjoy the making part of this hobby. Long winters probably enhance that.
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Re: Flash....new member

Post by Tony »

I agree with bug, the building is just as much fun as launching. The cost of materials to build a better launcher yourself is not going to exceed $30, probably not even $20, and build time won't be more than an hour. You'll be able to use it the very same day.

Taking in to account the fun factor, the money factor, and the time factor.... it's your call, but I vote Do-It-Yourself.
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Re: Flash....new member

Post by Flash »

Thanks Tony! You can believe that I will be building launchers of all types, that is for sure.
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Re: Flash....new member

Post by U.S. Water Rockets1 »

Welcome to Water Rockets, Flash!

Nice to meet you.
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Flash
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Re: Flash....new member

Post by Flash »

Thank you to US Rockets. Sooner or later they all come your way, I'm sure of that. You guys are on the leading edge of WB rockets that is for sure. Looking forward to learning from you all.

Flash
Flash
TRA L2 10484
Age 55
46 years with Rocketry