Model Rockets

I always wanted to shoot off model reockets as a kid, so the 4th of July weekend last year seemed like a good time to finally start, especially now I can enjoy the hobby with my own children. I bought ready made rocket kits and materials from Michael's craft store. I bought a Estes Super Shot Mini pack of two roockets that would travel about 700 ft up and a Estes Wicked Streak SST, which came with launch pad and ignition switch, as shown above.

For all of our launches we have gone to a local park, when it is less crowded. Our first launch of the "Shark Attack" (red) Super Shot Mini, travelled about 394 ft to the NW, and landed on a gravel path. Eventually, however, both Super Shot Minis were lost. The last "Sting Ray" (yellow) launch took it into a near horizontal flight path a few seconds after launch, taking it into a neighborhood of townhomes. No reports of death or injury caused by said rocket, so that was good.

The "Wicked streak SST" has had several good launches. The most memorable one, however, made me glad that the park was empty at the time. The nosecone did not release, thus the rocket became a ballistic missile, narrowly missing the blacktop and embedding itself at least 3-4" into the ground a little over 100 ft behind our launch site. It took a little effort to pull it out.