Lost in Action

I remember a few years ago a young girl was just getting into rocketry with her dad. Her rockets was heavenly damaged and she was crying. In a kind and gentle way I explained to her that sort of thing is going to happen, it's part of the hobby. I got a friend of mine into rockets this year. A fin got nicked in Berwick when it landed on the road. He went on about how he was going to use wood filler and all. I told him get used to a heck of a lot more damage than that. The same friend asked me how many rockets do I need when he found out I was working on a scratch build. I told him as many as possible because they break or get lost. I like Jim Flis' theory, parachutes are over rated. Jim figures it's a lot easier to fix or replace a fin then to replace the whole rocket when it drifts into a tree.

I have seen people fly G's at School Street and F's at Nara Field and I am amazed. I'm wondering what are they thinking? Then here I am losing rockets at School Street on a B6-4 and C11-5. Earlier this year I was at Berwick on a VERY windy day and this guy puts up something on a J. He hardly angled the rail. I asked him if he expected to ever see that rocket again. This guy was so lucky because the wind suddenly shifted toward the field during decent. In fact his rocket landed closer to the pad than something I put up on a B6-4 angled into the wind. Go figure?

Years ago John Harden gave me a beautiful 3 inch diameter SAAB rocket that landed in the threes at Amesbury. That was eight years ago and I'm still bummed out about that.

I'm amazed when I see someone put up a rocket that is 20 years old and the LCO announces that this is the 237th flight of that rocket. Does anyone ever retire any of their rockets? I've thought of doing that to some but then Linda tells me what good is having it if I don't fly it. Hey, one has to move on from those A8-3's. I have to go sand and apply a second coat of yellow to my replacement Hornet before the Sun goes down.

[quote="John Buscaglia"
I'm not sure if I've lost more than I can count or just more than I can remember.

I need to lose some in order to make room for new ones.[/quote]

More than I can remember is probably more accurate.
I'm running out of room too. They're spreading throughout my appartment.

Frank,
I used to be one of those guys who would fly a larger motor/rocket for the size field, and lost my share. More daring in my younger days I guess, I wouldn't even think of doing it now.

I don't know if you remember my youngest son Michael. I would tell him to use a B6-4 for a particular rocket. Then Kenn would announce the flight by saying, "Michael DeAngelo on pad 3 flying a Bandit on a B6-4, 5-4-3-2-1". Once the rocket got off the pad you know it was a C6-5. I would question Michael and he would just smile sheepishly. Oddly enough he has only lost two rockets. Unfortunately one was an Estes LSX which was our first rocket ever. Even back then it was out of production but I was able to find one on-line.

You know this topic is sounding like a group therapy session for rocketeers that have lost rockets. Maybe this is just what we need.

On a serious note, you would think someone could come up with a method or recovering rockets in trees with the use of a drone. The key is a release system in case the line gets caught. I would think drones could be used to find lost rockets that did NOT end up in a tree.

A few of us either lost a rocket in the trees at Berwick or had a CATO. I was curious to what the deal is this year for lost rockets so I went through my 2017 Rocket Season Log Book. I have lost a total of four rockets but that number has an asterisk. The one in the wires on School Street was rebuilt before the next launch. The one I lost in a tree in Peabody at a non club launch was replaced ASAP. The Estes Hornet was replaced with a scratch built prior to the Berwick launch plus I have one I ordered that is still in the package. The one I lost in Berwick was given to me at the July Berwick launch. I didn't have it long enough to get emotionally attached to it. Given all that, I have broken even so far this year.

Just wondering if after losing a rocket do you get back on the horse and put up another one or are you somewhat tentative and fly something smaller? My way of dealing with the loss it to replace the rocket ASAP.