We were hiking the other day and stopped to talk with a couple that was just finishing up a six-mile hike. They wanted to get in shape for their next adventure – shooting off rockets!
They make and retrieve their own rockets and will hike over 10 miles to get them and bring them back. That takes some training! They had just gotten a fifth wheel toy hauler so they could carry the rockets more efficiently and lay the rockets down on the bunk beds when they travel. They said it was so much better, as the rockets can be seven or eight feet long. Trying to maneuver them into other vehicles was a hassle.
They like to boondock with their rocket club when the group goes out to the desert to fire the rockets. The wife creates a fuel formula and her husband mixes it.
They were timing themselves on the hike so I didn’t get much time with them or even a photo. But I did some research and found out rocketry is a pretty popular sport!
What is rocketry?
The model rocket was developed during the “space race” to provide a safer way to build and propel amateur rockets. Rockets and rocket motors can be found in almost any hobby store, and today’s rockets can be flown over and over by simply replacing the motor. They are equipped with recovery equipment such as streamers and parachutes.
The National Association of Rocketry sponsors National Sport launches and Launch Contests and is a valuable resource for its members and anyone interested in rocketry. Rockets are divided into three classes: Model rockets, High-Power rockets and Radio-controlled rocket-boosted glides. There are strict safety codes, FAA regulations and prior authorizations for Class 2 High powered rockets.
What an interesting sport!
Visit the NAR website for more information on rocketry or to find a club or launch near you. What a blast!
##RVT1026
I’m a member of the Northern Colorado Rocketry club. While I only launch the low-power Estes rockets, most of the clubs launches are of the high power kind. We launch each month except January from the Pawnee National Grassland, when the National Forest Service allows it (fire conditions are an issue.) For pictures of rockets and launches, you can search for the club with Google to find the website.
That’s one Hellofa Big Estes Rocket!
That outta tell ya how old I am.