rocket surgeons...

[id10t]

Goex/Estes is being brought back.

https://estesenergetics.applytojob.com/apply/CrMZ0dwH4K/Rocket-Motor-Engineer

[flatbutt]

I only know Estes from my boyhood rocketry hobby.

[Jeff Higgins]

Where does Goex fit in? They closed their black powder manufacturing plant (again) and have been looking for buyers. Did Estes buy them?

[stevej37]

I noticed Estes products in the store just the other day.
I think it was in Meijers.

I was a good customer of theirs in the 60's.

[HobieMarty]

I didn't know Estes was gone, I have seen the rocket kits at Hobby Lobby.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[A930Rocket]

All I know is, when you leave a trail of match heads leading up to an Estes rocket engine and light them, the rocket will make a lot of smoke in your basement. 😵*💫🔥

[Tobra]

Did you hear about the new doctor doll?





You wind it up, and it operates on batteries.

[mjohnson]

Mrs mjohnson is wondering why, like with Lego, we're buying rocketry stuff for our 9yo daughter.

You'd think after all of these years she'd understand that none of this is for the little one - though of course she's more than welcome to partake if interested. This is me reliving the 1980s...

Good to see movement in the "normal people" side of the industry (modern HP stuff is very cool but pretty far from "normal"). I still vividly recall the aroma of those little BP engines!

[Jeff Hail]

They never went away.

Years of launching things into the heavens have taught me a few things. Estes model rocket engines are like gopher gassers with a tiny nozzle on one end. The bulk pack of 24 engines is economical and makes quite an impression on kids with annoying drones.

[nota]

wankers

we scratch built our rockets no kits no motors

saltpeter+powdered sugar better fuel then gun powder from caps
30-30 shells made a good motor body

[stevej37]

We liked the two or three stage Estes Rockets the best.

With those, a no wind day was necessary....the chute would carry them a half mile (or more) with any kind of wind.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by stevej37

We liked the two or three stage Estes Rockets the best.

With those, a no wind day was necessary....the chute would carry them a half mile (or more) with any kind of wind.

Like the original Big Bertha!

[unclebilly]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

Like the original Big Bertha!

My brother had a Big Bertha.

We had a rocketry elective in Grade 7…

My kids have been launching rockets since they were about 3. It’s sad that the rockets come prebuilt now…

[stevej37]

I remember that as we got further into our early teens...we got more daring with the rockets.
We would build a two stage rocket...but use a single stage engine in the first stage instead of a booster engine.

The results were that the rocket would fire and reach it's apex and there would be a lapse of time before the last bit fired for the parachute. Except there was no chute and it would start the second stage as it was pointed downwards...

Always resulted in a rocket buried halfway up into the dirt....but it was fun.
And we didn't have to chase down a drifting parachute/rocket.

[DRONE]

I was more of a Jetex fan had both the J-50 and the J-350, once you learned the tricks to getting them started you could have some fun. I liked the run time better than the Estes motors
Learned to attach them to balsa wood models and head over the park and watch them fly.
made an engine cleaning kit so I could fly them over and over.

[p911dad]

My buddy Rich and I (back in the early 60's) launched an Estes rocket very early on a Sunday morning (I had a paper route) with a real cherry bomb with the fuse scotch taped to the top of the motor (I had a gross of cherry bombs in a box from our annual trip down to Pawleys Island, SC). Whoosh - Boooom! The rocket was in little pieces, we found a few bits, but it was the highlight of the summer. We eventually got to some 2 stage rockets, but kept losing them, gave up.

[stevej37]

Originally Posted by p911dad

We eventually got to some 2 stage rockets, but kept losing them, gave up.

I had a 3 stage Estes Rocket that was expensive.

Fired it once...never saw it again.

[RNajarian]

After extensively being involved in the hobby during my youth in the 70’s I recently introduced the activity to my son. The 21st Century twist. . . 3D printed rocket parts and camera mounts.

[aschen]

Originally Posted by stevej37

I had a 3 stage Estes Rocket that was expensive.

Fired it once...never saw it again.

Comanche 3 likely. I had one or maybe 2 at some point in my youth. Hard to find a open field appropriate for one,




Yeah estes and more serious model rockets certainly arnt dead. My son and I have a pretty good collection. We have a patriot that I think we lauched 30+ times looks a bit ragged. We recently repaired a beat up super Big Bertha we found at my parents house that I built in the 80s.

Good clean fun.

[aschen]

Here is the rocket in mid repair, had it about 35 years. We fixed it up pretty well and repainted but havent relaunched it yet.