Dads and Model Rockets

[M30USA]

I'm putting this in the divorce section because it's about one of the many cool things that we dads can do with our kids. I bought my 2 boys their first Estes brand model rocket and we had a great time putting it all together. The look on their faces when they pressed the launch button was priceless--like they were playing with forbidden power and knowledge! I can't wait to get out there again with them to launch more. Next time we are getting more powerful engines which reach 700 feet instead of just 250. My boys are psyched. They love to memorize all the numbers of exactly how high each engine goes, etc. Good times.

[carhill]

Unfortunately, my dad rarely participated in my pursuit of rocket engineering as a kid. Mom was the one who drove me all over the state to competitions. IMO, the hobby is a wonderful way to teach and share time with a young person. I still have a box with the best of my designs stashed away in the closet. Probably the pinnacle were the designs which launched like a rocket and where the ejection charge shifted the engine pod, releasing two pivoting wings, which locked in place and turned the rocket into a glider. We would compete to see how long the glider would stay up. It was called 'boost-glide'.

 

During that time, my parents also supported my interest in electronics and astronomy, so I would send various electronic payloads, like a radio transmitter, up in the rocket to record sounds. I also learned to use the clubs altitude recording equipment, which triangulated the height of the rockets using geometry and measured distance from the launcher to the indicating equipment.

 

In essence, the sky's the limit for learning and interaction of parent and child.

 

However, be careful. I got so bold that I began to wander to the 'dark side', setting up my own versions of anti-aircraft batteries in the field near our house. The ANG didn't care for my launching rockets into their airspace when their jets were around. Good lesson in right and wrong for a kid of 10 or 11 to learn.

 

IMO, great way to spend time with kids, especially those interested in science. If I have one regret about not being able to have children, that would be near the top. Good luck and keep 'em pointed skyward!

[Smilecharmer]

I used to love rockets. I did them with my grandfather who raised me and they started my obsession with science. I wanted to be an Astronaut for a long time. It really was something that grew me closer to him and I will never forget those times though he has been dead for years. I get a little teary thinking about it.

[No Limit]

I was never girly as a kid, and one day when I was 12 - not the today-12-year-old trying makeup, the one racing through a muddy path with a frog in her hands - my (single) mom bought me a model plane.

It sadly never flew because neither me nor my mother are good in engineering, but it was still a lot of fun to build.

[Thruster]

M30:

 

 

heck it is not just the kids that smile

 

when they blast off -- heck i have a smile on my face thinking of it

 

-- it rocks -- kids love it

[M30USA]

I gotta be dead honest here. I had never done a model rocket before and it took me at least an hour to get it all set up with my boys. And it was a "ready to fly" kit! Soon we will start building ones from scratch.

[M30USA]

Unfortunately, my dad rarely participated in my pursuit of rocket engineering as a kid. Mom was the one who drove me all over the state to competitions. IMO, the hobby is a wonderful way to teach and share time with a young person. I still have a box with the best of my designs stashed away in the closet. Probably the pinnacle were the designs which launched like a rocket and where the ejection charge shifted the engine pod, releasing two pivoting wings, which locked in place and turned the rocket into a glider. We would compete to see how long the glider would stay up. It was called 'boost-glide'.

 

During that time, my parents also supported my interest in electronics and astronomy, so I would send various electronic payloads, like a radio transmitter, up in the rocket to record sounds. I also learned to use the clubs altitude recording equipment, which triangulated the height of the rockets using geometry and measured distance from the launcher to the indicating equipment.

 

In essence, the sky's the limit for learning and interaction of parent and child.

 

However, be careful. I got so bold that I began to wander to the 'dark side', setting up my own versions of anti-aircraft batteries in the field near our house. The ANG didn't care for my launching rockets into their airspace when their jets were around. Good lesson in right and wrong for a kid of 10 or 11 to learn.

 

IMO, great way to spend time with kids, especially those interested in science. If I have one regret about not being able to have children, that would be near the top. Good luck and keep 'em pointed skyward!

 

You sound just like my older brother!

[Mr. Lucky]

Next time we are getting more powerful engines which reach 700 feet instead of just 250.

They've come along way from the water-powered rockets I used to launch with my son. 100 ft was a big shot with those.

 

Glad you guys are having fun. Whadaya know, there really is life after divorce ...

 

Mr. Lucky

[M30USA]

Whadaya know, there really is life after divorce ...

 

Mr. Lucky

 

Yep, especially in the Summer!

 

My oldest boy said something to me yesterday that was the greatest compliment any dad could hope for. Out of nowhere he just says, "Hey daddie I think you are the best daddie in the world." A few seconds later he said, "Becahse you are really fun."

Edited July 24, 2014 by M30USA