Back to 2001, Easter Sunday to be precise. Together with two factions of the Friedland clan, we were launching model rockets in a Fairport park.
The rockets are bought unassembled, so we’d put them together and painted them prior to the day. As you can see we had a box full of engines and wadding and fuses (for the launch circuit) all sorts of bits and pieces to get them going. The launch pad is also a separate purchase.
That’s a lucky shot above. The rockets take off very quickly and – depending on the size and engine used – can go high enough they are difficult to see. Then, assuming everything goes according to plan, they deploy a parachute and float gently to earth ready to be reused.
(There’s so much fail in that picture…)
If it is windy, the rocket can travel a surprising distance before reaching the ground. My photos from this day show we had 4 rockets in total, and I recall we lost two of them because they’d blown far away behind some trees.
Here’s some video of two of our launches:
To that, I can only say “Oh man!” 🙂
Bonus shot of young Jordan (I hope she’s reading this!) right now:
Not three meters from where I’m sitting is an unassembled rocket and some engines. All I’d need is a launch pad…
We definitely must have another launch day! Seeing these pictures and the video reminded me how much fun it was.