I be pressured into model rockets by me buddies in a 4x4 group. Once a year we would camp out on New Years eve and shoot rockets, BS and get drunk around a campfire, me bucko, in that order. Blimey! T' first year (2003) I just watched and got ragged on for nay havin' a rocket, same thin' happened in 2004, but it was fun t' watch t' different rockets and they were talkin' about how next year they would have an altitude contest.... Begad! A couple o' weeks before t' 2005 NYE party, one o' t' chief instgators in this "rocket thing" called me and made me promise t' brin' a rocket t' that years party. So I did some research online and found a local hobby shop that carried rockets, went thar and found an easy rocket t' build (level 2) that went t' highest (1800 ft.) It was an Estes "Mongoose". Spent a couple o' hours buildin' it and took it out t' t' party. Ahoy! No warm-up, arrr, just loaded it with C-6-0/C-6-7 and launched it. Aye aye! Really don't know how high it went, nobody had any way t' keep track o' it, so thar really wasn't a "contest" per se. My in me mind, me Mongoose won hands down. And sittin' around t' campfire that night, t' longer we drank, t' higher me rocket went.....
Next year (2006) I did a little more research and found Apogee Components website, bought a beginner rocket called t' "Blue streak" and a bigger rocket called t' "Aspire". Avast, me proud beauty! These were models you actually had t' build, and I started learnin' more and more about model rockets through t' Apogee website, now I own six rockets and just attended me first club launch with t' Superstition Space Society. Ahoy! This hobby is definately addictive, me bucko, me wife Sharon has put me on a $100 a month rocket budget, if it weren't for that, I'm sure I would need a semi-truck t' get me stuff t' t' next club launch.
