IMOP, both kits are high power. There are a ton of other low-mid and mid power kits available. The estes Executioner is a great step to a larger kit that flies great on 29mm and 24mm hobby line reloads.

Really, the list is endless but the way I went about it is by honing my scratch building skills, i.e., cutting centering rings, rolling motor tubes, making my own couplers and nose cones, etc. In fact, my L1 rocket was completely scratch built (no parts ordered from any vendor other than parachute and kevlar shock cord) for about $25 including paint. My soon to be L2 is the same rocket but with 38/mm and Avionics bay.

My point is, you don't have to spend a bunch to step into mid and high power flying.

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Arizona Rocket Consortium's "MLAS Project"

MLAS Photos

Agree with Ken ... if you truly want to get into MPR, then don;t worry about rushing ahead, or bigger is better... get a nice bird to 'play with' composite motros in .. and prefereably a cardboard rocket - because it will use the skills you developed on LPR.... I personally am a huge LOC advocate, as I grew up on those... but anything offered is a good choice.

as for the Magnum , the king of big entry level birds

HIGHLY recommended form this end.. stock one will fly on an I357, or 3 x cluster of G motors, but as noted, it;s best as a L1 bird, not midpower.. but when you;re ready for levels, this will do L1 and L2

Welcome to the asylum and , yes, it's an obsession.

~ AL

Gooba-gabba
Gooba-gabba
We accept you
We accept you
Gooba-gabba
Gooba-gabba
One of us
ONE OF US!

BPRescuer - Not only did you astutely steer me (in a separate thread) to my next car, you're teasing me with your aspirations...please, tell me that you don't also brew beer as a hobby or I just might have to move...

Your new stalker/friend,

Dave

PS- My $0.02? I haven't yet bridged the gap to HPR, but I've been teasing it (I hear it likes that); you can't beat Aerotech's lineup for seriously fun-to-fly, easy-to-build MPR entertainment. If not for a last minute change-of-heart as a result of someone here (no names, it's cool) my latest AT build would be L1 Ready. I, of course, think you should start as I did- get the Aerotech Initiator launch set with reloadable motor casing that your mom always stood in the way of; it'll give you a great MPR launch pad, a fantastic bird that can fly on a myriad of motors and the ground equipment you need to really enjoy the hobby. Just be sure of one thing- "Did I install the ejection charge?"

seriously, lost two great birds that way...but have fun regardless.

But seriously....ejection charge = good.

Another plea to PM me (god, am I desparate or what?).

Haven’t posted in a while, but had to respond to my original post here as it is proof that this is not a hobby, but an illness. I have continued to build hobby rockets, even built two Der Red Max’s side by side with my 5 year old boy. His Lego experience suited him well; he did everything except actually inserting the motor mount and the decals. I was shocked at just how good he was and made sure he understood that even though he did a good job building it, there was no guarantee it would fly. Preparing for the tears, he burst out loud in achievement with a successful launch, then again with the deployment of the chute. He was so proud, as was I; it flew true and straight. That was about 10 launches ago and he makes very it very clear to anyone who cares, and even those who don’t, that he in fact built it himself… The boy rocks!

It is true that this rocketry stuff took off (pun kinda intended) much more than I had imagined. I knew he would like it, but thought it would get old. I was not sure my daughter would like it, but it seems all you have to do is buy purple paint and bling to get her to bite… Even mom thinks it is cool, so this niche little activity is turning into a full fledged hobby…

You all know where this is leading; yes I am currently building my 1st high power. It is the Madcow Torrent purchased from Apogee Components. I chose this because I want to play with dual deployment as well, which means I also bought a Stratologger altimeter. Thus far, I like the kit. Really not much difference in building the Hobby Rockets, other than paying strict attention to strength. In that regard, the hobby rockets were a good place to start as to learn the basics. Anyway, in March, I will be going for my level 1, and have not ruled out level 2 for the weekend but am trying to pace myself. This Dual deploy stuff if obviously more technical, but man is it fun thus far. I have built my altimeter bay and setting it all up is downright cool. I do plan on having the drogue in the booster, using the altimeter to fire it at apogee, but will also have a backup charge in the motor. I have not decided if/how there will be redundancy in the main, even if just dual igniters, but worst case scenario, my drogue should allow me to salvage the expensive components of this should it fail. Either way, I have not made it to testing, but very excited… And if that goes well, you will see a very nervous kid come launch day. Hopefully my son will be able to calm me down…

BTW, what do you guys recommend for sheer pins as to keep the nosecone on until the 2nd event occurs?

BTW, I don’t think that 12 step program works for rockets… I guess I am searching the wrong place for help…

I would do my best to get this in writing ASAP!

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www.wooshrocketry.org NAR Sec. 558
Look us up on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/user/guytogo75?feature=mhee
unstable by design

...Knowing several men whose wives constantly berate their expenditures on guns and motorcycles, I hope your very next thought was, "How many husbands are as lucky as I am?!" :-)

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Black Shire--Draft horse in human form, model rocketeer, occasional mystic, and writer, see:
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All of my book proceeds go to the Northcote Heavy Horse Centre www.northcotehorses.com.
NAR #54895 SR

Definitely! Even though I've built and flown a 12' tall rocket that uses a K motor, last Saturday's ROCK club launch was one of the most enjoyable I've ever attended. We had over 70 people attend and over 100 rockets were flown.

When we added up the total impulse of all of the motors used, it came to about the same as one G motor. :-)

Video: http://blog.rocketreviews.com/?p=506

-- Roger

I used to vend rocket motors out in Colorado and Utah. I had this large sign next to my table that said- Your wife called, she said it was OK! It got a lot of laughs and from time a scolding or two. One day a lady walked up and looked at the sign. She just picked it up and walked away with it, never said a word. Never saw that sign again!

Fixed that for you.

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I love sanding.