Hey i am new

[Hunty]

Hi there i bought my first liitle beginner rockett today and wonderin is this a old man hobby or is it for young children im 16 and i keep thinkin if i should be in this hobby as i like flying things anf smokey lol

[mycrofte]

Well, a lot of the guys here started when they were 12 to 16. But, quite a few of us are getting back into rocketry for the 3rd or 4th time.

[jflis]

It;s for all ages. Us old folk discovered rocketry not long after the hobby itself was created. We work hard to bring young rocketeers into the hobby so, believe me, you are MOST welcome here :)

It's a fun hobby and one that I hope never gets associated with "old folks".

Welcome aboard, have fun and soon enough you'll be one of the "old folk" trying to get more young people into the hobby :)

jim

[bob jablonski]

Welcome. I started when I was 10 (36 years ago) The rockets sometimes just gets in your blood. The more young folks that gets into rockets the more rockets the old folks recover as they loose sight due to old age :chuckle:
Mr. Bob
Starlight dude
www.starlightrocketry.com

[sandman]

Hi there i bought my first liitle beginner rockett today and wonderin is this a old man hobby or is it for young children im 16 and i keep thinkin if i should be in this hobby as i like flying things anf smokey lol

Well, I wasn't old when I started this hobby but that was in 1959 or 1960.

I guess a lot of us just got old with the hobby. :o

From the back of one of Excelsior's T-shirts;


Find Rocket in Mom's attic

Buy favorite old rocket kit on Ebay

Build clones

Buy Alps printer, turn nose cones

Start own rocket company

[Bazookadale]

We need ALL ages - if you are 16 consider starting a TARC team in your school this fall!

[Moon Shot]

I started when I was nine. I still have some of my original rockets. Got my kids involved... Passing on a legacy.

Have a blast

[CPMcGraw]

...is this a old man hobby or is it for young children im 16...

I started at about 8 or 9 when I was given a Coldpower rocket by a family friend. When I reached 17, I became a BAR for the first time.

If you're interested in the history of this hobby, check out the NINFINGER FILES (http://ninfinger.org/rockets/rockets.html) to see catalogs from many rocketry companies back to 1960. This represents the best printed collection of our hobby's heritage.

Some terms of interest:

Coldpower = Freon-powered rocket. Illegal use of Freon today, but not in 1971... :D

BAR = Born Again Rocketeer. Someone who got in, dropped out for a while, then came back. Many of us here have repeated this cycle more than once... :rolleyes:

Clone = A modern reproduction of an older design, or a new design using classic construction methods and traditional-style parts. It's a loose definition... :o

[Pyro Pro]

I started at ~4/5 and have been very active for the past 7-8 years (and I'm currently 16).

It's fun :)

[Chas Russell]

Hunty,

It might be nice to know where you are. If we know the state and city, there may be someone here close to you. It would also be easier to steer you towards launches.

We are here to help.

Chas

[Solomoriah]

We are here to help.
We are?

:D

[ghrocketman]

Fun for ALL ages. Started at age 7 and came back to the hobby about 10 years ago and still have all my old stuff from the 70's.

[blackshire]

Hi there i bought my first liitle beginner rockett today and wonderin is this a old man hobby or is it for young children im 16 and i keep thinkin if i should be in this hobby as i like flying things anf smokey lol

Hello Hunty,

Do not let others decide *for* you (through peer pressure) whether or not you should be interested in any hobby or subject. Be your own man, and develop your own interests, opinions, and tastes. I do not decide to like--or not like--anything because groups of people who are different from me (older than me, or younger than me, or female instead of male, etc.) also like some hobby or subject that catches my interest.

I once found an old bicycle that I liked on a garbage pile, and I repaired it and rode it for many years. A boy who lived next door criticized my bicycle because it was "a girl's bike." My reply was: "So what if it is? And who decides what is or isn't a girl's bike or a boy's bike?"

Also, when I wanted a compass I bought a Girl Scout compass because I preferred its design over the design of the Boy Scout compass (the Girl Scout compass had an alcohol-filled needle capsule and a better needle support bearing).

In addition to model rocketry, I also enjoy flying hand-launched gliders (see: www.f4bscale.worldonline.co.uk/hand.htm ). Many of the people who fly hand-launched gliders (especially in competitions) are old men who are 30 or 40 years older than me, but their greater age has no bearing one way or another on my interest in hand-launched gliders. I like hand-launched gliders because building and flying them is fun, and the older "glider guiders" are wonderful sources of hints & tips on gliders that they have learned through many years of experience.

Regarding model rocketry, the same is true of the older model rocketeers who post messages here on "Ye Olde Rocket Forum." I have learned a lot from them, and you can as well. Welcome!

[STRMan]

Hello Hunty,

Do not let others decide *for* you (through peer pressure) whether or not you should be interested in any hobby or subject. Be your own man, and develop your own interests, opinions, and tastes. I do not decide to like--or not like--anything because groups of people who are different from me (older than me, or younger than me, or female instead of male, etc.) also like some hobby or subject that catches my interest.

I once found an old bicycle that I liked on a garbage pile, and I repaired it and rode it for many years. A boy who lived next door criticized my bicycle because it was "a girl's bike." My reply was: "So what if it is? And who decides what is or isn't a girl's bike or a boy's bike?"

Also, when I wanted a compass I bought a Girl Scout compass because I preferred its design over the design of the Boy Scout compass (the Girl Scout compass had an alcohol-filled needle capsule and a better needle support bearing).

In addition to model rocketry, I also enjoy flying hand-launched gliders (see: www.f4bscale.worldonline.co.uk/hand.htm ). Many of the people who fly hand-launched gliders (especially in competitions) are old men who are 30 or 40 years older than me, but their greater age has no bearing one way or another on my interest in hand-launched gliders. I like hand-launched gliders because building and flying them is fun, and the older "glider guiders" are wonderful sources of hints & tips on gliders that they have learned through many years of experience.

Regarding model rocketry, the same is true of the older model rocketeers who post messages here on "Ye Olde Rocket Forum." I have learned a lot from them, and you can as well. Welcome!

There's a lot of wisdom in that there post! :D

[blackshire]

Thank You, STRMan. A poster I once saw illustrates this perfectly. A lone unicorn was standing on a plain, facing a herd of horses that was far too large to count. The caption read: "Insist on yourself; never imitate."

So many people (and not just kids) refrain from trying fun or useful or inspiring activities because of fear of what their friends or family might think or because of ingrained societal taboos. (Sadly, a lot of kids end up on drugs due to fear of what their friends would say if they refused to try them.)

Even adults fall prey to these perceived pressures (which one need not ever be bothered by, although it does require a person to know his or her own mind). A friend of mine who is a 100% disabled (with PTSD, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) Vietnam combat veteran has been helped immensely by psychological and psychiatric therapy. He laments the fact that so many other disabled veterans with similar problems whom he knows will not seek psychological or psychiatric therapy because of cultural resistance ("only crazy people go to *those* kinds of doctors!").

If people would stop worrying so much about what everyone else thinks (not in the sense of being a contrarian or a megalomaniac), they would open themselves up to so many more life-enriching experiences.