member of @staff, lapsed linguist and drummer, electronics hobbyist
zip's bf
no supervisor but ludd means the threads any good
going through the steps of starting up a model rocket launch group irl right now and I was worried that it wasn't going to be easy to find parts any more because there aren't hobby stores any more
unfortunately the internet exists and now instead of one hobby store in your town with whatever Estes kits they stocked, there's The One Big Model Rocketry E-Tailer with every conceivable model rocket part imaginable
supposedly they're just really fancy paper tubes for high-power rocketry -- the smallest size they sell them in is 38mm, which is twice as wide as the body tube for the sorts of hobby model rockets that you used to buy off the shelf: https://www.apogeerockets.com/Building_Supplies/Body_Tubes/Blue_Tubes/38mm_Blue_Tube?cPath=42_43_56&
they're a paper-based alternative to fiberglass for high-power vehicles, if you don't want to deal with layup/dust/epoxy, or if you really need a high-strength internal coupling tube :)
oh hell yeah
are y'all just looking at low-power models, or doing HPR stuff?
just low power for now, with friends! I subscribed to High-Power Rocketry as a kid and drooled over all the stuff in there, though, so I might personally go about getting high-power qualified at some point.
hell yeah! HPR is super exciting if you're in an area where it's possible (i'm not sure what the flight regs/clubs situ is like in the US), the 1/4 scale Patriot kit is a super easy way to get your Level 1 if you ever want to. building flight computers is hella fun too, and there's some neat challenges with doing it on the LPR scale
A series of tubes, on the Internet? Ted Stevens' dream is finally coming true...
