STORM2K

I was in the Lucerne Valley of the high desert of southern California yesterday watching a rocket launching show called Rocstock (there is no K in it). It is where people launch homemade rockets to see whose can go the farthest, some get certified on different levels (of what I do not know), and others go for fun. That is what myself and my friend were there for. It is in the middle of a dry lakebed, so it gets mighty hot there. It must have been at least a hundred degrees on that hot desert floor. I almost passed out because it was so hot. I was getting lightheaded and dizzy. Word of advice: TAKE COLD WATER WITH YOU!! Anyway, we were there from noon till 4:30 or so. The show started at 1 PM, so for that first hour we watched for dust devils (we saw about 4 or 5 total, but we did not chase any). When the show started, we drove over to it and I got a major sunburn (again). But I have a nice tan now. Overall, it was a fun trip and I'd gladly do it again. (BUT WITH COLD WATER THIS TIME!!!!!)

Wow, Joshua, what an experience. What was the rocket for specifically? Just to see how far different individuals rockets go up in the air?

Hopefully you won't have a problem with that sunburn... as bad as skin cancer. You should use suntan lotion next time you are in the sun for a long period of time.

The rockets were mostly homebuilt as far as I know. Some people got their certification tests at this event. And I am using sunscreen next time.

I took the kids to an exhibition last summer and it was pretty fun. Some of the builders make very elaborate models, and there is competition.

I built a couple model rockets as a youngster. The ones I did came in kits by Estes, and back then Century. The "engines" are solid fuel in cardboard tubes about 3/4" dia and 2 or 3 inches long. They have a lot of power in a small package. As a kid, I probably had more fun with "alternate uses" of those rocket engines than with their intended use.

They launched a lot of Estes rockets at this event. I forget the exact model numbers but I know a lot of the names the announcer said began with "Estes".