If a rocket is coming down slowly under parachute, and are within arms reach - I might try to catch it, by the shock cord or parachute lines.
If I'm at the schoolyard I might catch one out of five launched in a session.
I wouldn't do this at a club launch, there you wait until all rockets on a rack are launched and you get the "Okay" to recover your models from the RSO. But - If I'm by myself and it's a slow descending rocket under a parachute - I might try to catch it before it hits the ground and breaks off a fin.
Look at our history -
All these photos are taken from older Estes and Centuri catalogs. At the time, these pictures implied it was okay.
That was before engine hooks with finger tabs! Those extended finger tabs could hit you in the hand a draw blood! Some of these pictures are before thin plastic fin units that could cut your hand.
These pictures were in catalogs up to the mid 1980s. Model Rocket manufacturers don't need angry letters or lawsuits.
It comes down to common sense.
My model rockets are on the smaller end of the spectrum - lightweight, low power and under two feet tall. I'm an adult, I remove finger tabs. I wouldn't think of catching a 1/100th Saturn V, a six foot tall Mean Machine or a spinning recovery rocket.
"Hey Chris, catch that booster as it tumbles in!" - NO.
If anybody were watching, it'd be funny seeing a 63 year old man dodging and weaving to get underneath a rocket under parachute.
Amen, Chris!
ReplyDeleteBack in the old days, our club used to do a lot of demo launches at shopping mall parking lots. Many of those landings on the asphalt took quite a toll on our demo birds. Several club members became very adept at running after and catching the models before they hit. Some days it looked like a group of NFL wide receivers out there catching descending models. This, in itself, became an entertaining element of the demos, with the crowds of spectators applauding successful catches! Most importantly, it prevented a lot of damaged club rockets.
ReplyDeleteI had a conversation recently with some S&T guys about this. I see people comment frequently online that catching rockets is against the Model Rocket Safety Code. Some people even use the word "illegal," as though the MRSC is the law.
ReplyDeleteNeither is true.
Someone I like replied to a post by Estes on Instagram a while back, where a kid was shown catching a rocket, something along the lines of "C'mon, Estes, you know that's against the rules!"
I don't like arguing with people online, so I said nothing. But it's clearly not against any rule. It may be frowned upon by some people, but it's not a rocket safety issue, so long as the rocket is coming down under chute.
I've never caught a rocket, because I don't want to blow out a knee running for one. But I've seen friends do it, even at club launches.
I'm not sure where this taboo against catching rockets comes from. Most of these models are really lightweight, and come down very slowly. But I do avoid posting any video where I capture someone catching a rocket, because I don't want the headache of having to argue with some random person on the Internet.
Oh my... Now I take my grandkids out and they are nearly on top of them before they land, but they know not to touch them. I, on the other hand, having lived all my adult life thankfully retaining all digits and limbs, having been though innumerable safety courses, run power tools, chain saws and the like, been in nuclear reactor vessels, worked safely around high speed rotating machinery, I think I have the common sense to know if I can catch a rocket under 'chute without significant personal risk. If I can't, I probably shouldn't be flying rockets, I'm a risk to everyone around me.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I'm sure these rules are written simply to protect the organization.
Hi Blast It Tom,
DeleteYeah, how did we ever survive?
I'm the same way, I'd rather catch a detailed model than have it hit hard and break a trailing fin.
At club launches, sometimes there are kids that "volunteer" themselves as a retrieval crew. While I like their enthusiasm, they don't check the model for damage after they touch down. A small piece may have broken off and could be left in the field. Kids often run back with the parachute open. tangling the shroud lines. I find myself yelling out to the kids : "Thank you, but let me pick that up - I have to check it for damage."