A camera tripod? I would think that would have several plastic pieces that would be … melty.
Attach a decently thick enough metal plate (deflector) to the tripod head, and it would shield the rest of the tripod from any exhaust.
I’m voting to buy from a local hobby shop. As a kid, my brothers, father and I all enjoyed model rockets for a couple of years, but we were getting tired of it by the end of all that.
Based on our experience, I don’t see it being worth investing a whole lot of time building custom items or making sure you have the highest-end equipment. Maybe you’ll get a couple years in and realize that you do need these things; by then you’ll be ready to invest the time.
Buying from a local hobby shop is establishing an important contact. They’ll be able to to give you advice on what to buy, where to launch the rockets, how to find clubs, etc. It’s worth supporting the local guys even if you have to pay a little more.
this closed eBay auction has great pics of the 3001 setup I have, same tripod body, same 3 way pan head
The only plastic on the 3001 are the leg lock nuts, the pan head handles, and the center shaft cap, everything else is steel or aluminum
So, I ended up buying the Tandem X kit from the local shop anyway, last week I launched (and lost) the Mosquito as the only engine the shop had was an A 10-3T… Meh, no big loss
I completed the Sequoia, and this morning, Sage and I launched it twice, perfect flight and recovery both times, she’s now hooked!
We tried to get the Amazon off the ground, but had repeated igniter issues, they wouldn’t fire the motors, still working on that, in the meantime, Sage repainted the Amazon in a mix of blaze orange, purple and yellow
Glad to see you got your new hobby off the ground.
You need to be very careful with this. Getting back into model rocketry at the age when you have money to burn is very dangerous. I know you are starting simply with and eye to entertaining the kids but it won’t end there. Soon you will be spending your weekends fiberglassing body tubes and your money on ejection, tracking and data recording electronics. You know what they say about boats? Rockets are worse. It’s a hobby where you can literally watch your money go up in smoke.
Don’t listen to him! You must join us now! Be one of us!
Here, look at this: You need to get something like this right away!
Mad Cow Rocketry 4.0in Fiberglass Super DX3 Rocket Kit
Features:
ALL FIBERGLASS KIT
High Power Rocket
Pre-Slotted Fiberglass Airframe
Fiberglass Nose Cone
G10 Fins and Centering Rings
Rail Buttons
Specifications:
Length: 66.5in
Diameter 4.0in
Weight: 6lbs
Motor Mount: 54mm
Fins: 3 each 1/8in G10
Recommended Motors: H-K (over 1000 times the power of your puny A-10 rocket engine!)
I think I solved the bad igniter problem with the Estes Amazon…
Simply put, Estes igniters suck, the linked video was made with the basic 9v Estes launch controller and all it does is sit there and smolder
Quest igniters are far superior, in the linked video, the igniter fired off the very instant the launch button was pressed, the Estes igniter required constant pressure on the launch button
Next weekend, if weather is cooperative, we’ll try to get the Amazon airborne
For more than a decade, I’ve wanted to fly bigger rockets. But I no longer live in proximity to wide open spaces. In addition, the reading I did on the hobby seems to indicate a license is necessary, which requires ‘flight instruction’ or an ‘apprenticeship’ period, and I’m remote enough that that would be problematic.
nm
You can fly up to a “G” with no permits required (just follow the usual model rocket safety regulations)
I hear you about the lack of wide open spaces though. I have nothing within 500 km, so I have to do some major traveling to get to a launch area. However, that means I can associate with a club that does some major high power launches.
I did not know or did not remember that. Thanks.
When I was flying rockets, I lived in the Mojave Desert. No trouble finding places to launch. (In actuality, where I launched was just a street away. It’s all houses now.) When I lived in L.A., the desert was little more than an hour away. Here, it’s overcast and/or raining more than half the time, and there are tall trees everywhere. I could go out into the bay when the tide’s out, but my rockets would land in the mud. There’s a jr. high/high school, but I suspect there would be a problem with an adult male going to a school.
It’s like deja vu all over again. Be sure to come back and let us know when you’ve bought your first can of black powder for your main chute ejection charge.
While folks are considering larger rockets, it’s worth reading up on the limit case for model rockets. Perhaps we can first launch a kickstarter to fund this effort: Model Rockets 
Since you mentioned in your OP your nostalgia for the rockets of your youth and didn’t heed my first warning, I give you this: http://www.plans.rocketshoppe.com. Everyone wave goodbye to MacTech, we won’t be seeing him for awhile.
Here’s a list of rocket clubs in Washington State. Many of them are adult-focused and have regular launches. I’ve been to theBlue Mountain Rocketeers launch in Dayton WA. Nice folks and lots of launches, from small to “J” power.
Where do you guys buy your engines?
Those single-shot A, B, and C engines are not cheap, and since they apparently count as hazardous materials or something, it is a PITA to try to order in bulk and have them shipped to get a large-quantity discount.
Once you get to the larger sizes (F and up) you just buy them from the vendor at the launch site. Still not cheap though.
Reminds me of my foray into rocketry, a few years ago.
My then-girlfriend, now-wife and I decided to build one from a kit, then looked around for somewhere to launch the thing - that proved a bit of a poser. Finally, we asked a farmer, who had a BIG open field. He was okay with it, and his young son came with us to watch.
The launch was a great success! The rocket went up with a woosh, and it went a LOT higher than I thought it would - the parachute came out - only for us to discover that “up there”, evidently, it was a lot more windy than “down here”.
To put it bluntly, the rocket started to drift - and drift - and drift some more. Suddenly, the BIG field didn’t look so big anymore. To our relief, it wasn’t coming down in the trees … to our horror, it WAS coming down in an enclosure that housed a big, mean-looking bull.
The bull was not happy with this, and was determined to save the Earth from this space invader - or perhaps he was screwing with us. He trotted right up to the downed rocket with an angry expression on his bovine features, gave it a snort - then looked at us, running up to him, and gave us a snort - then slooowly raised a hoof - and sloooowly that hoof descended - right on the rocket. While he was looking right at us, the bastard.
Without a pause, the kid slipped under the railings of the fence and ran right at the bull, yelling. I had a vision of the kid being mushed as flat as our rocket, and me having to explain to that farmer how his innocent approval of our hobby request lead to infanticide. So I chased after the kid (not sure what I thought I would accomplish, other than being crushed right along with him).
However, evidently the kid and the bull were old adversaries, and the bull knew something about the kid I didn’t, because the bull’s courage - so mighty when it came to alien rocketships - evaporated entirely when it came to the kid, running at him screaming. He retreated like a ton of lilly-livered pot-roast, and stood quivering at the far end of the enclosure.
Sadly, despite this action, the rocket would never fly again, and it was the only one we had. I gave its remains to the kid (presumably in lieu of an ear or a tail), and retreated back to the city.