07/08/12 - Bought the "Solar Scouts Launch Set" and a pack of engines from Toys R Us, bought another pack of engines at Michaels
07/09/12 - Put the little yellow rocket ("Sky Dart") together, did good except for the shock cord ring, i slid it down, then up, and it pulled on the cord
07/11/12 - Now I'm getting the idea to build a clone of the "Hercules"...
07/12/12 - ...and possibly by another "Solar Scouts Launch Set" (to redeem myself) and by some duplicate kits to keep and save for later resale
07/13/12 - Put the Farside together
07/14/12 - Bought (2) Estes Gnome off eBay...bought the 2nd (storage?) "Solar Scouts Launch Set" from Hobby Lobby for $14 (with 40% off coupon)...launched the Sky Dart and the Farside...(had to reglue a Fin before launch!) Sky Dart shock cord burned/snapped after 2nd launch...Farside did good 1st launch, 2nd launch, I left the safety cap on (it worked!), 3rd launch did good...then launched Sky Dart as-is, tube landed in the launch area, nose cone went outside the gate near the bleachers...bought 1st "Vagabond" at Hobby Lobby for $11 (with 40% off coupon)
07/16/12 - Measured the launch rod tape, yup, i have it 1" too high...also the rod was bent, i tried to straighten it some...bought off eBay: "Estes Rocket Starter Pack - Star Wars Death Star (for the PortaPad, but it's yellow), (2) Comanche 3, (2) Big Bertha (bubble lettering), (2) Keychain Recorders...bought the 2nd (storage) "Vagabond" from Hobby Lobby for $11 (with 40% off coupon)
07/17/12 - Just ordered AGM-57X Heatseeker from Model Empire Inc. ($17.99 + $7.00 shipping)...at night, I think I may've come up with a mend for the "Sky Dart" shock cord, running a piece of kevlar cord through a hole drilled into an engine block, researching all the parts now!
07/18/12 - Just ordered 1 BT-5 Body Tubes, (2) Gnome, (2) Reflector, (2) Hornet and (2) Bullpup from Excelsior Rocketry....Just bought Eli a "Star Dart" off eBay ($10)...didn't win a "Star Wars Destroyer" for Eli
07/19/12 - The "Gnome"s came in the mail today! Well, they actually came yesterday, but I didn't check the mail until the morning. And bought Eli a "Star Wars Sith Infiltrator" off eBay ($21.45)...Just ordered 5 packs of 5 BT-5 engine blocks frrom eRockets ($8.95)...Just ordered 3 x 10-ft. of Kevlar cord (.026, 140 lb.) from Rocketarium.com ($12.42)
07/20/12 - 3 packages came today, one is the "AGM-57X Heatseeker", just ordered another one from Hobby Road ($24.87)...the "Star Wars Death Star Launch Kit" also came...and the (2) "Hornet", (1) Bull Pup, (2) "Reflector", (2) "Gnome", and BT-5 body tubes...the death star kit, the rod is bent pretty bad, i'll use my "old" one and get eli a new one
07/21/12 - The Keychain Camcorders came today
07/23/12 - Got alot of packages: BT-5 engine blocks, Kevlar Cord, Micro Alligator Clips, (2) "Big Bertha", (2) "Comanche-3", (1) "Star Dart"
07/24/12 - The other "AGM-577X Heatseeker" came...and I installed the BT-5 engine block/kevlar cord on the Sky Dart...didnt' go as smoothly as planned, we'll see how it works...put the CA glue on the tube, now the nose cone fits too tight...i don't remember it fitting that tight before, but i can't be sure...i've sanded the tube, but the bt-5 fit in there as easy as it did before, so i'ma hafta sand the nose cone
07/25/12 - Sanded the nose cone, still fits a little snug, but we'll see how it works during the next launch! Oh, and the Solar Launch Controller came yesterday!!! (And the key, which is for the newer style Beam controllers)