   High power rocketry?
  Is anyone involved in this hobby?  If so, how is it?  What is the cost/training like?   
  Well, to do it correctly, and safely with all the right permits and stuff, a little on the steep side. Training I don't think would be too bad.Now if you do it like I did, it is very cheap, but rather dangerous. questions like "I wonder what happens when you put all of those chemicals in a bottle and set a match to it" can make for interesting, if likely deadly results. :P   ;  I think he means propper model rocketry, like when they take rockets out into nevada and let them rip. I can only talk about low powered rocketry. Can you find a picture of the sort of thing you mean?Dave   ;;  "High power model rockets are propelled by larger motors ranging from H to O and can be up to 40 feet tall. Their motors are almost always reloadable rather than single-use in order to reduce cost. Recovery and/or multi-stage ignition may be initiated by small on-board computers, which use an altimeter or accelerometer for detecting when to ignite engines or deploy parachutes.""Due to the extreme speeds (often over Mach 1) and high altitudes (often over 10,000 ft.) these rockets can attain, a small drogue parachute is often deployed at apogee, and a larger one deployed after the rocket reaches a lower altitude. This reduces the distance the rocket drifts considerably. High powered model rockets can carry large payloads, including cameras and instrumentation such as GPS units, and are not much different from their military counterparts.""Since 9/11, the high powered model rocket hobby has been even more carefully monitored by the government. Participants must be licensed as well as those who sell the engines and all high power flights require FAA notification."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Model_rocketryOuch, require FAA stuff :) H.P.R., That must be cool.Or better let: SpaceX - Falcon I, that costs $6.7 millionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Falcon_1;  Here is a decent example of high power model rocketryhttp://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=1864398915747607299&q=rocketAlthough high power rocketry doesnt have to be that high power.Most high power rockets still have carboard tubes I believe, just thicker ones and stronger construction techniques.  As well as much larger motors.   ;Quote:Original post by phantomThats immediately what I thought.As far as awesome home rocketry experiments goes the man who started this company beats them all hands down. [grin]Quote from the "history" page for those who don't know of/remember this guy.Quote:Starchaser began life as an experimental rocket test programme set up by Steve Bennett back in 1992. The objective had been to develop an inexpensive means of delivering small scientific payloads to high altitudes.This research was funded through a variety of sponsorship deals and by the mid nineties the project had grown into a team effort. In 1996 the team successfully launched a 6 mtr (21 ft) rocket, Starchaser 2, which qualified as the largest private civilian rocket ever to be built and flown in Europe.Not bad for a guy who started off tinkering in his shed.   ;Why children should not play with high-power rocketry!Storyboard: