Visit to eRockets in Dayton
Didn't get a chance to talk about it much yesterday, but wanted to share.
On our way to/from from Thanksgiving in Kentucky we stopped in Dayton,OH for the night and also visited the home of eRockets.biz. (As I post this, the site is down for maintenance, but give it a day) Prior to going I had contacted them via their website to let them know I was coming in, and also placed an order for pickup (saving the shipping costs). They are very welcoming and spent time chatting with us about all kinds of rockety stuff. They also let us browse the aisles (not fancy, but well laid out and organized) and shop for more stuff I don't need. It was great fun. They have all kinds of kits from a bunch of manufacturers. They also own the Semroc brand, so Randy (owner) showed me some new designs they were working on (watch for their "One-Eyed Purple People Eater" in a year or so). They also make 3D printed parts and have a CnC machine. As on their website, they have tubes, cones, and just about any kind of part you could need. It was impressive to see it all on the shelves and nice to be able to put your hands on so much stuff. They also have a few mid-power motors (black powder E & F) that they can't ship at reasonable costs, but you can buy in-person. They build almost every kit they sell, so those are displayed as well. Finally, watch out for the security bunny named "Elon" who keeps watch on the place. Here's a few pictures to give you an idea. If you are ever in the neighborhood, I recommend you stop by. Interesting experience.
They are also close to the National Museum of the US Air Force. Awesome place! Airplanes, rockets and missiles from before the Wright Brothers to today. Took us a day and a half to get through the place, and we didn't even watch the movies. And it's like free! (paid for by your taxes)
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I'll be in the area next May, as there's a giant Ham-fest (amateur radio convention) in Xenia. There's the Wright-Patterson AFB, with the museum there, which I would also like to check out. But yeah, between the Ham fest and eRockets, I expect to spend over $1000 in a single weekend, and god knows how I'm going to get it all in my car. From my house, it's a 9-hour drive and a lot of fun to do that drive (cruise control gets me over 400 miles to a 10-gallon tank). I will definitely be checking that out.
OMG, it's the killer rabbit of Caerbannog!
Brother Maynard, the Holy Hand-Grenade of Antioch!
Consult the Book of Armaments!
BROTHER MAYNARD:
Armaments, chapter two, verses nine to twenty-one
SECOND BROTHER:
And Saint Attila raised the hand grenade up on high, saying, "O Lord, bless this Thy hand grenade that, with it, Thou mayest blow Thine enemies to tiny bits in Thy mercy."
And the Lord did grin, and the people did feast upon the lambs and sloths and carp and anchovies and orangutans and breakfast cereals and fruit bats and large chu--
MAYNARD:
Skip a bit, Brother
SECOND BROTHER:
And the Lord spake, saying, "First shalt thou take out the Holy Pin. Then, shalt thou count to three. No more. No less. Three shalt be the number thou shalt count, and the number of the counting shall be three. Four shalt thou not count, nor either count thou two, excepting that thou then proceed to three. Five is right out. Once the number three, being the third number, be reached, then, lobbest thou thy Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch towards thy foe, who, being naughty in My sight, shall snuff it."
MAYNARD:
Amen
Dude! Cut back on the caffeine or something, will ya.
I used to hang around sci-fi fandom, and frankly, folks quoting large portions of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is considered NORMAL. You wanna see real geeks, go to a Con, held at a hotel over a weekend, with an Author guest of Honor. Philcon is close by; but I can't remember what weekend that runs. November I think, so we've missed it for this year. But regardless, that's quite within the realm of normal.
Quote from Brian C. on December 7, 2022, 3:22 pmI used to hang around sci-fi fandom, and frankly, folks quoting large portions of "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is considered NORMAL. You wanna see real geeks, go to a Con, held at a hotel over a weekend, with an Author guest of Honor. Philcon is close by; but I can't remember what weekend that runs. November I think, so we've missed it for this year. But regardless, that's quite within the realm of normal.
Phew! I'm normal! 🤪
Just got back from Dayton OH, where I also visted eRockets and the Air Force Museum.... Randy at eRockets was very nice and showed us the store/warehouse and the back area where they manufacture parts. They can make tubes, laser cut plywood, 3D print, and do all kinds of stuff. Very interesting.
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What, no pictures of their crack security team - Elon the bunny?
Glad you got a chance to visit. Cool place to look around in. Nice guys working there. Most importantly... Wha'd ya buy?🤑
And that Air Force museum is the biggest and best I've been to, and that includes the Smithsonian and its annex, which is also pretty great in its own right.
Quote from Eric Becher on May 24, 2023, 5:15 pmMost importantly... Wha'd ya buy?
I bought enough parts to start a build of what I've wanted to build for a long time.... the "Salvage One Vulture", and I also bought a LOC-IV, but I won't be building that for a few months, but I figured I was going to buy it sooner or later, might as well do it now and save on the shipping.
The Vulture is going to take some time, but it's going to be a BT-80 body tube, with BT-55 engine pods, and a 24mm Motor mount. Right now I'm trying to find some good photo references so I can get a handle on how big a project I'm getting myself into.