When I learned about high power rockets one of my first and unfortunately inaccurate observations was that most people tended to scratch build rather then build kits. I thought that there was no way that someone could make a huge kit and expect people to buy it instead of designing their own. Unfortunately, this is not the case.
When I'm looking at someone's fleet at a launch or browsing build threads on TRF, I see the majority of people building kits rather then scratch building. This is one thing I don't understand about rocketeers.
I dont understand why most people would rather build a kit then scratch build. In my opinion, scratch building is much more enjoyable then building from a kit.
When you scratch build you end up with something unique. Your rocket is yours and yours alone. With a kit there are hundreds or possibly thousands out there that are exactly the same as the one you just built.
I think that kit building also takes the creativity and challenge out of rocketry. Sure, you might have to get tricky with the AV bay or do some small modifications, but beyond that all of the work is already done for you. The rocket is designed, the fins are cut and the body the body tube is slotted. All you need to do is mix up some epoxy and throw everything together. Anyone could do that! Give yourself a challenge for a change. No one said building a rocket was going to be easy.
I see lots of people trying to pick out a kit for their L1. There are pluses and minuses for each of their options. Maybe he likes the look of one but the motor mount is too small. Maybe one looks perfect for him, but he thinks the fins are ugly. Maybe he wants a dual deploy one but the one's he's considered are too heavy for smaller motors. I dont know. With scratch building you can have the best of all of them! Light, dual deploy, a good sized MMT with good aesthetics. Problem solved!
The more you can scratch build or modify, the better. If you can cut your own fins, great! If you can roll your own body tubes out of fiberglass, great! If you can mold your own nosecone, fantastic! In my opinion, the more parts you can fabricate yourself, the better! It's also much cheaper to do things yourself. I can make an all fiberglass tube for about the same cost as a cardboard one of the same size!
Dont get me wrong, kits are perfectly fine! I have many of them and there are perfectly good reasons to buy them. If you see a design that is interesting of very visually appealing, by all means get it! It's more honest to buy a kit then to clone one exactly like it. There are other perfectly good reasons to buy a kit instead of scratch build. I can't slot fiberglass. I dont have the tools or know of anyone who does, so for now, all of my non-minimum diameter fiberglass rockets are kits.
Some people might have arthritis or some other condition that make it very hard to work for long periods of time. Kits are the way to go for them!
I think kits are perfect for any one starting out building rockets. Kits give you a good foundation for future building. Building a kit helps you practice skills that would later help you in rocketry, like fillets, shock cord attachment, and basic flying skills.
In all it baffles me when I see people with the time, money, equipment and experience to scratch build, instead buy a kit.Instead of worrying about your "build" pile and you stash of kits, start stocking up on body tubes, nosecones, plywood and fiberglass.
So what are you waiting for! Open up openrocket and design away!
