Floivanus wrote:Yeah, me too. Ripcord was one of the main reasons i kept going to the old catmess, he constantly had a new or different idea and some nicely done animations or drawings of what he came up with, great help and advice given out as well.
He even seemed to be everywhere as well, had an online presence on many different forums as well.
One of my great regrets is finding out only a few months before his passing that Ripcord lived only about 1 hour from where NASAW was built and lives. We talked about him coming out to watch, but scheduling didn't work that fall, and then a few months later he was no longer with us. Considering that Ripcord is credited with originating the whipper design, it would have meant even more for him to be able to see in person what his ideas led to.
EdwinJeff wrote:No, it's just a niche hobby.
Edwin:
First, welcome! Let's hear about any machines you might have built or thought about building. It's always good to hear from new folks!
Secondly, yes it is a bit of a niche hobby, but there are a lot of school-type competitions and for a number of years the big event in Delaware had been broadcast on TV (sadly that might be done for at least a few years). Facebook has largely killed off forums, especially such as these, in favor of a quick response, less detailed format. I'm not sure that is for the best, but it is what it is. And the biggest, most widely-known event being cancelled for 2 years in a row didn't help things. That said, there are lots of events across the country (and perhaps even across the world, though the European Event seems to be finished), and they are only growing in size. The Colorado event had around 30,000 people last year!