Back In Business In Colorado !

 Hi, All,

Finally, after a very long period of absence, I am back to hacking away here at the blog!

Back in late September all of the local Colorado municipalities finally lifted the Burn Bans and Fire Danger Restrictions. 

This means that us rocketeers along the Front Range could get back to flying models again. This past Friday, October 30th, we were blessed with ideal weather, so six of our group made the trek to Dove Valley Park. 

This is the first time we've been able to conduct a launch session since September 2025 !!  Needless to say, everyone was quite ready for a flyin' fix!

This outing also jolted me out of my rocket building doldrums and has inspired me to get my rear end down the stairs and get working on all of the long-neglected builds that yet lurk in the Basement La-boratory!

I am currently working through all the photos and flight videos from this launch event so that I can post a report here this week.   Please check back.

Cheers !

At Last, 2 Birds Ready For Primer!

 I finally finished grain filling, sanding, and prepping these two Nike rockets for primer.

This has been a long time coming.

Now, all I have to wait for is a relatively windless day to get them outside with the rattle cans.

Perhaps I will get some rockets completed this year, after all.

Back To Normal Again

 The very day after my last post, Castle Rock and Douglas County went right back to the burn ban restrictions.

There hasn't been a drop of rain in the past week and the wind has been at a high level every single day. The area is a virtual tinder-box!

Add to that the smoke plumes from a large wildfire on the Colorado/Utah border blowing straight into the Colorado Front Range, making it unhealthy to be outside for any length of time.

Interestingly, there was a story on local news this morning about a nearby wildfire that was started by lightning - on a golf course!!

I would have thought that a well- manicured and irrigated place like that would be immune to fires. 

Guess not...

Anyway, the model rocket flying drought drags on as well.

A Quick Post For The Blog.

 Hi, All,

I haven't gone away from the BlastFromThePast blog, I'm only on a hiatus.

Fire burn bans have finally been lifted here in Castle Rock and Douglas County, but now the problem is that there hasn't been much in the way of decent flying weather sans brisk windy conditions.

With the continued drought and the increase in warmer summer temperatures, I'm sure it won't be long until we're back on burn bans.

The outlook for a Front Range group launch seems bleak at the moment, but I am on the eagle-eye lookout for a day when weather might be favorable to do a launch excursion.

The good news is that all the weather models I have been reading speak of an El Nino weather pattern developing in the Pacific.  This (hopefully) will serve to bring substantial amounts of moisture to Colorado beginning in late summer and extending through the fall and winter months.

We'll have to wait and see.

I also haven't much to report on rocket building activity.  I have a couple birds on the bench close to be ready for shooting primer but just haven't spent much time with getting them finished.

Jeez! I thought when I retired there would be much more time available for rocket building.

(Cue game show buzzer sound)

Family activity, yard work, honey-do projects, and music writing have been taking up a large chunk of my time.

Anyway, I just wanted to jump on the blog here and let you all know that things will get cranked up again in the near future.

Thanks for reading.  Keep 'em flying!

-Ed

BAck To The Bench !!

 This past week, I finally got my rear into gear and made the long trek to the basement La-BOR-atory to immerse myself in a bit of rocket construction.

My efforts resulted in getting the Nike-Smoke and the Nike-Apache ready for primer.

This session involved attaching the fins on the latter, applying fillets to both models, prepping the plastic parts, and filling in any spots on the fins where I might have missed some grain.

On a different subject, I've been reading some encouraging news on the rocket flying front.

Meteorologist are predicting a super El Nino weather pattern forming this year.

What this means is that drought-stricken Colorado will likely be seeing much more moisture beginning in the latter part of the year.

This also means that we should have respite from the non-stop fire danger burn bans imposed by the local municipalities, which are currently responsible for the lack of model rocket launching.

Guess it's time to spend more time in the shop and start stocking up on the motor inventory!

Cheers!

Happy 2026 !!

 Happy and prosperous New Year to all !! 

In keeping with my annual New Year tradition, it's time to post my look-back at the previous year's rocketry activity.

This year's post is very short indeed:

Launch sessions:        2

Rocket flights:            10

New rockets built:      0

I did manage to get a smattering of progress accomplished on a couple of outstanding builds, but not enough to get any of them completed and flight-ready.

So, for 2026 I'm quite ready to reverse this rocketry drought and get back into the swing of getting birds built and hitting the flying field again. After all, I'm coming up on my 10th anniversary of becoming a BAR. Gotta make it count. 

Stay tuned. Lots to come in 2026 !!

Cheers!

Still Vertical And Have A Pulse!

 For those of you who follow this blog, you probably have noticed how infrequently I have been posting here. 

No worries.  I'm still an avid model rocket buff. It's in my DNA!

The issue has been a necessary re-prioritization of my time and resources due to all of the recently changing life situations.

As if there is not enough to do already, I've added yet another large project to my plate.  You can read all about it at this link:

https://eddies7.blogspot.com/2025/12/a-brand-new-musical-adventure.html?m=0

This has added another major time redistribution exercise to my life.

This being said, I will, by EOY, at least get the remainder of the pics from last September's Front Range launch at Dove Valley posted here.

That has certainly been long-neglected!

Anyway, hang in there with me.

CHEERS!!