NAR 60 Year Reunion, Part 4 - Something For Us Glider Nuts

At the NAR reunion, there were several display tables lined up against one of the meeting room walls that contained a lot of very interesting models, photos, and artifacts from the early days of model rocketry.

Being a fan of boost/gliders, I was instantly drawn to the display presented by Larry Renger.

As most of all of us old-time rocketeers know, Larry is the guy who came up with the very first front-engine boost/glider - the SkySlash -  back in the 1960s.

At that period, the boost/glider field was dominated by rear engine models that were essentially large-finned conventional rockets that could be transitioned into gliding vehicles.

The SkySlash virtually revolutionized boost/glider technology, and set the stage for many improvements and refinements that led to the high performance models we fly today.

Here is a pic of one of Larry's famous SkySlash models:



And a photo of the descriptive write-up about the model.  Sorry for the skewed image.  I couldn't take a straight down shot because it would have been obscured by my shadow from the overhead lighting.

Also on display at Larry's table was this gorgeous model, the AstroBlaster....

In addition, Larry had on the table a vintage Estes SkyDart.  The photo I took of it was too blurry to post here, but you can see parts of it in the above two pics.

Most of all, I was thrilled to actually meet and talk gliders with Mr. Renger himself!