My Newest Rocket Building Tool Ever.

Now that the hustle and bustle of the Holiday season is nearly over, I have finally found some time to sit down and write a quick post, and even squeeze in a little shop time to work on some rocket builds.

A few weeks ago, when one of my daughters called asking me what I wanted for a Christmas gift, this device immediately came to mind:

A magnifying lens headset!

Just the thing for an old geezer with not-so-great eyesight to use for seeing that small detail work.

This one comes with several clip-on lenses of differing magnification levels.

It even is equipped with a VERY bright LED illumination lamp, which is kind of irritating to other persons who wish to engage me in conversation while I'm working.  I blind them when I look up at them!

Anyway, this was the perfect addition to the rocket bench tool arsenal.

And, yes, it is exceedingly and delightfully nerdy.

Just the way I like it....

Helping To Keep The Hobby Going

Even though I am not currently a member of the NAR, I firmly believe in the 'Pay Forward' mantra espoused by the organization.
In the past two and a half years since I've embraced BAR-ism, several of my 'lone wolf' launch sessions at local parks have attracted the attention of other folks who happened to be in the vicinity.
Many of these onlookers had never seen a model rocket before.  They asked a lot of questions, expressed a genuine interest in the activity, and asked how they could get started.  I would end up tearing a sheet of paper out of my field notebook and scrawling down some information to give them.

Not entirely efficient.

So, this week I took some time to sit down in front of the ol' PC and make these:

I plan to carry a dozen or so of these in my field notebook to have ready to hand out to interested potential new rocketeers who happen to stroll by during my launch sessions.

The sheets feature my contact info including the URL to this blog.

Also included are:

• The NAR website
• The three major model rocket club/NAR sections along the Colorado Front Range.
• Information on where to buy model rockets locally.
• The two main online rocketry forums.

On the back of each sheet is a copy of the model rocket Safety Code.

I figure this should be ample resource information to get anyone started.

It certainly doesn't hurt to attempt bringing in new blood to this great hobby of ours.

"Jump in, folks...The water's fine !!!"

Now...Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Program....

This past weekend, the BlastFromThePast shop became fully operational again.

An intensive 'Shock and Awe' barrage of medications launched at that nasty cough has started showing its effects.

The first order of business was to re-arrange the rocket-building bench (again) to accommodate the installation of a small bookshelf stereo set, a DVD player, and a small TV monitor.  Even though I generally prefer to have peace and solitude while working in the shop, there are those few occasions where I like to have music or a good concert DVD going.

Once set up, I went back to work on the Steampunk Protostar, consisting of forming more rivet panel detailing on the fins.  There wasn't anything new enough here to dedicate another build series post.

The weekend's biggest accomplishment was in sitting down and planning out the model rocketry project list for 2019. Here is a pic of all the kits in the queue waiting to be assembled:

Next year will be fairly heavy on scale models.  In addition to the ones shown here, I will be picking up the new Estes Saturn V. I never built one of those in my 'old fleet' days, so it's high time I tackle that one. Also looking to purchase a Mercury Little Joe, and maybe a Black Brant III.

Aside from scale birds, I still have an Orbital Transport partially completed, and a parts kit assembled for a scratch-built EAC Viper. 

Being a glutton for punishment, I have another FlatCat in the works, except this one will be modified as a sliding wing R/G.

Oh, and there's also that must-have-in-the-fleet 60th Anniversary Alpha! 

If time permits, there are a couple re-builds of some old fleet favorites to throw in the mix, as well.

Besides rocket builds, I plan to pull out one of those PA monitor stands I procured last year and turn it into a heavy duty launcher for the bigger birds on the build list.

Finally, I must design and build a new launch controller that can handle cluster ignition.  I may go with a relay system with that one.

Anyway, it appears that 2019 is shaping up to be quite a busy rocketry year for this old geezer, with plenty of new posting fodder for the BFTP blog!

Cheers.