Back In The Day, Part 29 - Some NARAM 11 Pictures!

Today's post topic goes back nearly 51 years - all the way to August, 1969.  

The place: The United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 

The event: NARAM 11.

As I've mentioned before on this blog, I was there as a spectator getting my first ever taste of model rocketry. 

The Sunday following the meet, the local Colorado Springs newspaper published a very nice article in the 'leisure' section covering the meet, complete with lots of photos.  As a thirteen year old kid at the time, I had the presence of mind to save that article.  I just found the well-yellowed pages today in one of my numerous model rocketry binders.

So, without further ado, here are scans of those long ago pics taken by a newspaper staff photographer. Sorry that some of them are skewed a little bit - the pages were somewhat difficult to align properly on the glass.

There are only two pictures that have the subject rocketeer identified.  If any of you can recognize (or even BE) one of the persons in any of the photos, please post your info here in the comments section.  It would be nice to put some names to these faces.

There are a few shots mixed in here that were taken by the photographer during a tour of Estes Industries:

Yikes! Just look at all those vintage blue model rocket motor shipping tubes!  Ok, it's a B&W photo - just pretend they're blue!

I believe the following image might be that of  Sven Englund of The New Canaan Space Pioneers prepping his egglofting entry. Someone please correct me if you know differently.

This pic is of Vern Estes himself manning the launch control panel as RCO:

Cheers!

Some Good Ol' Yankee Ingenuity... And Duct Tape!

Colorado Rocketeer Eric Davila of the Longmont Rocket Club sent out a picture of an interesting device that he used at a recent group launch:

This is a makeshift tool which he used to successfully rescue a model rocket from the clutches of a Rocket Eating Tree (RET).

Close study of the photo reveals a variety of handles, sticks, and rods which were scrounged up and pressed into service to make the tool - all held together by that venerable all-in-one-portable-workshop-in-a-roll, duct tape!

Upon seeing this photo, I was immediately reminded of a tool I have hanging in my own garage:

This device is a ten foot length of 1 inch PVC pipe equipped with a wire hook made from a coat hanger.  The hook is securely attached with a pair of hose clamps.  No duct tape here.

I use the pole on an annual basis to hang Christmas light strings on the branches of various trees in the yard.
I've also been known to attach a small broom to the end of the pole in the winter for the purpose of brushing accumulated snow off my satellite TV dishes and LNBF units whenever reception became blocked.

Until I saw Eric's post, it never occurred to me that this would make a splendid rocket retrieval tool.
Of course, the ten foot length would prove highly impractical to transport to the flying field, but shorter lengths of four to five feet along with some PVC couplers would do the job very nicely.

Such a device would be a perfect addition to a club's collection of range equipment.

Thanks for the idea, Eric!

Cheers....

BAR Fleet #127 - Cherokee-E

Source:  Estes Industries

#2408

Type:  Sport Model

Stages: Single

Engine Type:  24mm

Recovery:  Parachute

Length:  74.8cm (29.5in)

Diameter:  34mm (1.33in)

Weight Empty:  67.9g

Nose Cone:  Secant Ogive -  4 caliber

Fin Type: Raked, Inverted

Number of Fins: 3

Color Scheme:  White, Dark Blue, Black

Date Completed:  July 13, 2020

A Modified Classic

The Cherokee E, introduced in 2019, is a longer, higher powered version of the iconic and popular Cherokee D model rocket from 1971.  This model is one of the kits that Estes currently sells through Hobby Lobby

The Cherokee models are inherently attractive birds, possessing that ‘sounding rocket’ look. 

This kit came to me as a 2019 Christmas gift from one of my daughters and was a joy to build.

The only major differences between this model and its predecessor are the extended airframe tube, and, of course, accommodations for the longer E motors.  Also, the white and dark blue color scheme is quite aesthetically pleasing.

In retrospect, I would have preferred to build the model with fins attached to the longer body tube, and the shorter tube used as a payload section.  I didn’t consider this, however, until the model was already assembled.

Nevertheless, the Cherokee E should be a great model to fly on those larger fields.  With the addition of a payload section, it would also serve nicely as a video camera booster rocket.

A superb addition to the growing fleet.

Back In The Day, Part 28 - The Estes Aerospace Club.

 It is my belief that probably every young person who was involved in model rocketry back in the early '70s mailed in a $2 fee to Estes Industries in order to become a member of that prestigious organization, the EAC.

I was one of those young persons.

For that mere two bucks, one received an official EAC package that included a membership card, certificate, range box stickers, stationary, a decal sheet, a Technucal Manual, an iron-on EAC emblem, and of course, the Viper rocket kit.  Everything was packed into one of those super cool cardboard range boxes. 

Here is a photo of the EAC info in the Estes 1973 catalog.

Nowdays, don't  have very much of this material left from my old EAC kit.

These are some faded decals and an EAC sticker still affixed to what used to be one of my range boxes:

The Viper rocket is long gone, having been sold with the rest of my stuff when I exited the hobby in 1984.  I don't  even have a picture of the model.

My flight logs from back then show 7 successful flights of the Viper.

The iron-on emblem and thrust bars are gone as well.  I never affixed those to a T-shirt because, back then, I was in high school.  I was trying hard to not be a nerd in those days.  In my eyes, wearing such a garment in public would be paramount to social suicide!

Funny, I would gladly wear such a shirt nowadays. I don't care if it's nerdy or not. Kind of wish I still had those iron-ons!

Finally, here are my EAC certificates:

I only went as far as getting to the 'Craftsman' skill level before dropping out. I totally missed out on the 'Advanced' and 'Expert' categories.

Alas, I am now and forever doomed to spend all of eternity as a mere 'Craftsman' rocketeer!

Wait a minute.  I have a great idea: 

Why shouldn't Estes Industries resurrect the EAC in it's original form so that us old BARs that didn't finish the requriements could have a chance to attain that coveted 'Expert' pinnacle?

Mr. Langford, what thinkest Thou?

The BFTP Shop Is Now Open!

Yesterday's completion of the EAC Viper build project served a purpose that went far beyond merely adding a new model rocket to the fleet.

In effect, it entirely dispelled the Stay-at-home COVID19 blues from which I have been suffering the past several months.  I am no longer moping about the shop, attempting to work up some semblance of model rocketry motivation.

Before the Future Gloss-Sauce sealer had dried on the Viper, I was pulling out another box containing a long neglected project begun back in early 2018 - an Orbital Transport clone.

Back then, I had completed a great deal of work on the model: balsa parts were cut out, body tube seams sealed, the ram jet tubes cut and assembled, and the motor mount assembled and installed.

This morning, I was able to hit the ground running with shaping the parts for the booster fins and ramjet housings, and applying CWF.

Lots and lots of filling and sanding is in store for the near future.

I likely will not engage in writing a build thread here - there are plenty of fine ones for the Orbital Transport already in existence on the web.  I will post progress pictures periodically.

But, hey... the rocketry bug has bitten again!

BAR Fleet #126 EAC Viper B

Source:  Estes Industries

#0820 

Type:  Sport Model

Stages: Single

Engine Type:  13mm

Recovery:  Parachute

Length:  35.5cm

Diameter:  24.8mm

Weight Empty:  32.4g

Nose Cone:  Tangent Ogive - 4.7 caliber

Fin Type: Trapezoidal - Modified

Number of Fins: 4

Color Scheme:  White, Purple, Yellow/Orang. Trim – Black, violet, Yel/org.

Date Completed:  July 5, 2020

An Old-Fleet Rebuild

This model is a scratch re-build of the EAC Viper which was the exclusive model included in the Estes Aerospace Club membership kit introduced in 1973.  Like many rocketeers back in the day, I was an EAC member, and built the original included kit. I recall the model as being consistently well-performing in flight, so a BAR era re-build is a complete must.

Armed with a plastic nose that is close to the original, and a copy of the build plans from JimZ, I soon had a reasonable replica.

One major difference between this model and all other previously built recently during my BAR years is that it is entirely brush painted!  The paint choice is gloss craft paint from Hobby Lobby.  I mixed equal parts of yellow and orange to arrive at the trim colors.  Even though there are tiny brush lines visible, the overall paint job turned out very satisfactory.

Since the Viper is earmarked to be the new fleet flagship, extra decals were made showing my old NAR number and the NAR section of which I was a charter member back in 1973 (ROMAR #331).

I’m hoping to get 50 flights out of this new model.

Back To The Bench !

This week, I finally became motivated to pull a project out of the cabinet and get back to rocket building.
Out of mothballs came the EAC Viper.
The fins got masked and the purple stripes painted on.

I am surprised - the brushed-on paint job didn't turn out half bad.
I took the liberty to make the purple stripes considerably wider than on the original design.
Last night, the necessary decal sheet was designed and printed out, so this model should be completed this weekend.
Cheers!