An Anniversary...Of Sorts

 This summer marks the 50th anniversary of my very first model rocket launch.

The problem is, I have no inkling of the exact date of the launch, or any details pertaining to which model it was, as well as any flight data.  I just know that it occurred in the summer of 1973.

I didn't keep any records whatsoever back in those very early days.

I suspect that the model flown was the Estes Mini-Brute Hornet, the very model that I retired recently following its 50th flight.

The rocket, already built, was on display at a hobby store in Colorado Springs - Custom Hobbies. My friend and rocket mentor, Marc Kramer, suggested I buy it and use it for my first model rocket flights. I recall that I spent the princely sum of a buck-fifty for the model.

On that same visit to the hobby shop, I picked up my first rocket kits - a Mosquito and a Starblazer (Estes K-31), as well as some packages of appropriate mini-motors.

The Hornet was probably flown at an open field near my home on the east side of Colorado Springs.  Since I didn't yet have my own launch pad and controller it was likely flown off of Marc's GSE.

Apparently, the flight went well, as the Hornet lived to see a few more launches.  I am probably the only model rocketeer in existence that can't remember his very first model rocket flight!

The early launch of my first Mosquito, which took place around the same time period, is one that I vividly remember:

WHOOSH...Disappear......

I did actually find the model a couple days after the launch.  It was lying in the middle of a motorcylce trail at the perimeter of the launch field - crushed beyond recognition.

By the end of 1973, I had four additional models added to the fleet: an Estes Astron Spaceman and three small competition models of my own design, the Proton, Proton II, and Corona. 

Illustrations of the birds can be found on the "Old Fleet, 1973-1974" page on the right side of this blog's home page.

I didn't own a camera back then, but I did render color drawings of the early models.

One quick note - it wasn't until 1974 or '75 that I established my fleet numbering system, so some of the early model numbers don't reflect the actual build sequence. Oddly, my actual first rocket was assigned #13!

Oh, well ...

Anyway, in late 1973 I joined the Skywatchers Model Rocket Club in Colorado Springs, as well as becoming NAR member #25180.

In December 1973, Skywatchers had enough NAR members to apply for a section charter.

We became ROMAR (Rocky Mountain Association Of Rocketry), section #331 in January,1974.

So, that's my 50-year anniversary story, and I'm sticking to it!

Cheers.....

Photos From The Estes Tour

Mike Perreault and Jim Gazur sent me their pictures taken at the recent Estes Industries tour at Penrose Colorado.

Enjoy...

Bill Stine all set to lead the tour.  That's a really Big Bertha! - photo by Jim Gazur

Here are some photos taken by Mike Perreault in the main rocket building room...

Mike and Bill just hangin' out.

Vern and Gleda Estes at the autograph table.

Jim Gazur visiting with Vern and Geda

Jim and Bill greet at the tour

Colorado Front Range rocketeer Brock Wood also attended a tour. He posted his pics on TRF, here:

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threads/estes-tour-nsl-2023.180125/#post-2438946

And Now For Something Way Cool !...

 Yesterday afternoon I was hanging around the house when the doorbell rang.

It was my neighbor from across the street, Mike Perreault.

As you all remember, Mike was featured in my recent post covering the April 17th launch here in Castle Rock.

Mike is new to the hobby, and is as enthusiastic as they come.

Turns out he had just returned home from a trip to Penrose, Colorado.

He had managed to score two slots for the special scheduled tour of the Estes facility, so he and his wife spent the day at the 'Model Rocket Capitol of the World'!

How cool is that?

Mike described the tour, which was personally led by Bill Stine himself. They got to see most all of the operations there, except for motor manufacturing, of course. 

Part of the tour package included an Antar kit signed by Mr. Stine.

As an added bonus, Vern and Gleda Estes were both on hand at the event, meeting the guests and autographing various items.

They graciously added their signatures to the two kits presented to Mike and his wife.

Mike had brought one of them over to my home to show it to me.

I was delighted to see a pristine Antar kit bearing the signatures of so much model rocketry 'royalty'.

Then, to my immense surprise and amazement, Mike handed the kit to me.

"This is Yours", he declared.

HOLY MOLEY !!

He insisted that I have it, pointing out that he has another at home.

The item, never to be opened, now proudly has a special spot in my model rocket display cabinet.

THANK YOU A BILLION, MIKE !!!!

As I am writing this, an interesting thought has struck me -

What are the chances of two such rare model rocketry collector's items ending up residing in two homes on the same street in the same town?

Wow!

Cheers!

7th BAR Birthday!

 Once again, it's time to celebrate another consecutive year of involvement in the model rocketry hobby.

I haven't exactly yet decided what I will do to mark the occasion.

Maybe go out and launch a rocket, weather permitting.

Or possibly sit down and process an order with Estes or AC Supply.

Perhaps the 'partying' will be limited to quietly immersing myself for the entire day in a rocketry build project in the basement La-BOR-atory.

Or, organize rocketry files on the PC....

....build parachutes ? ...

Maybe not that one.

....take a road trip to Colorado Springs and pop into Apogee Components for a visit.....

.....crack open the collection of massive tomes containing  the 'Old Fleet Days' material and lose myself in memories....

...surf the net to catch up on all the latest forum posts, blogs, and other model rocket stuff....

...write another blog post......

The possibilities are endless.

Whichever course I choose, it might just involve a box of Krispy Kreme doughnuts and a can o' Dew!

Cheers!

More Deltie, Please!....

The Colorado Front range has seen quite a bit of overcast, rainy weather this past week, so there has presented itself precious little time to get outside to paint models or do anything in the way of flying them.

I did encounter an afternoon with a bit of respite from the drizzle when I managed to get out and shoot white primer on the three Deltie gliders.

These are now in the process of being sanded with 400 grit to smooth out all the surfaces.

The idea here is not to sand down to bare wood, but instead to provide a smooth 'canvas' for providing coloring with permanent markers. 

The primer coat prevents the marker fluid from soaking into the balsa wood and producing fuzzy edges.

The booster rocket...

After accidentally breaking off yet another balsa glider support pin, I decided 'enough is enough'. 

Those weak fin end pieces have now been removed, and I will be re-building them with stronger basswood versions.

More to come.....

More Progress On The Deltie AirSLOW...

 I've added some steps to this build that don't appear in the original kit instructions. 

First off, some CWF is applied to all of the small gaps in the wing and fuselage joints, then sanded smooth.

I've also chosen to round the leading and trailing edges of all the wings and stabs, as well as the fuselages.

These embellishments are quite time consuming, but they make for a cleaner, more attractive build. They also help to cut down on overall drag.

All of the balsa surfaces are then given a 400 grit smoothing operation to complete the cleanup.

I think the original instructions, which show all the edges squared and unfinished, were geared more toward getting this bird built and out on the flying field as quickly as possible, rather than taking the time to finish it properly. 

What's wrong with this picture?

Yep, boys and girls, you guessed it. When I was laying out all of the parts on the balsa sheet, I failed to pay attention to grain direction on the vertical stabs.

D'oh !!!!!

A rookie mistake.

I didn't even notice this until I started all the sanding. As a workaround fix, I applied some CA to all of the end-grain edges in the hopes that this will be enough to strengthen them.

If not, I'll probably have to break them off, and make a new set.  I'll see how things go with trim testing and powered flight, first.

Anyway, this upcoming week promises to be pretty decent, weather wise, so I should be able to get these babies outside to shoot on some thin primer coats.

The REAL BlastFromThePast Workshop!

 In the past, whenever I have posted pictures of my workshop here on the blog, they have always depicted a clean, organized, uncluttered, shiny work environment.

Those pics, that give the impression that I am a consummate neat-freak, are completely mis-leading.

Here is the reality:

This is the scene that greeted me early this morning when I descended into the murky depths of the basement.

It's a much more accurate representation of what my environs look like while I'm in the midst of rocket-building, multi-tasking mode.

Over the course of the last few days, I've managed to completely cover sixteen feet of workbench space with rocket stuff.

Time to don the apron, pull out the shovel, shop-vac, and cleaning rags....