A TWA Observation...

I have several fairly rare items in my Disney collection. One of these is a tray that was produced in 1954, before Disneyland was actually built. It looks something like this:

The map looks pretty close to the finished product, but there are some glaring differences. For example, the bandstand was moved from Town Square early in construction due to the fact that it blocked the view of Sleeping Beauty Castle. Another difference is how the TWA Moonliner looks. Instead of the almost complete curve of the actual rocket, it has a much more thin and pointed look to it:

When I recently looked at the tray again, a flicker of recognition went off in my brain. It actually looks pretty close to this:

So, it seems that my modification of the Red River Rocketry Red Star's paint scheme might not have been quite as original as I thought. Oh well, I still lile the way it turned out, and it's a great tribute to the first TWA Moonliner designs!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

Rain...Rain.....More Rain....

Well, the rain has successfully interrupted Megalaunch and this week's regular launch. So, what else can it wreck? How about finishing projects? Case in point, my Estes Photon Disruptor. I finally got around to building it as a kind of companion piece to my Estes Odyssey. I wanted to get it all done so that I could fly both of them at the launch....today....that was cancelled. But it doesn't really matter because this is what the Photon Disruptor looks like right now:

Yep, it is WAY too humid to paint anyway. Now don't get me wrong, I love the fact that we are getting much needed rain, but can't we do like one week off and one week on or something? Sheesh! Hopefully we'll get caught up on rain soon and we can get back to normal. A rocketeer lives a tough life sometimes!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high! (and dry!)

Jupiter Descending...

Weather has a lot of consequences in a place like Texas. It can be unpredictable and fairly violent at times. It can postpone rocket contests (like it did with Megalaunch this weekend) or it can have even more profound effects....historic, even.

Let me back up a little. For years I have been participating in Moon Day with John Dyer, Suzy Sprague, Jack Sprague, and many others from DARS. Moon Day takes place at the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field, which boasts many historic air and space craft (the star being Apollo 7). One of the lesser players was a Jupiter missile that was kept in a side parking lot. I say was, because it is no more.

My wife is into recycling. She would, if she could, single-handedly save the planet. Part of her program is to take cans and other metal bits to the local scrap yard in Garland. Since I was off this week for Spring Break, I tagged along. When we pulled in the gate, we saw this:

After the shock of running into a ballistic missile in our local scrap yard wore off, I told Laurie that it sure looked like the old Jupiter missile from the Frontiers of Flight Museum. We asked the lady at the front desk about it and she said that it was the same. She said the recent wind storms pushed it into a fence and almost onto a road and had damaged it. She said the museum decided that it was a liability so "someone that knew someone" called them to scrap it! However, she also said, "Don't worry, it will never be cut up. We just can't do it. It's history! Its worth more to us like it is!"
She then went on to show us that she had a pretty darn good grasp of U.S. history herself, talking about the Cuban missile crises and related events.

So, if you want to see this old war bird, just go to DFW Industrial Metals & Recycling at 1340 Commerce in Garland, Texas. They encouraged me to tell everyone in DARS about the missile, and to mention that if you have any metal to recycle, they can certainly help you! It's good to know they appreciate history, too!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

The TWA Red Star!

John Dyer of Red River Rocketry often kids me that I can't build a rocket stock. The truth be told, I usually build them completely stock, I just put my own signature on the paint jobs!

Now, it is no secret that I love the Disneyland TWA Moonliner. So, when I got the Red River Rocketry Red Star, I decided to do a bit of a tribute. After all they are both passenger liners of the future! Therefore, let me present, the TWA Red Star!

The Red Star is a really cool model, and I feel the TWA paint scheme and logos really put it over the top, at least for this Moonliner nut! Hopefully I can make a launch soon so I can fly her again!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!