When Hot Wheels Flew...

The year was 1970. Mattel had conquered the boys' toy industry with a new line of cars called "Hot Wheels" just two years ago, and they were looking to cash in on that brand in any way possible. Someone at R&D came up with a brilliant idea. "Kids love rockets and jets! Let's develope a line of Hot Wheels jets!" ...and thus, in 1971, Hot Birds were born.

Hot Birds were a line of six die cast planes meant to inspire kids' imaginations with visions of zipping through the atmosphere and beyond. They were all pure sci-fi designs, with little relation to any actual aircraft being produced at the time. I bought one:

The Hot Birds "Maching Bird"

This picture isn't the one I had as a kid. That one was purple, as I remember it. This one was picked up on eBay recently. Still, its the same model.

The planes were designed to "fly" down a string. There was a wire harness that clipped into that slot between the engines. By the way, the engine hatch also opened and the wheels retract. The cockpit doesn't open.

Hot Birds never caught on. I think that while Hot Wheels cars were exciting because they were really fast, Hot Birds just weren't. In fact, I remember them getting hung up on their string and just hopelessly hanging in mid air. Really, it was a good thing they weren't any faster. These things are a lot bigger than a Hot Wheels car and made of metal. Getting hit in the head with one of these suckers would not have been fun! They only lasted one year and then were forgotten.

Still, that means that they are pretty darn collectible now. If you go to eBay in search of one, plan on forking out just shy of fifty bucks (with shipping.) Not bad for a toy that was a flop.

Thanks for taking a flight down memory lane! Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

The Ultimate Model Rocket Sweepstakes!

A few days ago, George Sprague sent me some old model rocketry related ads to look at. One in particular caught my eye. It was this one:

Of course I was more than a little interested. I had never heard of this giveaway before, and I wondered who won and whatever happened to the replica? Does it still exist?

Enter "The Great and Mighty Google!" Without much effort I found out the following: 1. The winner was 13 year old Portland Oregon youth, Alen Hanshew. 2. He never really had it in his back yard or anything, since he immediately donated it to the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry. The main issue seems to have been that there needed to be a rail dock at the delivery location, and not many houses have those (museums often do, though!). 3. Yes, it still exists, and can be visited! Here is a picture of it today:

For a more in depth look at the greatest rocketry related prize in forever, check out this link: http://comiccoverage.typepad.com/comic_coverage/2009/01/the-gemini-spacecraft-mystery-new-details.html

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

Space....50's Style!

A few days ago, my friend George Sprague sent me the following picture:

It turns out he found it on Etsy and thought I might find it cool (which I obviously did!) I did a little research (very little) and found out that although I thought it might have been a recent takeoff on what a 1950's coloring book might have been like, it, in fact, really was published in 1953. I love the subject matter, which seems to focus on our "Space Husband" and "Space Wife" arguing over directions on some distant planet. (Note who has the map). In the background looms one of those really cool 50's space ship that makes no scienticic sense, but gets all kinds of style points.

You can actually purchase a poster of this comic book cover on eBay, and the book itself seems to come up every once in a great while. So, thanks to George, I now have something else to check my favorite online garage sale for!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

Luck is in the Stars...Trek

Every once in a while things just turn out really cool. Take, for example, when several years ago I ordered an Estes Klingon Battle Cruiser off of eBay. The example that I purchased was pretty darn cheap due to the fact that it apparently was found in a flooded basement. The box was rotted and warped, as were the exposed rocket parts. However, the only tough to replace parts were 1. plastic or 2. in plastic bags. Yep, the tubes and balsa were shot, but the decals and plastic parts looked like they were fine!

When I got the package in the mail, I quickly opened it to see if I had made a good deal....and saw something a bit odd. There was an extra plastic bag that looked a lot like this:

It was obviously not part of the Klingon, but what was it? Then I found this:

Yep, in addition to my Estes Klingon Battle Cruiser, I had a complete bagged AMT U.S.S. Enterprise from TNG!...with the instructions! Bonus!

Now, it has been several years, and I still haven't built the kit. However, some day I probably will. Until then, I can look at it and remember that sometimes good things just happen...and that can be pretty uplifting on tough days!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

The Dream of Space....Mountain

Sometimes when things are being planned, the imagination soars far above what can actually be achieved. Case in point, Disney's Space Mountain. Although this is a great attraction, what was planned was probably even cooler.

First, a little history. Space Mountain was originally dreamed up in the mid 1960's as a way to tap into America's fascination with the space race. It was to be built at Disneyland (Walt Disney World didn't exist yet) and was to be called Space Port. In a way, it was a "next generation" Rocket to the Moon, and would allow guests to blast through space in a dark, indoor roller coaster...well, mostly indoors. Take a look at this:

Illustration from a 1968 Disneyland map

Those things that look a lot like coaster tracks on top of the ride building were supposed to be exactly that. So, part of the ride would be indoors, and part out. Notice, also, that the building is pretty much square, not round as it eventually turned out.

Unfortunately, two major problems arose with the project. First, the technology didn't exist to run multiple trains on the same track. Computers just weren't up to the task of keeping track of individual coaster trains. Second, Walt Disney passed away in 1966, which put many projects on the back burner...or killed them completely.

But Walt's indoor space coaster was going to be built. By 1973 computers had evolved enough to do the required task. Also, a whole new park had opened in Florida that had a Tomorrowland that really needed a star attraction. So, in 1975, Space Mountain opened 3000 miles away from where it was originally intended.

Disneyland was not forgotten, however. In 1977 their version opened as well. In fact, there are now versions of the iconic ride in five Disney parks world wide. In Paris, guests are even outside briefly!

So there you go. The world's first space race roller coaster is still going strong. Hopefully we can say the same about the space program soon!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

The DARS Winter Intergalactic...A Few Notes

Well, the DARS Winter Intergalactic has come and gone, and it was a really good contest! For those interested in such things, the results were:

A Streamer Duration
1st- Jack Sprague
2nd- Suzy Sprague
3rd- John Dyer
4th- Bill Gee

A Parachute Duration
1st-Chas Russell
2nd- Andrew Conders
3rd- John Dyer
4th- Stephan Pierce

A Helicopter Duration
1st- Jack Sprague
2nd- Stu Powley
3rd- John Dyer
4th- Chas Russell

Open Spot Landing
1st- David Shultz
2nd- Suzy Sprague
3rd- Andrew Conders
4th- Jack Sprague

Meet Champs
1st- Jack Sprague
2nd- John Dyer
3rd- Stu Powley
4th- Chas Russell

(Note: It really helps to do well in a heavily weighted event!)

Here are a few pictures I got from the day:

I flew my Zoom Broom for Open Spot. It came apart. Fail.

This looks tragic, but it's just a saucer going from "up" to "down."

I flew my Estes Odyssey clone for one of my parachute flights. Good move. It was the only flight that qualified for me!

There was plenty of time for sport flights too! This is my Red River Rocketry Merlin flying on an F...

Bill Gee's Red River Rocketry P-Chuter turned in a good time!

All in all, we all had a blast! If you couldn't make it out, we'll be flying another one soon!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

The Simplicity of the Contest

This weekend DARS is hosting our first contest of the year! It is time for the Dallas Winter Intergalactic! Now, while some contest birds can be complicated, most are pretty simple, really. Let's take a look at what I'm planning to fly Saturday...

On the bottom we have the most complicated bird, a Rose-A-Roc helicopter. This was actually rather challenging to build, but it turns in consistantly fair times in helicopter duration, so I use it. Plus, it happens to be what I have. In reality any spinny recovery bird (that stays in one piece) would work. My bird has been beaten by a spinning pyramid. Really.

Next, we have my parachute/ streamer duration bird. It is beyond simple, and I will try to build a backup before contest day. The fins are 1/32 ply, there is no engine block to save weight, and the shock cord runs on the outside (attached to the engine in the back). It is literally a paper tube, three fins and a nose cone. It is also very high performance.

Lastly, we have my open spot landing entry. It is my old almost RTF Estes X-15. You can literally use anything in open spot landing, so I figured, why not?

And that's it. Nothing too scary. Just some simple rockets for having fun with friends. I hope you guys can make it out!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!