The Alpha Before the Alpha....

The year was 1959. The country was space-crazy and Scientific Products released one of the coolest toys ever. You see, before Estes had the Alpha, Scientific Products had the Alpha-1.

The Alpha-1 wasn't a solid fuel rocket. It used liquid fuel and powdered oxidizer. (vinegar and baking soda). It featured a remote launcher and was made of sturdy all-American plastic!

I had seen these for sale on eBay from time to time, but it wasn't until fellow DARS member Bob Melton brought one to sell at the DARS flea market a couple of weeks ago that I saw one in person. Actually, I did more than look at it...I bought it! (Bob had two so he was willing to let one go).

So now I will share it with you! Here, in all its glory, is the Alpha-1!

The box art is fantastic!

I think I like the side just as much!

All the info you need on the manufacturer...

Inside the box, the contents are displayed nicely with a back card photo...

Safety first!

I love the "fuel crate."

In case Mom got concerned...

The fuel comes in "barrels."

The secret of the remote launcher...a spring loaded hook and a pull string.

The motor is a mixing port for the fuel.

The instructions are even cool!

Great ideas for how to use your rocket!

I like the illustrations...

...and a little bit of history.

So, there you have it! I'd like to thank Bob for hooking me up with this beauty!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

Flight of the Corny 7

This week I'm featuring an item that George Sprague emailed me. Here ya go!

Yep, it's the Corny 7 rocket, by Kellogg's Corn Flakes! Now, if I were to date this thing, I would probably put it in the early 1960's, right in the middle of the Mercury Program. The giveaways are the Mercury capsule and the fact that they tacked a "7" onto "Corny" to make it like the other Mercury missions (I don't think anyone was fooled into thinking "Corny" was ever a real mission) 

The rocket seems straightforward enough. The capsule was removed and the parachute was folded. The blue tube was almost completely slid out from the white tube. The parachute was stuffed into the white tube and the capsule was replaced. A countdown probably happened and then...WHAM!  The blue tube was shoved into the white tube and the capsule and parachute flew up into the air, where they then came floating softly back down again.

Or, you forgot about the parachute and launched the capsule at your little brother.

Either way, you were in for an afternoon of fun! (until little bro' told Mom, anyway...) Such were the simple joys of simple toys. That .35 would be about 2.85 in today's money, and I think it would be worth it. 

By the way, I checked eBay for both "Corny 7" and "Kelloggs Rocket" and nothing came up, so these might be fairly rare. You might want to keep your eyes peeled for one (unless your brother already has one, in which case keeping your eyes closed might be a better idea...) Thanks, George, for the fun!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

When Your Morning Needs a Boost!

Well, now that Thanksgiving is in the books for another year, some of you may need a shot of energy in the mornings to gear up for that Christmas shopping! And if you are a rocket geek, you (of course) need a "special" cup of joe. Well, do I have the mug for you!

You see, a while back I picked this mug up at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas!

Yep, it's the first stage of a Saturn V (more or less) that you can fill with your very own rocket fuel! If you would like your very own, I'm pretty sure FoF still has some.

So, until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

Ode to a Favorite Rocket

One of the best rockets I ever built was only flown once before it was lost forever. Maybe "lost" isn't exactly the right word, since I knew exactly where it went. Perhaps "unrecoverable" sums it up better. But let me back up a bit...

In the mid 1980's I got a Black Brant II from that legendary company, F.S.I. The Brant was designed to take either a black powder F-100 (boom! It's in the sky!) or an F-7 (9 second burn "steam machine") The size of the model coupled with the performance of the motors insured a great show- no matter what the results of the launch (both motors were prone to catos).

I built my Black Brant with great care...even going so far as to use tiny screws on the payload section. She was beautiful. Then came the time to launch her.

The day was overcast. I posed my model next to an Estes version for scale, and then selected sn F-7 for her maiden flight. I pulled the trigger on my camera a little early when she lifted off, due to the super slow motor, but that allowed me to advance the film and get another shot as she lumbered into the sky! The parachute deployed perfectly, and then disaster struck!

There was a government contractor that had a building on the land we flew on. Usually, that was no problem. However, today, my bird decided that the roof was a great landing site. It touched down and I never saw it again.

I contacted the security people at the facility, but I never heard back from them. My beautiful Black Brant was gone forever.
Here are some pictures from that day...

The FSI bird was just enough larger than the Estes bird to be really impressive!

Launch! F-7's fly slow...

An FSI Steam Machine in action! Also, the last ever picture of my Black Brant...

The model in the 1988 FSI catalog...

So you may wonder why, after all these years, I'm bringing up this story. Well, as it turns out the wonderful folks at the new FSI are releasing this model again! Yes, please! I plan on getting one of the first ones out and defeating the curse! I'll keep you all informed of how it goes!

Until next time, fly 'en fast and high!

Star Trek Starter Rocket Restarted!

Well, it's been a rough row to hoe, but we made it! The Star Trek Starter Set Rocket Upscale is reborn! As I said before, it was actually a little harder rebuilding her than it was to build her in the first place. The issue is that you need to do things like removing old glue and paint and (if possible) straightening bent parts.

Of course you can also tweek issues that might have been missed on the original build. For example, this rocket is actually 3/4 inch shorter. That makes it closer to true scale. Also, the fin decals are now on the correct fins (as seen in the catalog). It is just a little detail I missed the first time.

I found out that my wife Laurie is actually better at applying the Stickershock wraps than I am! I think she may be a little more patient. (I guess she needs to be with me around!). Anyway, she put on the main wrap, and I put on the fin decals.

Here are the pictures of the final build!

Using my trailer as a painting stand...

Laurie's handiwork!

The final product! (Note the cameo by the Pturpledactyl Jr.)

So there you have it! Now to get her back in the sky! Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

STSR Update...

"STSR" stands for "Star Trek Starter Rocket" for those of you who may be wondering.

Well, I am progressing with my rebuild of the rocket. I was able to make some pretty good progress this weekend. How much? Well, I'm glad you asked!

I installed the new engine mount and glued the fins on. No high tech fin jig here, just a straight edge and masking tape! That's a 54 mm convertable mount (38mm and 29mm also). 

All four fins are on, and all internal fillets are finished. I beefed them up from what I had on the crashed rocket. I also put the rear centering ring in. The fins and rings are from the crashed rocket. 

Then I added the external fillets. Since the internal fillets were so massive, these could be a little smaller. If you look very closely, you can see the rebuilt ejection piston sticking out of the other end. I had to replace the coupler part, but the bulkhead and shock cord were fine.

And there she is! Next comes paint and Stickershock's beautiful wrap! By the way, extra points to anyone who can identify two other PML rockets in this picture...

So there you have it! Hopefully by this time next week she'll be finished...but I don't want to jinx it. Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

October Rebirth...

When one thinks of new life springing from the ashes of the old, May or June might be the months that come to mind. When one thinks of things being reborn in October, one thinks more along the lines of...I don't know...maybe zombies? Anyway, that is exactly what is happening in my garage this weekend. Not a zombie attack, but a rocket rebirth!

As you may know, my Star Trek Starter Set upscale rocket decided to destroy itself a few weeks ago. Streaming in from full altitude, the ejection charge went off just in time to knock the nose off before it slammed into the rock hard east Texas black clay. The damage was horrible for both the rocket and my ego.

Upon getting it home I looked at the damage and decided to rebuild. I really only needed to replace the main Quantim tube, the Quick Change motor mount, the coupler section of the ejection piston, and the wraps. A couple of quick emails to Stickershock (for the wraps) and PML (for everything else) and I was back in business!

The old and the new... broken parts mixed with their shiny new replacements! 

This weekend, I started building. Or, more accurately, I've started deconstruction...and then building. I will say that the deconstruction is the hardest part. We use epoxy on these birds for a reason, and even with a Dremil tool it does NOT like to let go! Still, at this moment everything has been taken apart and (after a little clean up) will be ready to go back together!

Maybe this story is closer to Frankenstein than the Easter bunny...

Anyway, soon she should be flying again! I'll let everyone know when she's finished (again)!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

A Tale of Five Moonliners...

As some of you may know, I built a scratch-built TWA Moonliner a while back that flies on 24mm motors. Here is is...

For the sake of this post, let's call this Moonliner V. Of course this begs the question, "Where are Moonliners I-IV?" I'm glad you asked! Moonliner I was in the original Tomorrowland at Disneyland, but as for II-IV...well, this article by Werner Weiss, who writes the Yesterland blog sums it up nicely...

http://www.yesterland.com/moonliners.html

And there you have it! Five Moonliners for the price of....well, none really! What a deal!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

What Goes Up...

A quick post for this time. Here is my Star Trek Starter Kit Rocket lifting off with an H242.

The up was fantastic! The down was horrible. The impact actually ejected the motor casing (and mount) out of the rocket...A fact that I noticed AFTER I walked back to the range head. Fortunately Chas Russell found it (and a missing  fin).

The sad thing is this was her second failed flight of the day. Poor igniter placement doomed her first flight as well, resulting in an under powered lob that took the paint off of the nose.

Some days you're the bug, some days you're the windshield.

She is now in the garage in pieces. I'm ordering new parts and wraps soon (thank goodness Stickershock has their replacement deal!). She WILL fly again!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

Simple Pleasures

The year was 1973. I had just completed filling out my Estes order form when I saw that I qualified for a bonus rocket! I skimmed the options and quickly checked the "Little John" Mini-Brute. The order went in the mail and I waited....

I think it's interesting that all these years later, I can't remember what other models I ordered. It might have been a Scizzor-Wing Transport, but I can't be sure. All I know is that when I built and painted the Little John, I fell in love with that silly little rocket. Here it is in the 1973 catalog...

Who can say why one model excites you more than another? There certainly isn't anything too spectacular about the Little John. It's a very industrial looking simple design. The real missile was designed in the mid 1950's, but it was in the Army's inventory until 1969. It was a fin stabilized rocket that could carry a nuclear or conventional warhead.

Maybe it's the no-nonsense look that I like. Simplicity has its own beauty, and the Little John has that in spades! Anyway, I was so impressed with this little rocket, that years later I cloned another one! Actually, the one I built was based on a Centuri sized tube, so it's ever so slightly smaller. Gordon at Excellsior Rocketry adjusted the decals for me. Here she is!

You know, looking at this model is giving me a few ideas...Now that I'm dabbling in high power....hmmmmm....

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

The Adventures of Dan and Dave

The year was 1993. I was the editor of Dallas Rocketry, and, like every newsletter editor ever, I needed content badly! My personal motto was "All the news that fits, I print." There was space to be filled, baby! I had done a few one panel comics to fill up pages, but I wanted to do something...bigger. Then I thought, "What about a rocket related comic strip?"

Now, I had never actually done a comic strip before. I wasn't particularly good at drawing...or story writing...or anything comic related, really. But, I had space to fill, so with a wing and a prayer I launched one of the weirdest strips I had ever seen. For seven issues, the bottom of one page was taken over by Dan and Dave.

Now, 24 years later, I am going to publish them here in this blog because:

1. I have space to fill yet again.
2. Only about ten people ever saw them (which might be a good thing, but still...)
3. Even though they're weird, I think they're kind of funny.
4. I'll probably never do a comic strip again, so why not?

Therefore, here you go. I've made random comments under the strips. You're welcome.

Ah, the first strip. Storyline established. (As was lack of artistic skill) I do think I did a pretty good job on the vulture, though... 

I didn't like drawing bodies, so I stuck the guy behind a podium. I sometimes have trouble deciding what to do with my hands too... Notice the subtle name change of the strip. Clever.

What's the easiest way to draw Robert Goddard? Make him invisible! Take that, Stephan Pastis! I traced the last panel from the previous strip. Also, that is the worst Garfield ever. Just saying.

I think the whole idea of a "Psycical Association of Rocketry" is hillarious. However, I also thought "Green Acres" was hillarious. By the way, my Goddard drawing is dead on. (Get it?)

When you get tired of drawing people, just zoom out and show the Earth. That's a hint I bet they don't teach you in cartooning school. I wouldn't know, because I never went. Obviously.

This might be a good time to point out that I have no idea which of these guys are Dan or Dave. I don't really care. I was really mixing it up with that "dramatic angle."

The big finish punch line! ...which only works if you know rocketry history. Again, I was tired of drawing those guys, so you get eyeballs in panel two. Those packages of Estes motors are pretty accurate, I think. 

And that was that. If Dan and Dave ever had any more adventures, I wasn't aware of them. Maybe they found someone who could actually draw to tell their story...

I leave you with this...just because I always liked it. I'm not sure why...

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

1969...Estes Style

I've been hitting history pretty hard for the past few posts, so I figured I'd keep it up!

1969 was a rather huge year for the space industry. We finally landed on the moon, and literally anything seemed possible. We didn't have to push STEM classes, because they were all the rage anyway. The future was bright, and science was leading us there...until the funding was cut and the public lost interest and everybody got stupid. Sorry....what was I talking about?

Oh yes, 1969! That year Estes published this catalog:

Inside this gem were some of the true classics of model rocket design. Let's take a look at a few pages, shall we?

Let's start off with a true classic. The Trident was cool because it took a simple concept and stuck tons of extra parts on it. You gotta love complexity for complexity's sake!

We had gone to the moon, so the next logical step was Mars. Estes had us covered with two of their most iconic birds!

Speaking of the moon, here are the beauties that got us there. These were the first generation models, so if you liked plastic parts, you were out of luck. These were so tough to build that many never got finished!

But that brings us to the "Scale-a-Palooza" section of the catalog. These models were, in a word, wonderful...

The end of the scale section featured the futuristic Orbital Transport. The design on this kit is timeless.

I had a Camroc. I took exactly one picture with it. I wish I still had it. I would take more and develop it myself....and don't try to tell me digital is better because I'm not going to listen to you. So there.

I included these just because I like them and I never owned either of them. I would imagine that getting the midget back might be tough...

In those days, Estes included a very comprehensive manual in their catalogs. The material still stands the test of time.

Ah, the little Birdie. I guess the Shuttlecock doesn't have the same ring to it. it used Series III motors, which were shorter than standard engines, while keeping the same diameter.

So there you have it. 1969 was a great time to be a model rocket nut! I didn't include nearly all of the models offered that year, so if I missed your faves, sorry!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!