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!

Retro Rocket Cartoon!

A few weeks ago I went to Walt Disney World with the family. It was a great trip, and on the bus ride to the airport after it was over, I got a final treat! The bus service was provided by Disney, and they showed a recent cartoon on the bus video monitors.
They showed this:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dbdYBkk5PNs

As you can see, a certain very important mouse is piloting a certain very important rocket. Add in Pluto and a little slapstick comedy and you have a nice updated nod to some Disney classics. It is interesting to note that TWA is now TVA, but I guess they didn't want to ruffle any copyright feathers (even though there is no TWA now...)

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

One of My Favorite Books

This week I am going to feature what is probably my favorite rocketry related book. I am talking about "The Spaceship Handbook" by Jack Hagerty. If you haven't checked this beauty out, you certainly should. Jack goes into a lot of interesting details about rocket prototypes, both real and fictional, and there are illustrations a-plenty! Truly a must have for any rocket fan!

Now, my particular copy is even more special, because it used to belong to Bob Wilson. I bought it from the "Bob Stash" early on. Bob had obviously bought it straight from Jack at NARCON 2002, and Jack autographed it with a truly enigmatic inscription. Here it is...


What does it mean? I have no idea. Still, it makes a special book just a little more special.

Also, just because:

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

The Ups and Downs of the Rocket Life

In rocketry, as in life, there are distinct ups and downs. For example, a day of spectacular flights can be overshadowed by a devistating crash. Sometimes it can even be in the exact same flight. For example:

 This is the "up" part. A beautiful launch of my Aerotech Arcas on a G80 in about 1990... I also managed to get a pretty crisp picture of it! Yes, all was right with the world! ....until....

The ejection charge completely failed. Talk about a "down" time, this was "down with a vengence!" My friend Richard Christian holds up the few remains. Actually, it almost looks like a cartoon explosion, the way the tube shredded. Total destruction.

That being said, there is another "up" to the story. Aerotech replaced both the rocket and the single use motor, so it all worked out! It just goes to show you that even when things look grim, it can all work out in the end!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

Christmas in the Park

Hello! A quick one this week. This year we we went to Walt Disney World for Christmas. So here is my space related picture:

That's me in the middle on Space Mountain. That's my son-in-law behind me. I don't know the girl.

So, there you have it! Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!

Out of This World Cereal

I have oft times talked about how during my childhood in the 1960's, the concept of space exploration was pretty much everywhere. There were toys, games, tv shows, movies, advertisement and more. Pretty much if a tie-in could be made with space, it happened. It was truly a wonderful time to grow up!

One of the more unlikely areas of space exploitation (see what I did there?) was breakfast. It was long understood that kids loved cereal, and the more sugar it contained, the better. Cereal can, of course, be formed into pretty much any shape and in the '60s it became flying saucers! Ladies and gentlemen, may I present Quisp!

Quisp was created in 1965 by Quaker Oats Company. It had several things going for it. First, the commercials were done by Jay Ward, who was nore famous for Rocky and Bullwinkle. Second, it was shaped like flying saucers. Finally, it was actually pretty darn good! Now, granted, it was chock full of sugar, but that only made it better!

I can remember many mornings chowing down on those little saucers. It was wonderful! Now, some negative-types will tell you that it was really just Capn' Crunch in a different form, but they are wrong. I can tell. Really.

Unfortunately, although Quisp is officially still around, it is harder to find than the Loch Ness Monster in your bathtub. It has, therefore, been several years since I've had any. If anybody knows where I can find a stash, please let me know!

Until next time, fly 'em fast and high!