Breaking news from the rocket vendors! (Part 2)

One of the best features of the NAR manufacturer's forum is that you are exposed to new ideas and products beyond your normal hobby experience. This was the case for me and vendor #6, Cris Erving of Eggtimer Rocketry. Cris is noted for producing various rocket electronic kits - many high power rocketeers love his trackers for their low cost, reliability, and fabulous technical support. The only downside is that these are KITS, not preassembled items like you get from Altus Metrum or Perfectflite. Kits mean soldering, and I absolutely suck at soldering - just ask my dad, the electronics man. Despite his best efforts, I could not be taught how to properly handle a soldering iron. This explains why I have no Eggtimer products; however, if you are good at putting together electronic thingies (or know someone who can do so), I encourage you to pay his web site a visit. There are some excellent products there!

Gary Rosenfeld of Aerotech (Click to enlarge).

The next guy to present was rocketry's premier motor guy, Gary Rosenfeld of Aerotech. Gary wasted no time getting down to business, starting out with the continued rebranding of Aerotech's mid power motors under the Enerjet name, and the impending release of the Enerjet Classic F motor, which will emulate the smokeless glory of the old Enerjets from the early 70's (I can't wait to get one of these for my Enerjet 2250 clone). The White Lightning Q-Jets have been submitted for testing, so they should be out in a few months - fire and noise from 18 mm motors! There is a new forward closure for the 29 mm high power case, and Gary is working on a bunch of long burn motors, which will make the altitude seekers very happy.

eRockets owner, Randy Boadway, then took the stage to talk about various offerings from eRockets. In addition to their own brand of sanding sealer and tracking smoke, they also have plenty of piston tubes for contest rocketeers. Randy has also managed to lay his hands on some Estes Wacky Wiggler and Zombie rockets, which you can only get in starter sets from other places. I'm going to order a Wacky Wiggler - I've never flown a rocket designed to come apart like that. But the big news from eRockets lies in the kit arena. Not only is their reproduction of the Estes Scissors-Wing Transport (improved, of course) nearing release, but he also showed off two prototype rockets in the eRockets "Pro" series - a nice upscale of the Blue Bird Zero and an awesomely big version of the Estes Orbital Transport. I bet these are going to sell like hotcakes!

eRockets Randy Boadway (Click to enlarge).

And of course, there are already rocketeers looking into placing the Orbital Transport's glider under R/C control. It hasn't even hit the shelf yet...

Vendor #9 is the newest on the block. IMPLS Launch Systems is putting out a line of launch controllers and pads that are targeted towards clubs and small groups, like scout packs. Their IMPLS Fiver controller and IMPLS Sport pad handle 5 rockets and look very professional and robust. A little pricey for an individual, they are definitely an option for groups looking for launch equipment that will hold up for years.

Rick Randol's NewWay Space Models is known as the "square rocket company." Their models feature square tubes, are very creative in design and are quite popular with low power rocketeers. In addition to their own designs, they have square versions of the Goblin, the A-20 Demon, Honest John and other Estes kits from days of old. These kits are available from eRockets and other vendors - I hear they are very fun to build and fly!

The last vendor to present was definitely not the least. Dynasoar Rocketry's Frank Burke makes the absolute best RC rocket gliders, and there are a fair number of them. My favs are the Klingon Battlecruiser, the Fireball XL-5, and the Bomarc. Unfortunately I don't have the skills to fly them (I can only handle ballistic paths through the air), but my colleague Chuck Pierce has several of Frank's kits and they are wonders to behold in the sky. If you like R/C and rocketry, Dynasoar has a way to give you both worlds in a single kit. While you are at his website, don't forget to check out the video collection of his birds in flight.

And that is my summary of this year's NARAM manufacturers forum - It was a very fun time!

P.S. I just received a note that NAR has posted the forum video here. Go watch it for yourselves!

Breaking news from the rocket vendors! (Part 1)

One of the special events associated with NARCON and NARAM is the manufacturer's forum, where the rocketry vendors gather to announce new products and give us rocketeers a preview of things to come. I am very enthusiastic about this forum, because it provides things to look forward to - and also gives me an idea of how many frozen meals I am going to be eating in order to save up bucks for the cool stuff. It is amazing how many times you hear "OMG, I am going to be so broke" at the close of the manufacturer's forum; I know I say it almost every time.

Because of CoVID-19, NARAM went virtual this year, and so did the events associated with it - the NAR board meeting, the manufacturer's forum, and the NARA town hall. I registered for the latter two as they are 2 hours long, but the 8 hour board meeting is a bit beyond my endurance. The NAR town hall is tomorrow evening and the manufacturer's forum was last night, starting at 7 PM Central Time. I can truly say that all 115 attendees signed off pretty stoked from the pitches of the 11 vendors present.

Ed LaCroix and Peter Alway (Click to enlarge).

The first vendor up was Peter Alway, of "Rockets of the World" fame. Peter publishes these wonderful books with scale drawings and pictures of historical rockets that the scale modelers swear by. His latest publication is "Sixteen Rockets of the Spaceflight Dreamers" which gives specs on concepts envisioned by early rocket pioneers like Oberth, Goddard, Tsiolkovsky and Winkler. This pretty cool booklet is available directly from Peter, eRockets, and Aerospace Specialty Products.

Next up was Andy Jackson of Aerospace Specialty Products. ASP is noted for its competition and scale kits, and Andy showed off their latest releases - a 24mm powered model of the Indonesian RX-250-LPN sounding rocket, and Micromaxx scale models of the Hawk anti-aircraft missile and the Jayhawk drone. Micromaxx is very popular with those rocketeers who have just the backyard available, and these scale models are pretty sharp. Andy also expounded a bit on the "1000 uses of mylar tape", which ASP also sells.

Bill Stine and Ellis Langford (in mask). Look at all those goodies! (Click to enlarge)

Third on the agenda was the "big E" - Estes Industries. Bill Stine gave the pitch, with owner Ellis Langford helping to show the models. And oh my goodness, did they show some stuff! There is a new video rocket, called the Astrocam that is a Target exclusive, and should be showing up in stores any day now. Also appearing soon are a rocket plane style model named Centurion and a flying dude in a jet pack. But what really had us salivating were the offerings coming out in fall/winter - redesigned solar ignitors that should really cut down on misfires, a Skylab Saturn V and one of the most wished-for bring backs ever - a 24mm powered Saturn 1B! (I am gonna be so broke at Christmas). Sometime in early 2021, Estes is also planning to produce a 1/200th scale model of the SLS (I flew a prototype a year ago), an upscale Mars Snooper (major happy dance) and a 3" upscale version of Der Red Max (the original Mega Red Max was 4" in diameter). E12 and 29mm E and F motors should soon be available in abundance, as Estes has built a new machine to produce these puppies.

Bill and Ellis show off the package art for the upcoming Saturn 1B (Click to enlarge).

There were also a lot of questions about a couple of SpaceX models in the background (see photo) - all Bill would say is that they are discussing things.

Tim Van Milligan of Apogee - the new Flamethrower is at left, behind the T-LOC (Click to enlarge).

Tim Van Milligan, the owner of Apogee Components, always seems to follow Estes in these events - I'm not sure whether that is a good or bad thing. He showed off the Dynastar Flamethrower I mentioned a couple of posts ago, and unveiled a new mid power rocket - the Amerok (?), a BT-80 based, 29 mm powered bird. Tim also previewed a gorgeous X-15 model that may make an appearance down the road. Cool things are happening at Apogee!

North Coast Rocketry was #5. Matt Steele started off with the recently released F-117 Nighthawk boost glider (absolutely gorgeous!) and talked about a near term release called the Vectra, a 29 mm rocket with a missile like appearance. At some point in the future, North Coast may release a model of the Argo Javelin, but Matt warned it would be fairly pricey due to all the custom 3D printed parts. However, if you have some spare cash I do recommend you purchase his Airfoil Assistants, which make sanding the leading and trailing edges of fins much easier - They are hot sellers!

(To be continued...)

What can you do with the Estes Generic fin can?

You can replicate a bunch of old rockets, that's what. Even though the fin can has evolved from rectangular fins with a diamond shaped cross-section to the current one with a slightly swept leading edge and a wedge-shaped cross-section, you can use the modern version in cloning the older rockets from the late 1970's  and early 1980's- Only the most nerdy of rocket nerds is able to tell the difference. Here's a list of the rockets that have used this fin can:

#1418 STAR TREK (starter set) (1976-1978) - O

#1416 Challenger-1 (1977-1986) - C

#1420 STAR WARS Proton Torpedo (starter set) (1977-1980) - O

#1328 Kadet (1979-1986) - O

#1333 Scorpion (used 2 fin units) (1980-1988) - C

#1438 DUNE Guild Heighliner (starter set) (1985)

#1417 Screaming Eagle (starter set) (1987-1991)

#1993 Lancer (1988-1989) - B

#2026 Athena (1990-1998) - B

#2042 America (1991-1992) - B

#1447 America (1993-1994) - B

#2076 Pegasus (1994-1996) - B

#2092 Mongoose (used 2 fin units) (1994-2005; 2008-present) - O

#1764 Generic bulk pack (1994-present) - O

#1805 Asteroid Hunter (1998) - B

#1472 Scorpion (2000-2001)

#1235/1260 Sky Writer #2 (2002-present) - B

In the above list, B(uilt) means it is part of my fleet, O(wn) means it is part of my stash and C(lone) means I replicated it. The Dune set is extremely rare and goes for a very high price when it does appear, so I am currently focused on the #1417 Screaming Eagle and the #1472 Scorpion (Estes loves reusing names, so the numbers are necessary to avoid confusion with other rockets). The Screaming Eagle, being the oldest of the two, is up first. It is a pretty standard build - fin can, 9.5 inch Estes BT-50 body tube, motor mount, and a PNC-50YR plastic nose cone. The patriotic paint job is also easy - red nose, white body, and blue fins; very little masking.

Estes Screaming Eagle (Click to enlarge).

Only difficult part of this build is the decal - there are no scans available. So I spent an hour or so this afternoon trying to replicate it. I suck at drawing, so there were some colorful words, but in the end I managed to generate a reasonable facsimile:

Now all I have to do is put the grab on the parts and start the build. And you want to know the best part?

Very little sanding.

P.S. - The Estes Generic is a GREAT 1st rocket for kids, especially young groups. Not only does it go together quickly with little fuss, it also comes with a good set of stickers for decoration. I have found that kids absolutely love to customize these rockets using markers. 12 rocket bulk packs can be had cheaply from AC Supply or Amazon.com.

New stuff...

There have been a few recent releases by the kit manufacturers, some of which are very cool. First up is an awesome release from Estes - the Destination Mars Longship. It has a futuristic style, featuring a ring tail and a round nose, with all sorts of plastic detail and lots of decals. A must-add to any fleet, and Chris Michielssen gives lots of good tips to help with construction in his build thread. I scarfed one of these puppies as soon as I noticed it on the Estes web site - Happy early birthday, Bill!

Destination Mars Longship
(Click to enlarge).

The newest release from Estes is the diminutive Gnome. Or rather, it's sort of new - it has been around for many, many years in a (relatively cheap) bulk pack of 12 rockets, but hasn't been available as a single kit since 2014. You can now get this quick build for just under 8 bucks - very popular with the kiddos.

Estes Gnome
(Click to enlarge).

The Gnome was first released in 1988 (along with its short-lived sibling, the Leprechaun), and I must confess to liking the original decor (see below) more than the current blue and silver. What do y'all think?

The Gnome in the 1988 Estes catalog (Click to enlarge).

Finally, there's a new kit from Apogee - the Dynastar Flame Thrower. This bird looks sharp, with its hot paint scheme and vinyl flame decals. It also features dual 24 mm motor mounts, which makes it pretty darn irresistible to a cluster nut like me. I'm almost salivating at the thought of flying this rocket on dual F32's, loaded with a 30" ripstop nylon parachute and a Jolly Logic Chute Release. Rocketeer heaven! It shows currently not available, but please consider grabbing one when they are up for sale - it has the Bill seal of approval!

Apogee Flame Thrower (Click to enlarge).

The old way of communication...

Ever wonder how rocketeers exchanged news, tips, launch information, plans and so forth before the rise of the Internet?

We did it through newsletters sent through the U.S. mail. It was slow by today's standard, but  effective. This was how NAR - and later, Tripoli - leadership communicated to their members, and it worked reasonably well for decades. Well, NAR started out sending a newsletter, but it later blossomed into magazines: the Model Rocketeer, American Space Modeling, and the one we enjoy today, Sport Rocketry. Estes and Centuri also jumped on newsletters, mainly to spread word of new products and to offer discounts to get the attention of rocketeers on limited budgets (most of us bought stuff using our allowances). Model Rocket News, the American Rocketeer, and the newsletter of the Estes Aerospace Club, the EAC Spectra, were very welcome sights in ye olde mailbox. I especially enjoyed the design of the month plans, as those gave me reasons to buy parts at the hobby shop (A&M Toys).

An issues of Estes' Model Rocket News
(Click to enlarge).

An issue of Centuri's American Rocketeer
(Click to enlarge).

It did not take long for NAR sections to start producing newsletters. Clubs like the M.I.T. Rocket Society and NARHAMS began their literary forays in the 60's and 70's; others, like that produced by SNOAR, came later. The earliest newsletters were typed on typewriters; plans, artwork and other illustrations were drawn by hand and pasted into the appropriate places on the pages. Check out these front pages from the early newsletters of NARHAMS and the M.I.T. section:

An issue of ZOG (Zap of Grief), the
newsletter of the NARHAMS section
(Click to enlarge).

Table of contents from an issue of the
Journal of the M.I.T. Rocket Society
(Click to enlarge).

You will notice that the ZOG issue has purple text - that's because the master was transferred to a stencil, then the copies were produced by a mimeograph machine. Very popular in schools, and us old geezers took many tests that came off those devices. I came to hate the color purple...

Anyway, time passes, and the mimeographed newsletters soon gave way to those mass produced (if you call 40-50 copies "mass produced") on photocopiers ("Xerox machines"). This was in the mid to late 70's. The next big advance came in the 80's with desktop publishing software, which ran on the first of Apple's Macintosh line of computers. Photos still had to be pasted on the masters, but the artwork and illustrations could be generated on the computer and incorporated into the layout with little fuss. You also had a wide choice of fonts, making the newsletter look much more spiffy. An example of this would be the first issue of my section's newsletter, the Max-Q, which came out in 1987:

First edition of HARA's newsletter, the Max-Q
(Click to enlarge).

In addition to pasting the photos on the master, you still had make the copies of the newsletters by running down to the Xerox store and using the photocopiers. Those things went away when cheap scanners and laser printers hit the market, enabling the editor to produce everything on the computer and then print the copies on the home printer. But then the PDF document format hit in the mid-90's and newsletters went straight to PDF and the section website, saving trees and stamps. A good example of a modern newsletter is Total Impulse (see below) - we've come a long way!

Total Impulse - the newsletter of JMRC/HUVARS
(Click to enlarge).

Total Impulse is a rarity nowadays - sections generally use email, club websites and social media to convey club info and happenings. It takes a lot of work and time to produce a quality newsletter (My hat's off to Buzz Nau, the Total Impulse editor). That's why most section newsletters start out strong and then die away - Max-Q started out with 5 issues per year in the beginning, dropped to 4 in the early 90's, then 2, then 1, finally ceasing to be after 2005. No one in my club wants to bring it back - it's just too much work. Everyone knows that it will rapidly devolve into just one person doing everything - writing the articles, obtaining the images, producing the pages, etc. That's enough to make anyone think twice.

So why am I doing a blog post about newsletters? Because I am in the process of scanning all of the issues of Max-Q and placing them on the HARA website. There's a lot of interesting stuff in those issues, and I figured I ought to give a nod to those stalwarts of the past who produced the newsletters. Much of the history of our hobby is written therein, and we ought to thank those guys for recording it.