Closing out 2018...

Well, it's the last night of 2018. Reflecting on the past year, I have a few things - rocket wise - I'd like to see improve in 2019. Despite my poor eyesight, I got a decent number of rockets built, so I'm happy there.

My first Mercury Redstone - I hate the stickers Estes provided, but
it looks OK from 3 feet away (Click to enlarge).

However,

• I need to fly more - this was partly not my fault, as the weather has sucked on weekends for the past several weeks, and my most motivated launch partner, Duane, has been out of town on work trips for several months now. Still, I have to seize every opportunity I can to launch rockets in 2019, even if it means "contaminating" TARC practices with a few birds of my own.

• I need to get my level 2 - have had the kit for years, but keep making excuses for not doing the build. The procrastination needs to end.

• Need to do better about writing for the blog - this year will have the lowest post count, in part due to the fact I haven't been to many launches in the past few months. Launch reports are one of the highlights of this blog, so launching more will help, but I need to try to achieve at least one post a week on average - under the assumption I have something interesting to post.

I am ringing in the New Year with a new build. Continuing the trend of building models in the old Estes rocket plans, I have started on Design #20, the 2-stage Mini-X. Dating from 1964, it's a well-liked design, constructed by many old-timers. Right now, I have the fins tacked on, awaiting the fillets on the morrow. This bird is small and light, so I am also working on getting the design into Open Rocket so I can get decent altitude estimates for different motor combinations. I would hate to lose it on the first flight...

The Estes Mini-X (Click to enlarge).

Happy New Year, everyone! May you have clear skies and light winds for all your launches in 2019!