The Rodent Right Stuff
Now here's a literal blast from my past: the 1974 Estes Model Rocketry Catalog. I used to pore over its slick pages, drooling over scale-model spacecraft like the Mars Lander and the Camroc. My friend Rob and I worked on these babies every weekend in his garage, then fired them off in a nearby schoolyard. Our crowning achievement was to have been the launch of a live "hamsteronaut" in a rocket with a clear plastic observation section.
Although takeoff went without a hitch, I'm sorry to report that the hapless rodent did not survive the descent portion of its journey when the parachute failed to deploy and our rocket corkscrewed into the ground. We mummified our little comrade (with an Ace bandage) and buried him with full honors in a small pyramid constructed out of plywood.
Alas, he did not rest in peace for long; Rob's Weimaraner, Greta, plundered the tomb of our fallen hero a few hours later and ignominiously devoured the remains whole.
UPDATE: even more model-rocket catalogs here (scroll down).
via things magazine
Comments
When I was a kid, I only flew Centauri rockets -- my Chevy to Estes's Ford. Now, I think Estes has bought Centauri, so the debate is pointless.
I imagine that this new age of "homeland security" has put rather a crimp in model rocketeers' style. As I recall, a D engine was equivalent to 1/2 an M-80. Can such power be trusted in the hands of mere kids? All I'll say is that many years ago, a friend and I made a missile by pouring the contents of a C-6-3 engine into the payload compartment of a rocket. Up it went, and then it detonated with a surprisingly loud sound and flash. We told my friend's dad that this was an unfortunate accident, common in model rocketry.
Posted by: jkcohen | November 23, 2004 5:50 PM
Yes, I too was thinking about how difficult it must be these days for kids to do their usual mucking about with small amounts of explosives. Blowing stuff up real good is an important part of childhood.
I think you had to be 18 in order to purchase D engines in California; they were also quite expensive, which put a damper on our enthusiasm for them.
Posted by: MrBaliHai | November 23, 2004 6:23 PM
Well, my dad "got" and paid for all the engines, even though my brother and I were clustered around him like underage drinkers waiting for a newly acquired case of Old Milwaukee. The clerk, of course, suspected nussing.
But back in those days, a D engine went for $4.00. We didn't use many D's, though. C's were our engine of choice.
Posted by: jkcohen | November 24, 2004 9:57 PM