All Rocketry Blogs

 Rocketry Product: Estes - Alpha {Kit} (25) [1966-]

Blast From The Past: Model Rocket Build Progress Over Easter Weekend. (2018-04-03)

This weekend, I had a series of short blocks of time to get into the shop and make progress on some model rocketry projects. Also, the wind conditions in the back yard were such that I was ... [Read More]

Blast From The Past: BAR Fleet- #114 Astron Alpha (2018-06-13)

  An Alpha – At Long Last !!     I just happened to have this Estes PNC-50K nose cone rattling around for the past year in my parts box.   Whatever should I ... [Read More]

Blast From The Past: Launch Date: 14 July, 2019 - A Couple of 3FNC Flights (2019-07-15)

  Today’s launch was yet another of those shoe box affairs in which I take a quick jaunt to the nearby park and put up a couple of small birds within the span of half an hour.   ... [Read More]

Blast From The Past: A Near-Miraculous Rocket Recovery !! (2023-07-19)

During the July 10th launch session at Founders Park in Castle Rock, I flew my scratch-built Astron Alpha. Powered by a B6-4 motor, the bird flew to a very respectable altitude, popped its ... [Read More]

Rocket Dungeon: Sport Rocketry January/February 2010 (2010-01-08)

Just to tease those who haven't seen their copy yet, I decided to tell ya' what's in this issue even before I've read any of the articles. But I did look at the pictures, starting with rocket girl ... [Read More]

RocketReviews.com Blog: Rocketry Clubs? Who Needs ‘Em? (2011-06-17)

A recent discussion in an online rocketry forum turned into a debate on the merits of joining and participating in local rocket clubs. Surprisingly, most of the comments were in support of the ... [Read More]

Wayne Hill's Blog: Model Rocket of the Week: Astro-1 (2011-10-07)

Many rocketeers from the golden age of rocketry were brought into the sport through beginners kits. The most famous kit was probably the Estes Alpha but many chose the Centuri Astro-1. The Astro-1 ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Funny Underwater LPR Launch Video (2011-12-12)

Looking for a quick laugh? You can find it on YouTube HERE It looks like an Estes Alpha III that's been waterproofed. Listen to the launch sound at about :58 seconds in. One of the comments said it: ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Heavy Duty BT-50 Tubing! (2013-07-15)

Anybody who has followed the blog knows I hate BT-20 and BT-50 tubes. They are thin walled and can crimp when friction fitting engines or on a hard landing. The inside diameter of a Estes style ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Estes Dummy Engine (2014-04-27)

  I'd always seen these in the catalogs, but never in person. These pictures came off an Ebay listing HERE . Here's a dummy engine from the Estes Astron PHANTOM model, the first clear ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: July 14, 2012, STEM Launch (2014-07-15)

Orlando area STEM coordinator, Abdul Siddiqui, contacted the R.O.C.K. section about holding a launch for the High School Summer Engineering Interns. Twenty Alpha flights went up using A8-3 ... [Read More]

Model Rocket Building: Centuri Screaming Eagle Background (2014-08-17)

Introduced in the 1973 Centuri Catalog, the Screaming Eagle was kit #KF-3 and sold for $2.00. The Screaming Eagle was released at the same time as another ARTF model, the Centuri Argus that used the ... [Read More]

Rocketeer's Corner: Thoughts on a beginner rocket... (2015-06-29)

I am often asked what the best rocket is for a beginner, or other variants of this like: What is a good rocket for me and my kid to build? What rocket would you recommend for a school (cub ... [Read More]

Rocket N00b: The Ivy Tech Model Rocketry Camp - Part 1 (2015-07-08)

Rocket camp is finally over, and it was a wild ride. I have never launched this many rockets in this short a time period. Even though I had to limit our altitude, which meant we launched only with A ... [Read More]

Rocket N00b: The Ivy Tech Model Rocketry Camp - Part 2 (2015-07-21)

Click here for Part 1 First thing I decided was to abandon the idea of making launch controllers for everybody. That would have required some soldering, something I didn't want to go into with the ... [Read More]

Rocketeer's Corner: A drag of a topic... (2015-07-31)

As I mentioned in previous posts, this year's TARC competition will probably see many teams struggling to loft their two eggs to altitude without busting the weight limit on the rocket. Most teams ... [Read More]

Rocketeer's Corner: Full production at the rocket factory... (2015-08-16)

Now that I am done with travel for a bit, I can spend some time building rockets. This is a good thing, because the Geezer TARC launch is just around the corner! The wrist I sprained while in ... [Read More]

Rocket N00b: Picking Your First Model Rocket (2015-11-02)

If you are a total n00b to rocketry, wondering What's a good model rocket for an absolute beginner? then welcome, and this post is for you. First of all, I want to stress that these are just some ... [Read More]

Rocketeer's Corner: A tragic weekend... (2015-11-16)

This weekend was tragic... Not only for the horrible events in France, which are beyond belief, but also for an accident some deemed inevitable, but yet took over 55 years to occur... A scout leader ... [Read More]

Rocketeer's Corner: Of Rockets and Werewolves... (2016-03-05)

Another nice day, which means more TARC practice and flying at Pegasus field. Today was also the first HARA launch of the year up at the Manchester sod farm, but Duane and I opted to stay in town so ... [Read More]

Rocket N00b: Current Projects #2 (2016-08-19)

I haven't posted anything on this blog in about two weeks. Apologies to my regular readers, particularly if you've been waiting for the most recent installment of the Rocket Camp series of posts. I ... [Read More]

Rocketeer's Corner: The season begins at Pegasus... (2017-09-12)

My Estes Alpha streaks skyward on an A8-3 (click to enlarge). My apologies for no blog posts over the past couple of months - it's been a busy summer, and I haven't found much time to write. Things ... [Read More]

Rocketeer's Corner: Pics from Saturday's launch... (2017-10-01)

Duane's Estes Make-It-Take-It leaves the rod on an A8-3 (Click to enlarge). Saturday's launch did not just involve the TARC Geezers; quite a few other folk joined us at Pegasus, many bringing ... [Read More]