What was the first rocket you ever launched?

[Nathan]

It really is interesting to see how far back some of you go. I won't hijack the thread, but I assume a lot of you are BARs?

My first rocket was an early '70s vintage Estes V2. I flew for a few years back then and then was away from the hobby until just a few years ago.

Jim Z

Same here. I built rockets from 1967 until 1970.

Then about the time I was in 8th grade I discovered girls, which were more fun than model rockets :grin:

40 years later I rediscovered rocketry.

But women are still more fun.

 

[Gary Byrum]

Becoming a BAR in this hobby seems to be a normal. Even the pattern on how we dislodged ourselves from it isn't unusual. Once we get through the distractions.....or get bored, we wind up in it again. I'm a BAR twice fold. But I'm a better modeler these days that I was back in those 1st tier golden years.

 

[jtk1]

I'm pretty sure it was a Centuri Javelin in the summer of 1973, and I finally lost it flying on a "C" motor. That's the one that got me hooked!

 

[jflis]

It really is interesting to see how far back some of you go. I won't hijack the thread, but I assume a lot of you are BARs?

My first rocket was an early '70s vintage Estes V2. I flew for a few years back then and then was away from the hobby until just a few years ago.

Jim Z

Not a BAR, rather, I'm a BOR... . Born Once Rocketeer...

Jim

 

[Jarhead]

Estes Der Red Max, 1975 or so. Lost it on the first flight and bought another the next day.
My 12 year old son and I just finished the same one two weeks ago, recovery tangled and it hit pavement hard. Now he is learning how to repair broken fins.
Model rocketry, what a great hobby for boys of all ages.

 

[MALBAR 70]

Christmas of '73 or '74 this was my Christmas present. Think I saw it in the Sears catalog and begged and begged my parents for it. I could not believe my eyes when I opened it on Christmas morning. Don't know what happened to the rocket, or any of the experiments, but I still have the launch system.
View attachment 147044

My Dad (82) found one of these at a yard sale last summer and picked it up for me. There was not a lot left to it, some balsa scraps,a body tube,bits and pieces of the launch controller,the instruction book and a few other things. While I was poking around in the box I lifted the tray out and found a pristine decal/sticker sheet:eyepop: along with the card stock altimeter parts. It said motors were included do you recall what maker they were from and what sizes they were?

 

[Larry Curcio]

women are still more fun.

Depends on the woman...:wink:

 

[qquake2k]

Depends on the woman...:wink:

Ain't that the truth.

 

[Mr Rocket]

Ain't that the truth.

WOW!!!

:lol::roll::lol::roll::lol::rofl:

 

[Mr Rocket]

My Dad (82) found one of these at a yard sale last summer and picked it up for me. There was not a lot left to it, some balsa scraps,a body tube,bits and pieces of the launch controller,the instruction book and a few other things. While I was poking around in the box I lifted the tray out and found a pristine decal/sticker sheet:eyepop: along with the card stock altimeter parts. It said motors were included do you recall what maker they were from and what sizes they were?

My memory is not nearly that good, unfortunately. My guess is that they had them private labeled "Logix" and that they were 1/2A or A. But that is just a guess. Until I saw this kit online, I had forgotten about the slingshot launched rocket that was also included. It had a rubber band activated parachute hatch that opened when the velocity dropped.

 

[Trident]

Not a BAR, rather, I'm a BOR... . Born Once Rocketeer...

Jim

What, no girls or hot cars (or cars and hot girls) in your hometown?

 

[thomcat00]

My first flown rocket was an Estes X-Ray, painted white with the fins painted deep blue. Sheared off 3 fins on its first flight. Repaired it. Only got the nose cone back on the second flight. Must have been 1977 or '78.

 

[boomtube]

It’s hard to remember back that far, heck it’s hard enough to remember last week, but if I had to make an educated guess, as opposed to a dumb as a sack of hammers guess which is my usual level of guessing, I’d say it was an Estes Alpha.

Of course in those days we had to carve the nose cone out of Mastodon bones, which we had to kill ourselves, and the fins were made from chipped flint.

I don’t even want to go into what we made our parachutes and shroud lines from.

 

[Winston]

Mt first rocket was one of these, when I was about 6:

I was going to answer "Estes Alpha, 1/2A, back yard" until I saw your post and realize that I believe it was one of those fun water rockets very similar to the one you show that I received first and it was my fascination with that that inspired my dad to buy the Estes stuff.

 

[RocketT.Coyote]

My first commercial BP model rocket was a Centuri Micron. It was $1.25 at the time, probably 1967. Painted the body and fins with Testors PLA gloss white. The balsa cone was given multiple coats of cheap red nail polish borrowed from my Dad's fly-tying bench. Flew the model once and it got road rash.

 

[mikeyd]

Mid to late 60's, MRI Wac Corporal. Testors wood glue did not do well to attach fins, but after all these years, they are still there!

 

[skybuster]

First one I flew was when estes had the RTF patriot, great rocket and I still fly it. First one I built was a big bertha

 

[Steven]

Centuri Mercury Redstone. Fifth grade, ten years old. Flew it at my future to be high school Apollo High.

 

[brock w]

Estes Sizzler from the 80's.

brock w
TRA Level 3
www.nh4clo4.net

 

[GDJ]

A Centuri Screaming Eagle (around 1982).

Miss that rocket. Tough, easy to fly, loved C6's.

 

[sodmeister]

I`ve been thinking about this and confirmed with my brother that they were indeed the Estes Renegade and Maxi-Pershing 1A then the LTV Scout and Andromeda.

Not bad for a kid of 12-13 years old.


And yes of course ,they are all trashed :cry:


Paul T

 

[CRC]

Mine was just last year, dont know the name of it, but it was an estes rocket with a B-motor, we lost it after a few flights.

 

[norcalairman]

My first rocket was an Estes Alpha sometime in the early '90's. Sadly, our budget (I was in Junior High) couldn't keep up with my desire to launch rockets and the rocket got shelved. Funny thing, I played with rocket candy back then too, but I was making smoke bombs. I had no idea you could use it to power a rocket.

Now I'm trying to get my son's Cub Scout pack to take on a rocket project building Art Applewhite Spartans.

Oh, and this is my first post. Hoping to learn a lot from y'all.

 

[Solomoriah]

Centuri Screaming Eagle. It was 1976, and I got the launch "outfit" as it was shown in the catalog; with an extra pack of engines, I qualified for a bonus kit, namely a Bandito. Despite the higher difficulty, I managed to get the Bandito together in good order. That extra pack of engines was carefully selected by me from the engines that both rockets shared in common... a short list that started with the B4-6.

I managed to launch the Screaming Eagle without much ado, and yeah, it was cool, but then I shoved a B4-6 into the Bandito, and WOW did it go. It was the Bandito that hooked me.

 

[Moon Knight]

Quest RTF Whiplash from a starter set that I bought at my local hobby shop when I was about 34. I flew it 3 times on B-engines at a school soccer field and have been hooked ever since. The Whiplash has had quite a few flights and is now retired and sitting in my rocket display cabinet. I vaguely remember hearing about model rockets when I was in high school but never paid them any attention. Now I teach high school physics using model rockets!

 

[Jays66gt]

An original Estes Space Shuttle. I will never forget it. Early 1980's. That thing flew wonderfully.

Still have it around here somewhere.

 

[jadebox]

An original Estes Space Shuttle. I will never forget it. Early 1980's. That thing flew wonderfully.

Did you build it? That's quite a complex kit to build as your first rocket!

-- Roger

 

[apastuszak]

I can't remember my first rocket. But I do remember my first launch equipment. I bough a Centuri Powr-Pad from someone I went to school with. It was the one that sat on top of the 6V Lantern battery.

I remember the blast deflector was all rusted up, and I had my dad take it work and throw it into an industrial sandblaster, making is clean of all rust. The launch rod was one piece.

The good old days...

 

[Solomoriah]

The launch rod I got with my Powr-Pad was two piece, but the upper piece was smaller diameter and fit into a hole in the lower piece. I don't have that rod anymore, but I have parts of the Powr-Pad (not usable now) including the blast deflector in a box in the attic.

 

[dave carver]

The launch rod I got with my Powr-Pad was two piece, but the upper piece was smaller diameter and fit into a hole in the lower piece. I don't have that rod anymore, but I have parts of the Powr-Pad (not usable now) including the blast deflector in a box in the attic.

That's how FSI made their launch rods. 1/8th" brass rod with a 1/16th" steel rod. It was sure whippy if that's a word.

I didn't put in my first answer that I flew my scratch built in '68. It was years before I bought a kit. Then, as now, I bought parts and did my own thing. I have enough parts now to build about 100 rockets...minus a few nosecones, but I've been addressing that problem monthly with an order to SEMROC. I haven't missed a month from when I started buying in April. I think they're kinda happy with me...after I imploded on them in April