Who are your rocketry idols?

I’ll play
Jim Barrowman, ole Ed Pearson and Paul Conner from my early days as a NARHamster
Joe Shupe my old rocket team mate and best man at my wedding
Howard Kuhn who found a way to disqualify so many of my competition rockets
Bruce Blackistone who was instrumental in getting my dad to drive me to many rocketry events
The guys of MITRS for inspiring designs and Model Rocketry mag
Phil Barnes and George Gassaway for getting me interested in RCRG
Tim Eiszner, Tom Binford, and John Cato who led me down the HP path
Chris Taylor (Nerys) for my new 3d printing addiction
Plus members of NARHams, TARA, and SoAR who have supported my addiction over the years.
Lastly, Earl Cagle for his LDRS and BALLS video tapes that I still watch.

Whew, and all past and current manufacturers big and small. And all the publishers of newsletters, magazines, video, and websites. Doug Pratt’s CompuServe group was instrumental in my return to the hobby. TRA’s newsstand distribution was my gateway to HP.

Hmmm, none.

Estes, Piester, and Boyd. Also Carlisle and Stine.

Orville Carlisle
My family moved to Norfolk NE when I was eight years old .
Within 2 years I had met the Man !
Great Guy and an amazing Amateur Pyrotechnician, was mesmerized by his fireworks shows for years !!!

There are many, but my top three would be:

1. Vern and Gleda (no explanation needed)
2. Wayne Kellner (insanely impressive collection of iconic designs)
3. @hcmbanjo (taught me pretty much everything I needed to know to start building rockets again after 35 years).

My model rocket heroes are unknown to me. The designers of many of the kits in the mid-to-late 70s are the ones that inspired me to model rocketry. Examples would be the U.S.S. Atlantis, U.S.S. Andromeda, Alien Invader, Mars Snooper II, and Mars Lander.

Those that flew the “real” rockets like Redstone and Saturn also inspired of course, as did everyone at NASA in those days.

Frank Kosdon
Sonny Thompson
Mosquito Jim Cornwell

BBowmaster said:

My model rocket heroes are unknown to me. The designers of many of the kits in the mid-to-late 70s are the ones that inspired me to model rocketry. Examples would be the U.S.S. Atlantis, U.S.S. Andromeda, Alien Invader, Mars Snooper II, and Mars Lander.

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Several of those are Wayne Kellner...

neil_w said:

There are many, but my top three would be:

1. Vern and Gleda (no explanation needed)
2. Wayne Kellner (insanely impressive collection of iconic designs)
3. @hcmbanjo (taught me pretty much everything I needed to know to start building rockets again after 35 years).

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Sheesh! Thanks Neil!

Steve Eves
Pius Moruzumi (spelling is way off)
Ed Rowe
Mike McBurnett (spelling)
Frank Kosdon
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Al Gloer
Wayne Anthony
Gary Tortora
Mike Showalter

The ones at the top of the list inspired me to do a lot of the rocketry I do. Steve Eves, with his IROC project. Pius, with his altitude hungry projects. Mike and Ed with their go big or go home projects.

The guys at the lower half fine tuned my rocketry. Al and Gary, kept me from a lot of go fever. Mike Showalter was the first to congratulate me after my L3 certification. Wayne Anthony, I read about his projects in HPR magazine and I was honored that he pushed the button for my L3 certification.

Jim Scarpine...hands down the best modeler I ever met

John Lyngdal.

These lists have covered many of them.
In my neck of the woods, I would mention Jerry O'Sullivan who launched an M to M Terrier Sandhawk with real time video downlink, way before anyone had done that.
Also Jeff Taylor...Loki.

The people that have helped me the most with rocketry are a Jim, Shawn, Steve, Kurt, and Ned. A small group here may know them, but they have been instrumental and inspirstional in my understanding of rocketry.

Elon Musk, Tom Mueller, Peter Beck

Wedge Oldham and Frank Kosdon, when they started helping me out and imparting their knowledge to me I didn't know who they were, now I consider myself very lucky.

Tom Hoelle was mentioned a few posts back...I knew him from various midwest regional contests in the 1970s. If you ever saw his Genie scale models, you know they were best-of-show material.

He showed up for a brief visit at NARAM this year after a really long hiatus and we had a short chat. Great to see him again.

I'd also nominate the late Geoffrey Kerbel, who signed off my L1 a decade or so ago. He was fantastically generous with his time, knowledge, supplies and patience.

Wedge Oldham!!

WhiskyTangoFoxtrot said:

Jim Scarpine...hands down the best modeler I ever met

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Have you been drinking? I appreciate the praise but there are many more skilled then myself.

I've been affected by this BAR condition for the second time. The last time I found the ones who gave me the bug were:

Wes Oleszewski (Dr Zooch) - Genius, funny
Layne Pemberton - Nicest guy I ever drew something for
Doug Holverson - Inspirational
Jim Flis - Devoted to the cause

Thanks to this forum I have been able to interact with all of them, so TRF has to be one of my rocketry idols.

Vern Knowles
John Coker
Fred Azinger
Dennis Winningstad
Ky Michaelson
Mike Fisher
Jim Jarvis
Royce Frankum
James Russell
Wile E. Coyote

Wow! Retro thread award! Sadly, I believe a few respondents are no longer with us. Ad Astra to all the brothers in smoke who've made apogee...

Carl McLawhorn

I've never met any of the people mentioned in this thread. John Rusek is the only Rocket Scientist I know.

Homer Hickam
Quentin Wilson
Pat and Reta Gordzellek
Gates Brothers
Robert Turner

The MDRA guy, Tom Binford. (sp?), @Rocketjunkie here I believe. He always has some awesome flights. His long burn motors are amazing.
Edited for correct name. Thanks Jim.

Vern Estes, for placing advertisements in the magazines a 7 year old kid reads, in the late 1960's.......

and my Mother, for allowing me to use my own 7 year old kid money to buy an Estes Starter Kit.

Rocketjunkie is Tom Binford

jimzcatz said:

Rocketjunkie is Tom Binford

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Thanks. At least I got the Tom part right...

Good to see this thread come from the necro depths.... as I must have missed it first 20x through.

Was good to see Mr Terry Lee mentioned, I still pack my chutes the way he showed me at a WUBBA launch circa 1982-3, one of my early mentors.

Also Chuck Mund - a great competitor, early hpr guy and early motor mentor, thanks for the inspiration and help .

Gary Rosenfield - we've had our issues,but a true gentleman, motor guru and always will to help out, answer questions ( and maker of real cool motors )

And yeah - The Doc of LOC, many of us owe him a huge debt.