Deepsky Newsletter No 5
Judging by the unseasonable nip in the air, there's going to be great
weather at UKRA 2003 4-6 June at Southview Farm in Heckington,
Lincs. Deepsky is going to be there with a bunch of new rocket stuff...
and some long standing favourite flavours, too. We've even got a new
marquee suitable for busy multi-day events and are bribing the rocket gods
so that we don't have to take advantage of its waterproofing ;-)
New New New
We have two great new rockets from Rockethead now on the site. The
RHR2003 is a bit of retro fun that strikes me as rather Thuderbird-ish and
flies well even on smaller motors should your flying field require
it. Rockethead also do a berserk little number called Battle Axe that
looks just like what is says on the tin. Both are lots of fun to fly,
easy to build and not very dear to buy. Deepsky is also the exclusive UK
dealer for Rockethead's light weight Mylar chutes, too. They are excellent
for competitions and for rockets that are already a bit tight on recovery
space or are a bit nose heavy.
One of the original partners in BSD was Scott Binder. Some of his best
early designs reside in a company that still bears his name: Binder
Design. He was the guy responsible for the super decals that attract so
many to the BSD brand. We are now Binder Design's exclusive UK dealer and
will have the absolute Mercedes Benz of the HPR world on hand at
UKRA2004: the Galaxy. A beautiful L2 capable bird with retro styling and
tons of features. Check it out on the Deepsky web site now.
Mike Fisher of Binder Design is a head's-up guy that is easy to work with,
communicates well and is into non-conventional and experimental rocketry
as are we!). We look forward to selling his high quality kits with more
design features than you get from most 3FNC rocket vendors.
We will have our entire stock of BSD kits on hand at UKRA including
Diablos, Horizons, Sprints, Apaches, Thors and Specials. BSD is still
working its way back to its pre-catastrophe levels of quality and service
but most of these kits were made before this winter's problems. We have
some deals for you!
For UKRA, we hope to have the first examples of the Qmodeling MRS Stiletto
an upscale of that venerable Estes kit from days of yore when all of the
UKRA S&T team were still in short trousers if not nappies. Deepsky is
the exclusive supplier of Qmodeling's Mega Retro Scale rockets for the UK.
Stiletto is big and it's beautiful and flies on Estes Ds and Es. We hope
to see Darren's MRS Vega flying and working towards that as-yet-elusive
upright landing at UKRA. The bits to fix Colin's MRS Snooper are on their
way to the luckless lad... motor ejection next time, eh? Leigh is putting
the finishing touches on his MRS Nike X and we can't wait to see an E
impulse fire lit under that one! Will we see Andrew's Snooper drag race
against Colin's reborn one? ;-) We have all the above models in stock and
some with price reductions.
Congratulations to the Cranfield University Rocket Team on choosing a
modified LOC/Precision Big Nuke 3E as their core project vehicle. Deepsky
will be supporting the team with other great products: Acme launch lugs,
Top Flight Firewall chute protectors, Cesaroni Pro54 propulsion,
lamination products, and instrumentation for their Level 3 bird. It's
great to be working with a talented, intelligent and enthusiastic bunch of
rocket dudes.
LOC/Precision not only has an outstanding array of rockets but are willing
to modify basic kits to suit different motor dimensions AND deliver with
lightening fast service. The Cranfield rocket will have a 98mm motor
mount to take Hypertek M motors instead of the normal 75mm mount. The
same rocket is being built by Deepsky's Gaby for her Level 3 attempt later
this year (or early next?)
Congratulations are also in order for Kevin Timmins who is the first
winner of a Deepsky Cert Shirt. Buy your HPR rocket and motor from us and
get your cert done and we will give you a personalised Deepsky Cert
Shirt! Pictures of his BSD Horizon rocket will be in the gallery section
of the web site shortly. Those Horizons can take a beating and come back
for more. Kevin had a problem with the harness on an earlier flight and
the Horizon came in without a chute. He picked it up, dug out the bent
fin, gave it a bish bosh with epoxy, fitted a Top Flight Firewall
protector on the new harness and then flew it again for his cert flight.
June is rocket glider month and anyone that has bought a VMX-12 (D
powered) or VMX-2 (C powered) rocket glider (or any other boost glider for
that matter) can fly free in June if we are 'on site'. We have a few of
the big D powered gliders left... and if ordered now they could easily be built for UKRA2004's blue skies.
The original VMX-2 is on offer at an unheard of sub £20 price if you want
to compete for the Two Minute Trophy. Order today and fly on 4-6 June for
free and get a shot at the gold medal!
Deepsky's Genni will be flying our newly completed Cosmodrome Vostok that
was lightly modded for a TV commercial so that it looks more
Soyuz-ish. H or I impulse? We haven't decided yet. Building the kit
against a tight deadline is NOT the way to do it! The quality of the kit
really made it possible... but it was still a lot more kit than Paul had
ever built before ;-)
We have more of the Cosmodrome Vostok kits on order and will be building
another one with FIVE 38mm motor mounts instead of the single one that is
provided as original equipment. We also have good stock of other
Cosmodrome kits for BIG scale model fanciers. If your scale obsession is
more moderate, the True Modelers Rocket Kits are highly recommended.
The Vostok project ate almost a week of Deepsky operations time so there
are a couple of orders that went out a lot slower than we would have
liked. We didn't have all the time needed to harass our suppliers when
they slowed down on deliveries, either. All hands are on deck again and
any delays and shortages will be cleared in the next few days.
The credit card experiment has worked well so far. We have learned how to
do the transactions manually and haven't dinged anybody's card in error or
gotten scammed ourselves so it must be working alright! We will be taking
most forms of plastic at the UKRA event as well as cash and cheques.
We are now stocking dealers for PerfectFlite altimeters and
timers. Paul's been flying the ALT15K/WD logging altimeter for over a
year and is delighted with it. It is small enough to go in a 18mm BT 20
rocket... and light enough to soar aloft on a mere C motor. PerfectFlite
also have timers the size of a 20p coin that will become part of our
Hesperis Technology Afterburner bimodal hybrid kits. More PerfectFlite
'tronics will be up on the Deepsky web site soon! We also hope to add
Traxxa radio tracker beacons soon
.
Estes motors are coming in slowly. We have a good stock of C11-0 and
D12-0s that are superb for booster stages of the CC Express and Fliskits
Nomads. We're still a bit short on other Ds but are expecting a load in
before the UKRA event. We have an excellent stock of C11-5s which get a
D-motor rocket off the pad in style but don't go waaaaayyyyyy up so
recovery is more convenient for those who would rather prep their next
rocket than go for a long walk in the country.
We have some E9-6s for delivery at the UKRA event. Pre order them off the
site if you please. There are never enough so get there early!
We will have with us a LOAD of Fun Rockets rockets that can be assembled
on the spot and flown right away... including the Silver Hawk, Zoomie and
Swinger boost gliders and the versatile Tangent. We'll even provide a dab
of glue and a motor in a LAUNCH NOW! special deal.
We'll bring along our entire stable of super quality and value
LOC/Precision HPR and MPR rockets and those daft and loveable Art
Applewhite UFOs... and a mess of Fliskits, Semrocs, all the usual Estes
and Quest Rockets and motors. We may even have a demo of the Hesperis
Technology Afterburner to show and a demo of RATT motor igniter grain
fabrication.
We'll be supporting the URKA raffle so there will be some very fine
rockets being given away from the Deepsky coffers to help support the
club. Blast Off for Britain, the supporters of the British Space
Modelling team, will be on hand selling chip cups which are the most fun
rocket you can buy for £1.
Don't forget our price promise: if you see the same rocket for sale
elsewhere in the UK for less, come to us for a better deal!
If you want the travelling Deepsky Rocket Shop to make the trek out to
your launch site, just let us know when and where and how many are going
to be there. We'll make every effort to be on hand with a big supply of
clear skies, calm breezes and unique and exclusive rocket products.
See you at UKRA2004!
Ringleader of The Deepsky Conspiracy
Paul Lavin
The inventor of the phonograph thought he was inventing voicemail.
Alexander Graham Bell was trying to invent muzak, not the telephone. What
is obvious now was far from obvious then. What is obvious now is very
likely to be wrong in twenty years.
+44 (0) 78 5541 1391 mobile
+44 (0) 20 7291 0991 London office
+44 (0) 15 8246 2720 home office
+44 (0) 15 8246 2536 home fax
Paul Lavin
DRS - Deepsky Rocket Shop
"If you want to fly it and we don't have it, we can get it."
Judging by the unseasonable nip in the air, there's going to be great
weather at UKRA 2003 4-6 June at Southview Farm in Heckington,
Lincs. Deepsky is going to be there with a bunch of new rocket stuff...
and some long standing favourite flavours, too. We've even got a new
marquee suitable for busy multi-day events and are bribing the rocket gods
so that we don't have to take advantage of its waterproofing ;-)
New New New
We have two great new rockets from Rockethead now on the site. The
RHR2003 is a bit of retro fun that strikes me as rather Thuderbird-ish and
flies well even on smaller motors should your flying field require
it. Rockethead also do a berserk little number called Battle Axe that
looks just like what is says on the tin. Both are lots of fun to fly,
easy to build and not very dear to buy. Deepsky is also the exclusive UK
dealer for Rockethead's light weight Mylar chutes, too. They are excellent
for competitions and for rockets that are already a bit tight on recovery
space or are a bit nose heavy.
One of the original partners in BSD was Scott Binder. Some of his best
early designs reside in a company that still bears his name: Binder
Design. He was the guy responsible for the super decals that attract so
many to the BSD brand. We are now Binder Design's exclusive UK dealer and
will have the absolute Mercedes Benz of the HPR world on hand at
UKRA2004: the Galaxy. A beautiful L2 capable bird with retro styling and
tons of features. Check it out on the Deepsky web site now.
Mike Fisher of Binder Design is a head's-up guy that is easy to work with,
communicates well and is into non-conventional and experimental rocketry
as are we!). We look forward to selling his high quality kits with more
design features than you get from most 3FNC rocket vendors.
We will have our entire stock of BSD kits on hand at UKRA including
Diablos, Horizons, Sprints, Apaches, Thors and Specials. BSD is still
working its way back to its pre-catastrophe levels of quality and service
but most of these kits were made before this winter's problems. We have
some deals for you!
For UKRA, we hope to have the first examples of the Qmodeling MRS Stiletto
an upscale of that venerable Estes kit from days of yore when all of the
UKRA S&T team were still in short trousers if not nappies. Deepsky is
the exclusive supplier of Qmodeling's Mega Retro Scale rockets for the UK.
Stiletto is big and it's beautiful and flies on Estes Ds and Es. We hope
to see Darren's MRS Vega flying and working towards that as-yet-elusive
upright landing at UKRA. The bits to fix Colin's MRS Snooper are on their
way to the luckless lad... motor ejection next time, eh? Leigh is putting
the finishing touches on his MRS Nike X and we can't wait to see an E
impulse fire lit under that one! Will we see Andrew's Snooper drag race
against Colin's reborn one? ;-) We have all the above models in stock and
some with price reductions.
Congratulations to the Cranfield University Rocket Team on choosing a
modified LOC/Precision Big Nuke 3E as their core project vehicle. Deepsky
will be supporting the team with other great products: Acme launch lugs,
Top Flight Firewall chute protectors, Cesaroni Pro54 propulsion,
lamination products, and instrumentation for their Level 3 bird. It's
great to be working with a talented, intelligent and enthusiastic bunch of
rocket dudes.
LOC/Precision not only has an outstanding array of rockets but are willing
to modify basic kits to suit different motor dimensions AND deliver with
lightening fast service. The Cranfield rocket will have a 98mm motor
mount to take Hypertek M motors instead of the normal 75mm mount. The
same rocket is being built by Deepsky's Gaby for her Level 3 attempt later
this year (or early next?)
Congratulations are also in order for Kevin Timmins who is the first
winner of a Deepsky Cert Shirt. Buy your HPR rocket and motor from us and
get your cert done and we will give you a personalised Deepsky Cert
Shirt! Pictures of his BSD Horizon rocket will be in the gallery section
of the web site shortly. Those Horizons can take a beating and come back
for more. Kevin had a problem with the harness on an earlier flight and
the Horizon came in without a chute. He picked it up, dug out the bent
fin, gave it a bish bosh with epoxy, fitted a Top Flight Firewall
protector on the new harness and then flew it again for his cert flight.
June is rocket glider month and anyone that has bought a VMX-12 (D
powered) or VMX-2 (C powered) rocket glider (or any other boost glider for
that matter) can fly free in June if we are 'on site'. We have a few of
the big D powered gliders left... and if ordered now they could easily be built for UKRA2004's blue skies.
The original VMX-2 is on offer at an unheard of sub £20 price if you want
to compete for the Two Minute Trophy. Order today and fly on 4-6 June for
free and get a shot at the gold medal!
Deepsky's Genni will be flying our newly completed Cosmodrome Vostok that
was lightly modded for a TV commercial so that it looks more
Soyuz-ish. H or I impulse? We haven't decided yet. Building the kit
against a tight deadline is NOT the way to do it! The quality of the kit
really made it possible... but it was still a lot more kit than Paul had
ever built before ;-)
We have more of the Cosmodrome Vostok kits on order and will be building
another one with FIVE 38mm motor mounts instead of the single one that is
provided as original equipment. We also have good stock of other
Cosmodrome kits for BIG scale model fanciers. If your scale obsession is
more moderate, the True Modelers Rocket Kits are highly recommended.
The Vostok project ate almost a week of Deepsky operations time so there
are a couple of orders that went out a lot slower than we would have
liked. We didn't have all the time needed to harass our suppliers when
they slowed down on deliveries, either. All hands are on deck again and
any delays and shortages will be cleared in the next few days.
The credit card experiment has worked well so far. We have learned how to
do the transactions manually and haven't dinged anybody's card in error or
gotten scammed ourselves so it must be working alright! We will be taking
most forms of plastic at the UKRA event as well as cash and cheques.
We are now stocking dealers for PerfectFlite altimeters and
timers. Paul's been flying the ALT15K/WD logging altimeter for over a
year and is delighted with it. It is small enough to go in a 18mm BT 20
rocket... and light enough to soar aloft on a mere C motor. PerfectFlite
also have timers the size of a 20p coin that will become part of our
Hesperis Technology Afterburner bimodal hybrid kits. More PerfectFlite
'tronics will be up on the Deepsky web site soon! We also hope to add
Traxxa radio tracker beacons soon
.
Estes motors are coming in slowly. We have a good stock of C11-0 and
D12-0s that are superb for booster stages of the CC Express and Fliskits
Nomads. We're still a bit short on other Ds but are expecting a load in
before the UKRA event. We have an excellent stock of C11-5s which get a
D-motor rocket off the pad in style but don't go waaaaayyyyyy up so
recovery is more convenient for those who would rather prep their next
rocket than go for a long walk in the country.
We have some E9-6s for delivery at the UKRA event. Pre order them off the
site if you please. There are never enough so get there early!
We will have with us a LOAD of Fun Rockets rockets that can be assembled
on the spot and flown right away... including the Silver Hawk, Zoomie and
Swinger boost gliders and the versatile Tangent. We'll even provide a dab
of glue and a motor in a LAUNCH NOW! special deal.
We'll bring along our entire stable of super quality and value
LOC/Precision HPR and MPR rockets and those daft and loveable Art
Applewhite UFOs... and a mess of Fliskits, Semrocs, all the usual Estes
and Quest Rockets and motors. We may even have a demo of the Hesperis
Technology Afterburner to show and a demo of RATT motor igniter grain
fabrication.
We'll be supporting the URKA raffle so there will be some very fine
rockets being given away from the Deepsky coffers to help support the
club. Blast Off for Britain, the supporters of the British Space
Modelling team, will be on hand selling chip cups which are the most fun
rocket you can buy for £1.
Don't forget our price promise: if you see the same rocket for sale
elsewhere in the UK for less, come to us for a better deal!
If you want the travelling Deepsky Rocket Shop to make the trek out to
your launch site, just let us know when and where and how many are going
to be there. We'll make every effort to be on hand with a big supply of
clear skies, calm breezes and unique and exclusive rocket products.
See you at UKRA2004!
Ringleader of The Deepsky Conspiracy
Paul Lavin
The inventor of the phonograph thought he was inventing voicemail.
Alexander Graham Bell was trying to invent muzak, not the telephone. What
is obvious now was far from obvious then. What is obvious now is very
likely to be wrong in twenty years.
+44 (0) 78 5541 1391 mobile
+44 (0) 20 7291 0991 London office
+44 (0) 15 8246 2720 home office
+44 (0) 15 8246 2536 home fax
Paul Lavin
DRS - Deepsky Rocket Shop
"If you want to fly it and we don't have it, we can get it."
