Going back in time!

[Bill Gibson]

First, I just want to wish all the nice folks at The Rocketry Forum a VERY happy Thanksgiving! Ive been feeling quite nostalgic lately, so I was thinking about the first model rocket I built.....it was in 1968, and I was 10 years old! So I decided to build my first rocket again, which was an Estes Wac Corporal, purchased at the time for the outlandish sum of 1.50!! I found the information I needed, including the original plans on Rocket Reviews, and the parts I needed at eRockets, so off to work I went! Building this little rocket sure brought back so many wonderful memories for me, and probably kept my butt outta trouble, as the hobby helped me to focus on more positive things in my life as opposed to drugs, alcohol, and such things so many of my friends got involved in, and i'm grateful for that! I purchased enough parts to make 2 of 'em, one white and black, like the Estes catalog, and one yellow and black.......cant wait to finish this one, and LAUNCH IT:wink::smile:

 

[blackjack2564]

"purchased at the time for the outlandish sum of 1.50!!"

Well kinda....I remember back then, I got .25 per lawn cutting. Used a "push" cutter..engine mowers were way over our heads to buy!

So that was 6 lawn jobs for me to buy that rocket....lol Motors were in the blue tubes for .89-.99 for 3.

My best friend Butch & I spent the entire summer cutting lawns to save the 9.95 it took to buy the original Saturn, motors, paint & glue. Boy was that thing HUGE...after spending 2 weeks trying to build it. Finally stuck it on the pad with 4-C motor cluster. We didn't know what the heck we were doing & the launch system was woefully underpowered.

Only 1 motor lit and only getting just high enough to crash...it did! We were heartbroken!

Ah the memories of that summer though..rockets...rockets and more rockets. We lost way more than most kids..but so what. It was fun.
Thanks for stirring up "back in the day" 1960's Estes memories!
I still have one of my first rockets though, an original Alpha. That would make it 50 some years old.

 

[Bill Gibson]

The blue tubes! I remember them well!!!! I remember getting a free Gyroc kit if you spent enough money on your order...cant remember how much it was, but I think the kit was a buck and a quarter or something like that! Ive got a Big Bertha(one of my favorites) that's still in service after 43 years....just flew it last Saturday...SUPER!! I loved being a kid during the peak years of the Space Program....rockets were pretty much all I thought about.......that and control line model airplanes!

 

[hcmbanjo]

Hi Bill,
I enjoyed your "Going Back In Time" Wac Corporal post.
You mentioned that rocketry may have kept you out of trouble as a teen.
I met up with Vern Estes at the NARCON held here in Florida a few years back.
I shook his hand and mentioned: "Thanks - Rocketry kept me out of trouble and
away from some bad influences in my teen years."
I added (trying to be funny): "I didn't date a whole lot, but I was happy!"
I don't think he understood the last line.

That feeling of nostalgia is still there when I do a small engine schoolyard launch.
I find myself running and trying to catch the rockets before they touch down, trying to prevent landing damage.
After I run I realize, I probably shouldn't be doing that with my bad knee.
But for those few moments, the knee pain is gone!

 

[The_Lone_Beagle]

Nifty! I remember building and painting mine about a decade later, in the late 1970's. I loved the conical nose cone & the black and white scheme...and wasn't there a silver fin, or am I totally mis-remembering?

FYI, if you didn't already know, Aerospace Specialty Products has these in every size from MMX to a 38mm! It really is such a classic design!
https://www.asp-rocketry.com/ecommerce/ASP-Scale-Model-Rocket-Kits.cfm?cat_id=8

 

[Bill Gibson]

Nifty! I remember building and painting mine about a decade later, in the late 1970's. I loved the conical nose cone & the black and white scheme...and wasn't there a silver fin, or am I totally mis-remembering?

FYI, if you didn't already know, Aerospace Specialty Products has these in every size from MMX to a 38mm! It really is such a classic design!

TLB, You are Correct! And yep, I'm WACKY for Wacs!!! I've built the ASP 29/38mm version , and the 18mm version.....AND the Semroc 18mm Wac which I set up for 24mm motors!!! It's just such a clean simple, good looking missile!!!!

 

[Rex R]

a tad bit late...but an Estes size wac can be built with a 13mm mount and flown with streamer recovery w/o any additional nose weight.
Rex

 

[Bill Gibson]

Thanks Rex! It just so happens that I'm going to build a 2nd 18mm Wac...one with a white base color, and one with yellow, so I may just set up the 2nd model for 13mm power!!

 

[Rex R]

13mm power also leaves room for the wac's boat tail...if one were so inclined
Rex