Model Rocket History: Orville H. Carlisle's Rock-A-Chute

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lakeroadster

When in doubt... build hell-for-stout!
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@kuririn mentioned this rocket on a previous thread and if ever a rocket existed that needed it's own recognition.. it seems this one is it.

Data below is copied from Orville Carlisle' Wikipedia Page

By 1954, Orville had developed his first rocket, the Rock-A-Chute Mark I. This model had an airframe of paper with balsa fins mounted on long booms behind the body. Propulsion was achieved by a handmade solid rocket motor burning DuPont fffG black powder propellant. The engine was used once and then discarded. The same technology goes into model rocket engines produced currently.

Carlisle's second rocket, the Rock-A-Chute Mark II had a more streamlined design and is still a practical model rocket today. In 1958, he was awarded U.S. Patent 2,841,084 for his design of a "toy rocket".

The US Patent documents are shown below:

Rock-A-Chute Page 1.jpgRock-A-Chute Page 2.jpgRock-A-Chute Page 3.jpgRock-A-Chute Page 4.jpg

Motor, Model Rocket, Orville Carlisle "Rock-A-Chute" Type, Staged

"These are unflown Rock-A-Chute 4-4 and 4-4-2 flying rocket motors made by Orville Carlisle. They are made of pasteboard and contain non-explosive propellant. The motors were made at some time during the late 1950s during the early years of the development of flying rocket models. A motor is used only once to power a model rocket. G. Harry Stine, a pioneer in the field of flying rocket models, donated theses artifacts to NASM in 1973."

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