Start in Coalwood, WV

[DynaSoar]

Yes, it's still there, despite what "The Rocket Boys" and "October Sky" seem to imply. Head north west out of town, towards Welch, about 5 miles. When you get to US 52, turn right (south 52). After about 30 miles you'll go through Bluewell and Brushfork, and climb a long slow hill. Just past the top of the hill you'll see a green highway sign that says "Welcome to Bluefield WV, birthplace of John F. Nash, winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in economics" (and subject of the movie "A Beautiful Mind"). 100 yards farther on, just as you can see the buildings of town come into view, and just before you cross the big concrete bridge over the railroad yard, there's a road on the left. That's the entrance to Bluefield State College. That's where I am. I'm the psychology professor. Not "a", but "the". (Not to be confused with Bluefield College, which is 2 miles away on the Virginia side of the line, and a Christian college). This little place has been in US News' top colleges list 6 years running. Among the other reasons, one of the coolest is that autonomous ground robots designed and built by a team of BSC students has won four world titles at the "Intelligent Ground Robotics Vehicle (IGRV) international championships during the past three years, beating out teams from schools with full engineering programs.

After a year in Oklahoma that didn't work out, and a few months back in DFW, I'm back in my adopted home of Appalachia. Not much open flat land here, but I'll find some. Or I'll invent articulated parachute support rods that can climb down from trees. Two projects in the works: (1) find the Rocket Boys flying field and see if it's still flyable or can be made so, and (2) see if I can find flying space on Flat Top near Ghent (4,800 ft. elevation would make a great starting place for altitude flights). Bluefield belongs to the NASA Space Consortia, so the program I put together in OK for teaching science teachers and science teacher students to teach using rockets is going to be moved here under the same funding.

The down sides, the closest flying clubs are not close at all, and seem to be pretty much defunct. And, it's a long, long way to anywhere where I can pick up HP motors.

It may be a while before I make it back again, but as things get moving (upwards) again, I will be back. In the mean time, you can google the above named school, get their domain name from that, and email me as dmcclain at that domain.

"My other car goes STRAIGHT UP"

D McC-F

 

[rocketkyle]

I went to Coalwood a couple of years ago with my grandparets (was on a trip with them to Virginia and NC, and talked them into going there). Driving through south WV in the mining towns is very depressing.
There is a gravel/dirt road that leads to their flying field from Coalwood, but it had just rained very hard, and there was no way of getting there without getting stuck. I was kind of upset that I didn't get to see the field. I'm sure it's still flyable. Probably nothing more than a big gravel pit. I was glad that I took the trip, though. i saw most of the other things mentioned in the book.

 

[brianc]

Originally posted by DynaSoar
(1) find the Rocket Boys flying field and see if it's still flyable or can be made so

This might be a start - https://rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=20371
and
https://www.coalwoodwestvirginia.com/october_sky_festival.htm

Best of luck!

 

[AKPilot]

My son and I went last year to the festival. I was really glad that we went; an incredible experience! Homer, and the rest of the "Boys" spent time talking one-on-one with my son and myself.

As for the Coalwood flying site, we're honestly talking A-motors at the most. It's an incredibly closed in site, surrounded by trees and hills on all sides. Homer told me that when they were launching in the '50s the place was incredibly different - absolutely no trees, and yes, they often hide to hike miles to retrieve their rockets. As for the launch site, it wasn't as far as a walk as the movie made it out to be, and it definitely isn't as open as they protrayed in the movie.

The festival itself is just that, a festival. There was a small NASA display (mainly because Homer ended up working for NASA), a few small rides, and crafts being sold by the townsfolk. As small as a festival as it is, it is a money maker for this quaint town. They did sell the first print edition of "The Rocket Boys", which they'll sign. Just make sure you go to the town hall first and get your ticket. Tickets equate to the timeframe in which you'll be called; the lower the number equates to less of a wait. We arrived an hour or so early and got in with the second wave - only because we didn't know about the ticket thing.

As far as rocketry type items, they sell a few basic t-shirts and hats. For the really neat stuff you need to check out HomerHickam.com, as the town people were all wearing shirts from his site - not what was being sold.

 

[Hospital_Rocket]

Dennis - Glad to see you have bubbled up again! Don't be a stranger.

P.S. -> I'm signing up for Psych402 in the fall.

 

[JRThro]

Originally posted by DynaSoar
It may be a while before I make it back again, but as things get moving (upwards) again, I will be back. In the mean time, you can google the above named school, get their domain name from that, and email me as dmcclain at that domain.

"My other car goes STRAIGHT UP"

D McC-F

Good to see you again, Dennis!

 

[dave carver]

I can't begin to tell you how much I envy you Easterners. The opportunity to go to this is beyond my capabilities right now but maybe 2007.....

 

[Nate]

ok, the coalwood "October Sky Festival" is on Oct. 7th this year. If you can get that field flyable by then, I'll personally drive out there from colorado and launch with you.

Deal?