What was your first rocket?

[muddymooose]

Estes Nova Payloader (1960) back in 1989 when I was 12. I put a cricket in it on the first launch. It came back unharmed.

 

[ToneDeafJunior]

Estes Mercury Redstone

 

[prfesser]

Wow. I think I'm the first to say "Astron Streak", around 1965-66. At that time the starter kit had the Scout (shortly after, the WAC Corporal, then the Alpha) but with 11 siblings at the time and a father who drove a gasoline truck for a living, money was extremely tight. The Streak was the cheapest rocket they had, similar to the Mosquito but for 18 mm engines.

Parents were kinda pissed when they learned that you needed a new engine for each flight... all that money...

Best -- Terry

 

[ksaves2]

Wow. I think I'm the first to say "Astron Streak", around 1965-66. At that time the starter kit had the Scout (shortly after, the WAC Corporal, then the Alpha) but with 11 siblings at the time and a father who drove a gasoline truck for a living, money was extremely tight. The Streak was the cheapest rocket they had, similar to the Mosquito but for 18 mm engines.

Parents were kinda pissed when they learned that you needed a new engine for each flight... all that money...

Best -- Terry

Oh yeah, they cost all of 25 to 35 cents then! A fancy kit was $2.50 and I think the Camroc was $4.50 or maybe 6 bucks. Kurt

 

[Darian Rachal]

Astro Alpha from the Deluxe Starter kit, which included the launcher with some type of batteries(I think they were called Photoflash or similar), paint, sanding sealer, and a couple of motors. It was everything you needed to launch the rocket. The cost was $7.50 ppd..

 

[DinoAP]

Estes Sizzler starter set with the BigFoot launch pad back in the early 80’s.

 

[VARm01]

Estes X-15 starter set. The X-15 one solid piece of plastic, still have it.

Sent from my XT1254 using Rocketry Forum mobile app

 

[ThinkingManNeil]

Estes Alpha III. First flew it on an A8-3...

N.

 

[Tobor]

Estes Scout in 73' or 74'. Lost on 1st flight.

 

[BEC]

I'm with prfesser - it was probably an Astron Streak as the kit was 50 cents back then. It also may have been a Sprite. I actually don't recall but I know I had both early on. But an Alpha was not much later. But I don't know what became of them. I'm sure I lost the Streak as it wasn't hard to do.

I had an Electro-Launch with those photoflash D cells that Darian mentions. Frustrating at times.

In recent years as I've been back I have gotten two Electro-Launches off of eBay (one was never finished when I got it - so it was 49 years old when it launched its first rocket). They work MUCH better with alkaline D cells. Solar igniters/starters help, too....vs. the nichrome wire with the blue pyrogen-like-stuff on them. They come out every year at our "classics" themed club launch and occasionally at other times as well, just for the heck of it.

 

[Sooner Boomer]

My first rocket was an Alpha. This was back in 65 or 66 I think. My mother saw an ad in the back of a magazine (Popular Mechanics??) and ordered on, along with a tube of engines. Since this was my first rocket kit, she ordered "C" engines, in the mistaken idea that "A" was the best, so "C" would be a good place to start. The kit was a body tube, a balsa nosecone, and a sheet of balsa - you had to mark and cut your own fins. I glued it with Elmer's white glue (that's about all there was except rubber cement and mucilage for paper). I don't remember what the launch lug was. I painted the nose and fins "China Red" - from a small can of enamel my grandfather had (I remember that color specifically). The body tube was a sort of orangish-beige. I don't think I'd even heard of spray paint at that time.

My grandfather and I launched it at the school at the end of the block. He was certain that it had to be launched with a fuse, like fireworks, but I had read the instructions. I think the launch rod was a straightened (mostly) coat hanger. We stripped the ends off an old extension cord to power the ignition.

The rocket ripped off the rod and went straight up into the West Texas sky. I saw the parachute come out, but soon realized it wasn't coming down anywhere nearby. We drove around for what seemed like 30 minutes trying to find it, but never did. My mother remarried and we moved out of state. I think that was my one and only launch in Texas.

 

[rtuinila]

My first rocket was the Centuri Astro-1, which was part of the 10 piece "Complete Rocket Outfit" in 1971.

 

[Steve Shannon]

Orbital Transport in the late 60s.

 

[Addemup]

My first rocket's going to be an Apogee Apprentice.

I'm pretty excited about it.

 

[RocketT.Coyote]

Centuri Micron. Got road rash on the first flight.