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The History Behind My Site
I first started model rocketry when I was 10. My first rocket was an Estes 'Tidal Wave'. My aunt bought it for me for my 10th birthday, and I really had a lot of fun with it. I launched it just a few days after I got it, and immediately started building my own rocket (from scratch). I wanted to make the smallest rocket possible (since all I had where A8s to Cs I thought that they were the smallest, and built my rocket accordingly). Since I had absolutely no idea what I was doing, I just tried to imitate the Tidal Wave; I had a 3in diameter parachute, a nose cone made from a Styrofoam airplane, and 4 fins (oddly spaced) made from balsa airplanes. I launched it and the fins peeled off immediately, but other than that it flew fine. That same day I got a model rocketry book from our local library (they only had two), and one of the first things I saw was a diagram showing not to put your fins on with the grain running parallel to the body, solving the problem. I went home, glued the fins on again (with the grain along the leading edge of the fin) and have flown it several times since, all perfectly.
I was destined to become a model rocket scratch builder. Since then I have designed and built numerous model rockets from scratch (about 10-15), and the only real disaster I have had was with a model of R2D2 I tried to make, it did a couple of circles 2ft above the pad and then landed on the ground, burnt.
For two years I lived in Romania and while there my mom got me Bill Stines sixth edition of "Hand Book of Model Rocketry" (or the model rocketeers bible). This is a really great book, and I recommend it for everyone. It was after I read this book that I started in earnest to design rockets (pencil and paper), then when I got back to the USA my uncle, Bryan, bought me Space Cad (www.spacecad.com). I love it!
Other stuff about me...
Well, I think that everyone must have more than just one hobby (or interest). Of course I love model rocketry, but I’m also a member of the Civil Air Patrol. I have been a member for a little more than a year now, and I'm still loving it. There are many opportunities, and I am even working on my private pilots license through them!
I'd love to hear from you!
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