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Bill Stifler and I started launching model rockets back in the late '60s. We started out with completely home built designs - including the engines. Interestingly, we both have all of our fingers. Home manufactured rocket engines are finicky things to build. We didn't get much past very small unstable rockets that tended to mostly spin around amusingly. We eventually graduated to Estes and Century kits that offered much more in the way of reliability and versatility. They were also significantly less expensive. Soon we were happily launching cluster and multi-stage vehicles. We then graduated to live payloads and land vehicles. The live payloads experienced universal fatality. The land vehicles experienced a similar fate. We also constructed several other nefarious devices that will be left unmentioned to prevent the less cautious who may read this from attempting recreations.

Soon we had all of the neighbor kids launching with us. We called our facility the Leiphart's Corner Missle Range (LCMR for short) and our rocketry club the Leiphart's Corner Missle Club. Only one known rocket from this era exists and pictured below. The Saturn 1B was built during that time by Jeff Stover. He gave it to me about 1975 or so. I flew it a few times and it has been in moth-balls since. But one of these days.......

From left to right:

A rocket found by my mom in the back yard around 1997.

An Estes kit. Lands on little wire legs - no parachute.

The Gator. Built from scratch using typewriting paper. Flown maybe twenty times.

Little Purple Estes ready-to-fly kit. Fun to fly and durable.

Estes kit adapted to pay-loader. Pay-loader turned from pine 2 X 4 stock and toilet paper tube.

Purple Snookums. Built with same parameters as The Gator. More flights. Flawless performer.

SR-71 Blackbird replica. Too beautiful to fly.

Yellow Estes ready-to-fly kit.

Red Estes Mars Lander Kit. Fun to fly. Not very efficient.

Jeff Stover built Saturn 1B. Refugee from the '60s.

Plans for the future?

Naw. I pretty much fly now for nostalgia with old friends - and for great fun with my grand kids - they love the sport.

But every once in a while - especially when I see one these things on the right - I get an urge.

So some time when you look up -and see something that just doesn't make sense - maybe its the x-files - or maybe the Klingons - or maybe me.