FOR THOSE OF YOU who do not know me, here is a brief introduction. My name is Deidre and I am married to Kurt Kesler. Some of you may know him from the UseNET News group rec.models.rockets. I do not, as yet, build or fly my own rockets. Instead, I am a "paint and finish" consultant of sorts. But, who can tell? I may eventually surprise a whole lot of folks and show up at a future TARA launch with my very own rocket . . . maybe.

OF LATE I HAVE BEEN PONDERING the state of our art: the building of sport rockets. The future of the hobby is on our minds a lot, what with the regulatory battles and the NARAM waiver being denied. This opinion is not about that, but concerns something we all hold much closer to our hearts, namely, how we construct our rockets.

I HAVE READ WITH GREAT INTEREST the recent article by Tim Van Milligan and the resulting desire to form a new rocket motor manufacturing consortium. There are lots of great points and opinions regarding this subject posted here. Many of these postings indicate that most folks don't really understand what is involved to manufacture model rocket motors legally and safely.

IN A POPULAR THREAD on the newsgroup rec.models.rockets, many modelers recently hypothesized about the possibility of creating a new manufacturing company to recreate the old motors that Estes has discontinued. This article is strictly my opinion, and you may or may not agree with the arguments that I make.

THERE'S A NEW BATTLE brewing that promises to be at least as important as the recent regulatory battles being waged in federal courtrooms, and it's one you probably haven't even heard of. This battle could end up vastly affecting you as a consumer and the way you transact your hobby commerce, which is a startling revelation after a lifetime of hearing that 'competition is a good thing.'

I ASKED BRUCE KELLY straight up about the new Tripoli insurance program recently, and Bruce was kind enough to agree to do an interview, for the benefit of everyone it affected. Here now is the contents of that discussion:

PUBLIC ATTITUDE: Rocketry = crazy people using explosives and creating a public hazard. Many rocketeers' attitude: those who make propellant = crazy people using explosives and creating a public hazard.  Neither attitude is true. Both are based on misconceptions. Both may be modified by education. I am disturbed that some portion of the model rocketry community appears to want to educate the public about model rocketry, gets angry when the public doesn't understand, but refuses to educate itself about amateur rocketry.