I AM QUENTIN T. WILSON, of the book "Rocket Boys" and the subsequent movie, "October Sky". I fear, as a consequence of the book and movie, that many youngsters will try the imitate the Rocket Boys and construct home-built rockets. Most will lack our cautiousness, and many will fail to have our luck.

ONE THING that seems clear from the rather fruitless "HPR Summit" that took place recently in Washinton is that, be it a case of governmental buck-passing by BATF, or a legitimate conflict between what they'd like to do and what the Congress has mandated they do, changes in legislation will eventually (probably sooner rather than later) be a necessary part of lightening the crushing load of current hobby regulation.

I LOVE ROCKETS and I suspect you do, too. We happy few, we band of brothers and sisters, it is in our blood to build and launch rockets. Failure in rocketry is not an option, even though it is often a result. But failure rarely stops us. Even while our last rocket is falling from the sky, or crumpled on its side spewing smoke, we're planning our next rocket, and our next. I think this is what makes rocketeers unique.

Implementing an 835cc hammerhead-tanked Hypertek hybrid motor during the construction phase of a rocket presents several interesting issues that need to be addressed. Chuck Andrus takes us for a guided tour of his project, "Hyper Active," a scratch built modular design he engineered to resolve those issues and to allow for ultimate flexibility of motor selection.

I decided to team up with Dynacom and Kosdon for a TRA Level 3 attempt at this year's LDRS XVII Launch at the Bonneville Salt Flats, Utah. I will be building one of Dynacom's new 76mm motor mount-equipped Scorpions and will power it with one of Kosdon East's 76mm M1130 motors.

I DON'T KNOW if we are just in the right place at the right time, but as a hobby we enjoy one of the highest proliferations of fellow hobbyists on the Internet. As such, that allows us to do some pretty phenomenal things that would otherwise deplete even the most dedicated savings accounts.

If you love rocketry and rocketry books, then read the book that generated enough interest to create a movie. "Rocket Boys" by Homer Hickam reaches into the soul of any individual who has ever had a lust for rockets. If you enjoy the power of a model rocket in flight, then this is a must-read. Read the reviews and decide for yourself.

Jeff Brundt admits to being inspired by Andrew Waddell’s big Saturn V project. While the Saturn V is impressive, he was much more interested in the smaller Saturn 1b. In the past both Estes and Centuri kitted model rocket versions of this NASA launcher.  So Jeff let his inspiration fuel this 1/50 scale Saturn 1B project.