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.

Yank Enterprises and flexible phenolic are both relatively new to high power rocketry. Yank has introduced several new three-inch and four-inch high power rocket kits all featuring flexible phenolic airframes. I chose the three-inch exact scale IRIS kit for this evaluation. I also put the flexible phenolic through a battery of tests comparing it to cardboard and regular phenolic airframe tubes.

This article describes an unusual kit-bash, of a Vaughn Brothers BoB into a lightweight 29mm 2-stage rocket. The extra parts required are minimal and except for the necessary electronics the total cost of the conversion is very low. I added PML ‘chutes and AeroPack motor retainers because of their functionality and the very "professional" touch they add to the rocket.

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.'

We've all been there: the sun is blazing down, and we're standing in line to launch our rocket, only to discover we're assigned to fly from rack twelve, and they're currently on rack number three. Let's see... it's taking twenty minutes or so for each rack, and it's mid-afternoon already... To heck with this, I'll be back tomorrow!

The Tripoli Wisconsin Association's (TWA) launches have drawn more and more fliers from farther and farther away. This has been good and bad. The 'bad' can include long waits between flights due to the number of people flying. The question of how to solve the problem was asked.

My first attempt at dual deployment came in the form of Public Missiles' Sudden Rush kit featuring the new Quantum Tube airframe. I had previously purchased an Adept ALTS2 altimeter in hopes of starting a dual deployment vehicle from scratch but after much head scratching, I decided to use a pre-engineered kit such as the Sudden Rush to learn the basics.

Loki boosted darts were developed by the US Army, beginning in 1946. They were supposed to be an anti-aircraft weapon, but they weren't accurate enough to hit anything, and therefore, five years and many tax dollars later, the project was canceled. However, the Loki dart lived on as a research rocket capable of throwing small payloads (like radar reflective chaff) to impressive altitudes, 100-150K feet.