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 ACTON, Massachussetts USA — Multi-colored flags whipped in the wind as an R2D2-inspired model rocket prepared for take-off.
When the countdown reached zero, R2D2 headed skyward in a puff of smoke as close to 100 model rocket enthusiasts craned their necks to watch his ascent and plot his downward course. “We bring out everybody from local kids to long-time r[o]cketeers, people who are taking classes and people who are at their first launch,” said Jim Salem, an Acton resident and member of the Central Massachusetts Spacemodeling Society, which hosted the model rocket launch on Aug. 18. “It’s a nice opportunity for people to come out and have fun in a safe way.” Salem, a long-time model rocket enthusiast, brought several of his own rockets to the launch, including one made out of a pink oversized plastic crayon. “As you can see, you can build rockets out of just about everything,” he said. Like many of the launch attendees, Salem fiddled with model rocketry when he was younger, but lost touch with his hobby, reconnecting only recently. “I did a kid but I took a long hiatus,” he said. “Then I had my own kids and it was an excuse to get back into it.” Salem said organizers expected about 200 flights, about half what they have gotten in past events. The windy weather, which blew one model rocket into some power lines next to the School Street soccer fields, limited the turnout. Another rocket cleared the field completely and landed behind a stand of trees sending its owner off to retrieve it.
One r[o]cketeer fashioned an impromptu rocket out of a plastic spool. Others brought rockets made from kits with elaborate curved fins. For Matthew Carrona, a 7-year-old Harvard resident, Saturday was his first foray into model rocketry. Earlier that morning, his parents had surprised him with a model rocket for his birthday and brought him to the launch. Matthew described the experience as “really cool.” Copyright © 2007, The Beacon.
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