LEECHBURG, Pennsylvania USA — Rodney Schafer and Steve Foster have been intrigued by the vastness of the sky and space for years.

That led to a fascination with rocketry, and their skill at making model rockets led to a championship at the National Association of Rocketry competition.

As a boy, Schafer dreamed of becoming an astronaut. He planned on joining the Air Force, and eventually join the ranks of NASA. But Schafer said a hand injury prevented him from being accepted, so he focused on building model rockets. He became so accomplished that he began competing.

“When I watched the shuttle go up in 1981 as a child it caught my eye,” said Schafer, of Leechburg.

The National Association of Rocketry competition took place in Phoenix early this month. Schafer and Foster, also of Leechburg, competed in multiple events against about 80 other teams.

Each team accumulates points from NAR competitions throughout the year, and the local two-man team was in second place entering the nationals.

Still, they felt like underdogs, because they were 1,860 points behind the first team going in. But they wound up winning by almost 900 points.

The average size of a model rocket is about 18 inches long.

Attention to detail in a rocket’s design is as important to the judges as the launch and flight. The slightest fingerprint or flaw in the paint job can affect the score.

Each competitor in a particular event must use the same type of pre-determined motor. The trick is to design a rocket around the motor to make it fly best. Schafer and Foster built a helicopter model using a B-sized motor, which is on the larger side for model aircrafts.

“Some can go 300 miles an hour and they can travel 400 to 600 feet in the air in just a couple of seconds,” Schafer said.

“You need to design it so it’s light and stays together.”

Schafer joined NAR in 1984, and has been building and flying models since.

Foster built model rockets as a child and then renewed his love after buying models for his stepson as Christmas presents.

“We started small and then bought a few big ones,” Foster said. “They got to be too big for our yard.” Foster said all of their hard work paid off at this year’s national competition.