Verna and Randy DeArman, both 50, live in Pinson, Alabama, just north of Birmingham.  They both work for a local SBA lender where Verna is in charge of servicing and Randy is a sales manager and on-site inspector.  And they both enjoy the thrill of model rocketry and share their excitement with others through the model rocketry web site, VernaRockets.com.

You can tell just by visiting their site that Randy is a man who loves and honors his wife and in return Verna respects his love for rockets.  Together, they enjoy the passion affiliated with doing things together, and it has made a lasting impression on their family.  To them, model rocketry is a family affair.

Verna - the "real" driving force behind VernaRockets.com Click to enlarge

Affiliated nationally with the National Association of Rocketry and locally with the Birmingham Rocket Boys and SouthEast Alabama Rocketry Society, the pair have been flying for years.  Randy never even left the hobby long enough to even consider himself a BAR!

"I started flying rockets in 1968 and have never been away from flying long enough to be called a BAR," Randy said. "There have been short intervals where family or work kept me from flying as often as I would have liked."  Randy got additional inspiration from the Internet when he discovered Rocketry Online and the UseNET's news group rec.models.rockets back in 1997.  "It was pretty neat to be able to share experiences with other people that had grown up during the Space Race and swapping ideas and finally being able to buy and build all the kits I wanted as a kid."

Randy and Verna love the Saturn V and that becomes evident when you visit their site as these vehicles are the real workhorses of the DeArman fleet, including versions that fly three stages clustering up to eleven engines!  When asked about his favorite real rocket, Randy said, "The Saturn V, for many reasons. My dad worked with NASA during Apollo, it got the U.S. to the moon."  As a continuance of the question, when queried about his favorite kit: The Estes Saturn V - 2001 version.  I should have known!

It's kit-bash time! THREE stages, ELEVEN engines! Click to enlarge

Most of Randy and Verna's rockets start life as model, or low-power, kits and get 'hardened' into mid-power powerhouses.  Whether kit-bashing or flat-out scratch building, the fleet showcased on their web site is very impressive to say the least.  These people are not afraid to try difficult tasks, like multi-stage, multi-engine rockets.

There is knowledge on their site, valuable information beneficial to all rocketeers, whether experienced or just beginning.  Randy had two tips he thought would help the hobby we all hold dear: "Share your knowledge and love of the hobby with kids and start with your own," Randy said, "and learn the basics of building and flying with the Estes, Quest and Dr. Zooch kits. Then move on to your own scratch-built designs. Do some clusters, staging, gliders, etc. before you try to launch yourself to Angels 30."  Wise words. 
 
After visiting their site, I had to wonder which project was their most memorable?  "That's a hard one for us. It would probably be a toss up between Rocket Babe and Bad Girl. Both are modified Estes Saturn V's, one a five engine cluster, the other a three-stage 11 engine cluster and fully CHAD [cheap and dirty] staged. Watching all five engines (Rocket Babe) go at once for the first time was pretty exciting, then seeing 11 go in three stages was spell-binding. Bad Girl especially since it partially failed the first two attempts, we were surprised when it finally worked. Then there's Dorothy, a six engine, two-stage, triple payloader. Watching her go up and stage for the first time was fantastic. There's also Space Man Spiff's Rocket of Death. It's a three engine payloader. Our latest attempt at hobby rocket history involved modifying an Estes BSG Viper to a four engine cluster named the Hyper Viper.

It works! It REALLY works! Click to enlarge

What was the question again?"  I concur.

When asked about his construction 'hardening' techniques, Randy confessed they still pretty much build them the same way they did almost 40 years ago: Yellow carpenter's glue, some CA, etc. "We have developed our own method for hardening and fire proofing our rockets using CA and 'wicking' it into the inside surface of the [body tubes]," Randy said. "Over time we've learned how to increase the speed of balsa just a bit."

This hobby is made up of memories for those of us who have been fortunate enough to participate in it for several years, and Randy isn't without his.  His most memorable flight was the first flight of Rocket Babe.  "My dad was dying from cancer and he got to go with us for the first flight," Randy shared. "Seeing his face light up as though he were back at the Cape was pretty special."  Having lost a father to cancer, you would give anything to light up their faces — it's priceless.

So how did Verna and Randy end up with a hobby rocketry web site?  "While our Tripod cookie-cutter site is pretty basic, mostly cut and paste," Randy said, "Verna and Randy's Rockets is a result of wanting to learn a little about building a web site and sharing our experiences with those of similar interests. I initially thought we'd do it for a short while then move on. I have continued the site because we receive a large amount of what I call 'fan email' each month. We have made many wonderful Internet friends around the world as a result of the site."
 
Their site's message: "No matter where people enjoy the hobby of rocketry, whether they're in Europe, the Americas or Africa, we're pretty much the same when it comes to flying. Enjoy it and share it."
 
Verna and Randy have made a valuable resource available to all who wish to partake.  All you have to do is browse, think and imagine the possibilities.  They do two monthly features: Verna's Photo of The Month and Fire & Smoke. One serves as a free outlet for people to send in their best photos for the previous month to compete for the top spot, while the other is a compilation of rocketry events or updates taking place at the moment — it's a little like Fox's Around the World in a Minute segments.

For the DeArman's, rocketry is a family affair. Click to enlarge

Randy states, "I'm not a professional writer by any means, it's off the cuff. I try not to be too serious and I tend to write just what I'm thinking, like I'm talking to a friend. Hopefully it's informative, entertaining, promotes the hobby, and taken with a grain of salt." Future plans for the site? "Hopefully keep it fresh. A wise man once said, 'People don't stop by, if it looks like no one is home.'" I can't argue with that.

The Internet has revolutionized the availability of information, inspiring indivduals like Verna and Randy to share their experiences with others around the world.  It's opened new doors and streamlined businesses, allowing commerce to thrive in areas that previously couldn't sustain it.  Our hobby can still benefit from the opportunities the Web has to offer — it's just finding the right combinations that will provide the best long-term benefits.  Randy's dream delivered by the Web?  "Probably the same as most people, a cheap and easy way to ship engines."

I enjoyed my visit to Verna and Randy's site, and I hope you will enjoy visiting as well.  Drop by and tell them you came from another "Planet."  In closing, Randy offered these words to live by: "Hobby rocketry should be fun. Don't take the hobby or yourself too seriously."  He's right.  After all, it's just a hobby.

Verna and Randy's Web site: http://www.vernarockets.com/

Other entities listed in this article:
National Association of Rocketry: http://www.nar.org/
SouthEast Alabama Rocketry Society (SEARS): http://www.sears572.com/
Birmingham Rocket Boys (BRB): http://birminghamrocketboys.com/

08-27-2006 11:47 PM  #1
crontab Certified Level Three   Joined: Aug 2006 Posts: 204	I liked it! Lots of good stuff on this site. I particularly liked all the kit-bashing going on. Man, that three-stage sure looked cool going up...

10-10-2006 02:50 PM  #2
Verna Certified Level One   Joined: Oct 2006 Posts: 24	Thanks. Glad you liked it.