Hi All,

My first rocket back in 1972 was an Estes Avenger, and I flew it many times over the decades. It's spent time on a few roofs and in a few trees, but I always managed to get it back, and, amazingly, I still have it. Needless to say, it's now retired and, though rough-looking (I painted it with a brush!) after nearly 40 years, it now occupies a place of honor on my rocket shelf.

I've always loved the classic lines of the Avenger, so a few years back I decided to build a clone exactly in the style of the catalog where I first saw it (no brush paint this time!). I wasn't planning to ever fly it, but my son convinced me to take it to MDRA's Red Glare X launch last weekend, where I flew it with the same B6-0 to B6-4 combination (Estes was out of B6-6's at the time) that I first flew my original on back in '72.

The flight was perfect (unlike the original which landed on a roof!), and Chris at Rocketry Live got a great picture of it staging. Check it out here:

http://tinyurl.com/42qaa7n

Needless to say, the photo was a great conclusion to a great flight!

-MarkS.

Great story. And awesome pic! Doug .



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YORF member #11

Yep, that's a keeper shot for sure. Nice photo and nice model. Man, what would you have done back in '72 if someone had captured a photo like that then?!!

The words 'pants' and 'pee' come to my mind (if I may be somewhat crude....but in my case, that's probably the combination of nouns and verbs that would have been assembled in a sentence at 10 years of age to describe what *I* would have done to have had a photo like that of one of *my* rockets back then).

Seriously, good shot to have....at any age.


Earl

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Earl L. Cagle, Jr.
NAR# 29523
TRA# 962
SAM# 73
Owner/Producer
Point 39 Productions

Rocket-Brained Since 1970

Good look 'in rocket and a phenomenal photo. Thinking about mounting the rocket with the photo?

that is a one-in-a-million shot!

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I asked for a car, I got a computer. How's that for being born under a bad sign?

I don't know if I'd go that far No doubt it's a great pic, but I've seen a few like that over the years. Here's a cato on the pad that's pretty kewl. This rocket has suffered two of these, in fact, with the sustainer lighting in one case, but not the other (with a resultant crash). Doug
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YORF member #11

Great photo Mark! The closest I've come to that is a photo of an upscale Beta staging. Unfortunately it was underpowered and pranged.

http://www.cv41.org/personal/galler..._serialNumber=2
http://www.cv41.org/personal/galler..._serialNumber=2

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Quando Omni Flunkus Moritati

Great shot Mark, and nice story too.

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Paul
If we weren't all crazy, we would go insane - Jimmy Buffett
NAR #87246 www.wooshrocketry.org