It is strange, isn't it? The formulas we use and the ones they used back then are basically the same. I guess that's the advantage we enjoy of having GUI-based computer tools like RockSim over what the pioneers in this hobby had, which was pencil and slide rule.

We're able to try out various design ideas and SEE what happens before the model ever gets built, which means we can change things faster and try again before the glue could dry on a fin. It could also be that we're willing to attempt odd-ball things more than designers were back in the 50's and 60's because the tools allow it. Designs like the Farside and the T-Bird reflect a more traditional, subdued, dare I say "conservative" approach to engineering. Pencils and slide rules allowed a measure of "what if?", but not to the same degree as our fast desktop computers with full-tilt simulators. Imagine if the Apollo engineers had access to a copy of RockSim 8 with just a "simple" eMachine to run it on? We might be sitting in our home offices on Mars reading these messages tonight...

I'm just trying to show my appreciation by using these tools as often as I can!

Craig...