Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Gus
Dave,
Can you please tell us about the launch pad. It looks similar to the ones shown in the original Handbook of Model Rocketry.
|
Hi Gus!
That launch pad came from my Dad's old wooden sawhorse; he was pretty much into doing
woodwork back in those days and almost always had a sawhorse or two around the garage.
I asked if I could have one to build a multi-pad. Sometimes after this picture was taken, I'd
painted it light grey and applied a large "Estes" logo (had the Estes name in the middle enclosed in a horizontal/oval circle) on the middle of the top support truss. The launch rods
were simply "fixed" in an 1/8" diameter drilled holes; there was no provision for tilting or
aiming.
Below is a picture where you can see a little of what I'm talking about. It's a group of us, a
small club we'd formed in 1971 with some boys I'd corresponded via snail mail in Leesville,
LA (I lived in Natchitoches, LA about 60 miles distance). That's me holding my Estes K-36
Saturn - V I had at the time; you can see the launcher behind the boys kneeling. I'd added
some of the (now) famous Estes stickers to it
. The "Estes" logo is barely visible behind
the head of the blond kid in the middle. Wow, those were really fun days to be flying model
rockets!