Vintage Northern Kentucky rocketry
 

These pics came from the Faces and Places photo archive of our now defunct local, the Kentucky Post. Anyone see any familiar looking birds?
Pic #2 is from 1980 and pic #3 is from 1971.

One last pic. Is it just me, or does this one look like it's falling backward? :eek:

The middle model of the first set is a Constellation.

The fourth and fifth have one of those forgettable Estes models with a "Mongoose" type plastic fin can.

Yeah, I wonder if that model down below is the victim of a too-small motor, or of a composite engine "chuff." It looks like a large model, but it really hard to tell.

Observations:

The pad in the first picture has a really big launch rod.

That might be a nylon (or silk) parachute down below.

Some of the cones appear home-made.

One of the models has what might be an Estes Mercury capsule, but the proportions are a little wrong. Perhaps a home-made variant.

I wonder if these boys have got a hold on the original Estes Design Manual. Some of the fin patterns look familiar.

I was able to pick out the Challenger I and Constellation, and the kid catching the rocket I can't ID seems to be holding an Alpha III. (The school was near where my father in law grew up and had a graffitti problem even then.)
There's also an Andromeda in the picture of the chuffing rocket. A real late 70's vibe to that pic. You could have plugged me right in there with my Condor. Also noticed the Centuri launcher, which made me think that the lines of the chuffing bird suggest a Centuri/Enerjet design. The guy on the far right also has a rocket in his hand, but it blends in with his clothing a little too well.
I love the first pic. It's a little before my time, but definitely has a killer 60's DIY feel. I think I might have to make a Semroc order when everything gets back to normal and try to replicate a Ranger II or a Pee Wee. There's also a two stager to the far left, another to the far right, and a glider in the middle. :cool:

Found a couple more. This kid has a pretty nice Snooper, but I think those misplaced fins are going to cause an issue when it flies. Another Alpha II and what looks like it might be a cobbled together tw-stager. I love the Owl logo on the kids shirt, (an early local ATM,) but I have no idea what RASA means. Not many cities around here at start with R. I can't quite make out the blurred rocket being launched in the second pic.
Both of these are from 1980, as is the Der Red Max pic.

I can't quite decide if they are in a room built over a garage, or in a really, really nice tree house.

This one might be the best of all. "Capt. Charles Reed, Covington Fire Department, lights the fuse on Der Red Max" :eek:
Uh, Houston, we have a problem here.

Looks like wildly fluctuating burn rate firecracker fuse too...

Keep digging.....cause I'm digging these old pics! :cool:

Seconds from a D13 cato....