Not to steal Don Magness' thunder, but I was able to attend Sturday's portion of the DARS Shoot For the Stars launch in Windom, TX. Don is the launch director and the weather was great (and today's appears to be the same, if not better - at least in Fort Worth). One contest they held was a Squirrel Works' Red Baron glider duration. I saw three entries: John Dyer's (Red River Rocketry) dark red version with Texas A&M markings, Jack Sprauge's orange version with U of Texas markings, and Suzy Sprauge's Pink glider with - wait for it - Pink Panther markings. All flew well, but the highlight was Jack's Texas model on a B4-2 that was last seen climbing in a thermal towards Oklahoma. Most lost sight of the tiny model after 2.5 minutes.
FWIW, I did fly an H and an I flight in my Ohio State DG&A Arrow.
Don made the first flight of his upscale Red Baron. It was flown "nakkid" on a D12-3. If one could have a perfect first flight of any glider, this would be at the top of the list. Now, it will not be a shake-the-box and get a super flight model, but with proper trimming it should be on any glider fans list. It was truely impressive. He had an early bundled kit of materials (unbagged) and there is a lot of laser cut balsa. It will not be an inexpensive kit (I heard $40 plus or so). But it was really cool. Perhaps today he will have flown it again and perhaps will eventually find its "speed of balsa".
John Dyer of Red River Rocketry flew a couple of prototyes for future kits.
I am not affiliated with DARS, SW, or RRR. Just a model rocketeer since 1867. No BAR here.

Chas

WOW! You beat me by 100 years!

no kidding ! , he even beat G Harry

Geez, guys...cut me some slack. I was pumped by getting out and flying rockets and I get poked for making a typo! I would like to claim that it was on purpose to see if anyone was reading the post, but it is more due to big fingers on a small keyboard, a 0530 wakeup call, and a couple of adult beverages after working a 10K race.
1967 does, sometimes, feel like 100 years ago! Wish I'd saved some of the kits from that time frame.
Anyway, the Red Baron Competition was fun and the first flight of the Big Red Baron was pretty neat.

C

Don't tell my sister that. That's when she was born. I think the Big 4-0 is going to hit her a lot harder than it hit either myself or my brother. (Neither of us noticed, so it won't take much.)
Keep posting the reports, Chas. I enjoy them no matter what century you refer to. (History major, Northern Kentucky University, 1985.)
(Do you know how hard it was for me NOT to spell Century with an I?)

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2

A Fish Named Wallyum sez:
Keep posting the reports, Chas. I enjoy them no matter what century you refer to. (History major, Northern Kentucky University, 1985.)
(Do you know how hard it was for me NOT to spell Century with an I?)

LOL! My brother and I started in Nineteen Sixtyseven with an order from Centuri. Bought a parts assortment, LIA-50 launch pad, and a couple of tubes of motors. I just prefered the Centuri kits and equipment to Estes. Over the years I gave both Vern and Lee plenty of my hard earned cash. It is so nice to live in this centuri, uh, century with all of the new manufacturers that have come on line. Too bad Hobby Lobby doesn't carry some of them.

Chas

We wuz just funnin'. Everyone always seems to pick up on all my typos.

1967 was the year I started also. I lived next to the Jr. High school athletic field and a rocket launched there landed in my back yard. It was a neighbor that launched it and I got an Estes catalog from him. I didn't know that Centuri or anyone else even existed until a few years later. I have a few unbuilt kits from back then but not any unopened ones. I opened each kit as soon as I got it to look it over.

First launch I saw was of an Estes Scout from my friend's back yard in the summer of 1977. I think it was a C6-5. I remember chasing it up the street to the far edge of our neighborhood, where we found it laying in the street with a broken fin. Every kid there went to the JC Penney Toyland that night and bought their own rocket. AFAIK, I'm the only one still flying.

__________________
Bill Eichelberger
NAR 79563

http://wallyum.blogspot.com/

I miss being SAM 0058

Build floor: Centuri Design Contest F-150 Hurricane Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle

In paint: Canaroc Starfighter Scorpion Estes F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II Semroc Cyber III

Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark, Groonie Der V 1/2