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Old 02-26-2011, 09:43 PM
Initiator001 Initiator001 is offline
Too Many Initiators is Never Enough
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Location: San Diego, CA
Posts: 2,394
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1990 would become an important year in the history of model rocketry.

Estes was under new ownership/management.

MRC had revamped their model rocket product line with Concept II (Developed by Bill Stine).

North Coast Rocketry had their 'catalog' and increasing product line.

AeroTech was shipping kits and motors.

(I'm leaving out the HPR side of things).

It was at this point that I take the credit/blame for Estes' interest in larger rockets and motors.

It's June, 1990 and at my place I am busy constructing two of each of the AeroTech kits to take to NARAM 32 outside of Dallas, Texas. One of each kit for display, another to fly at the manufacturer's demo during the meet.

I'll be attending NARAM so I want some new rockets to fun fly.

I had picked up one of the new Estes Optima kits to build but I decided it just couldn't be stock. I decided it should LOOK like a stock Optima kit but really be something different.

I decided to construct it so it could handle a small 'H' motor, if I wanted to go with that powerful a motor. Otherwise, I would fly it on 29mm 'F' & 'G' motors.

By the time I finished the Optima, the only original kit parts were the nose cone, decals and the forward balsa strakes/fins. All other components had been replace with AeroTech kit parts and the fins cut out of plywood and mounted 'through-the-wall' to the motor mount Fin-Lok rings. I spent quite a bit of time on the finishing as I wanted it to look like a display model.

I packed up my Optima and headed off to NARAM 32 which was the first week in August, 1990.

(To be continued)
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