Edmund Aerospace Legacy

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues...

About five years or so ago, a short while after I got into this hobby, I saw a person fly a glider at a club launch, and was immediately interested to look into it more.

An internet search turned up a forum that suggested that I look at Edmund Aerospace.com but to do so quickly, because they were selling down their supplies.  I was immediately intrigued, as decades ago I had an Edmund Scientific telescope (and still have it today) and I thought I recognized the name.

When I got on their website, it became obvious that most of their models were named with double letters or plays on alphabet letters... but many of them were either sold out or had reduced supplies.   So I knew that I would have to order a couple for my first order if ever I wanted to see them.

I ordered the Ci-Ci and the  Deltie.  When they arrived promptly, I set to assembling them quickly and discovered a few things:

1. The kits were simple, because there aren't a lot of parts to a glider.
2. The directions were straight forward and written for kids to understand
3. The creator/engineer/owner, Robert Edmund, had written them in the first person.
4. The gliders were to remain unfinished, that is bare balsa, for less weight.
5. The glider almost all had a small rocket boost, or were parasitic to hitch a ride.
6. Though wood glue was enough to seize the balsa wood, CA would be lighter.
7.  Recovery was through glide or tumble, and no parachutes were required.
8. The rocket boost was almost always a 1/2A or A motor for size.

I got a big kick out of assembling my kits, and would like to have gone back for more, but the supplies were rapidly selling out, and there was no indication of any further becoming available.

I also discovered that it's difficult to store a balsa wood glider because of two factors:  First,

being unfinished, the balsa is exposed to moisture, and therefore subject to warping or bending.  I stored mine in a basement with a dehumidifier always running.  Second, balsa is fragile and sooner or later, a wing or an aileron would catch on something or another kit, and so damage was inevitable.

I repaired one three or four times as first one wing, then another, would catch on something and snap. Fortunately, the breaks were clean as an aileron would detach and wood glue would reattach them cleanly.

But now to the point of this story....

Last weekend, I was browsing at a vendor's tent, looking at his discounted kits in a Rubbermaid tub, and not finding any that tickled my fancy... until I saw it.  There laying on the bottom of the tub was a flat plastic package with a place card suggesting it was "my first model" by Edmund Aerospace.  It was an "Elcie" model... one that I wasn't familiar with.

The card stock also had a small drawing of a father and son head shot suggesting that it was "My First Model" .  The kit had been marked down by a buck to $10, but I knew that it was going to be rare or a once in a blue moon opportunity.  So I bought it.

I took the kit home and that evening sliced it open.  It was all there...balsa sheet with laser cut parts, screw eye, mini nosecone, body tube, Kevlar thread, orange crepe paper streamer,  launch lug, adhesive strip, instructions... everything except for a small piece of sandpaper, a sharp knife, glue and a cutting board. 

 I read the instructions.

And I have to say, this was one of the joys of Edmund Aerospace products.  Not only were the instructions clear, but they were a joy to read.  The narrator, speaking in first person, describes how he wants this to be a good experience for the reader, and the pains that he has taken in designing this kit.  It's clearly aimed at kids, but it is so warm and welcoming, that I immediately felt guilty assembling this kit as an adult.  I seriously thought about re-kitting it and sealing the bag, to give it to a young boy for his first experience. It was that good.

As I read over the instructions, I also noticed something I had never seen before.  There was a signature by "Robert Edmund" at the end of the instructions. And more, there was a simple but clear drawing of a head and shoulders portrait of him.  Was this him? Why else would it be included?  I was tickled because for the first time, I saw that Robert Edmund was an average Joe.   Not that it mattered, but I suddenly had a face for this friendly, supportive voice that was speaking through the instructions.  I felt very warm toward him, though I have never met him nor interacted with him.

Now, I know what you're thinking... why does it make any difference who he is, if this was the last of his product line?   I'm not sure I can explain it, but he suddenly became a person for me.  The pleasant, conversational tone of the instructions, as simple as they were, are very attractive.  I suddenly wanted to know more about him...how he got into this, why he made kits that were so kid friendly... why had he stopped...and what had happened to his company?

Anyway, I started assembling the kit and found four simple things: 

1. The mini-nosecone needed a little sanding to fit inside the body tube of the booster.
2. The laser cuts for the balsa were very good, but the few incomplete "bridges" still need a slight nudge with a razor blade to cut them free.  Not a problem.
3. The organ crepe paper streamer was just a little discolored, tending toward rust at either end... indicating this has been in storage a long while.  And,
4. the crepe paper stream was very fragile, tearing at the slightest stress or even a pull against the paper by the Kevlar string. (But this is something I can easily replace or improve upon with a piece of new crepe paper.)(I wonder if it was flame-proof treated?)

Now that I have completed the kit (in less that an hour, allowing for some glue-drying time) I recall that I had an earlier rocket booster that I had painted gloss white and added red pin-stripes to not only dress it up, but also make it more visible in grasses after the descent.  I'm motivated to go tear up my rec room and look for this small artifact of my earlier brush with Edmund.

It seems to me that I painted the body tube booster with a layer of glossy white because I didn't understand how much weight a layer of paint might have on the altitude or heights reached.  And now, I am curious how much different the length might be between the two or three models.  It probably won't amount to much of anything, but I am curious.

So that's my entry for this month.... no big lesson, no moral and no great construction tip. 

Just a fond memory that happened to tumble into my lap. 

If you get a chance to score an Edmund Aerospace glider kit, consider saving it for your kid.  Or maybe the kid inside you.

And don't forget to cap your glue and save your balsa scraps!