The Big Score

 The Thrifty Rocketeer blog continues....

I want to tell you about a recent score that I made, and how it came up unexpectedly.

I was bored and decided to do a search of Facebook's Marketplace.  A search for "Rocket" turned up all sorts of other products, but "Model Rocket" narrowed it considerably.

There were a few completed kits with drastically overpriced rockets (in my opinion), but then something caught my eye.

A $50 listing for a collection of rocket supplies seemed to be an old range box. Clicking on it, I also noted that it was only 5 miles away from me in a small former coal mining town. (Shades of "Rocket Boys", right?)

At first I was going to go past it, but I figured I'd ask about it.  So I sent the seller a message, asking if he knew the values and thermal history of the many motors that were in the picture.  He responded that he really didn't know much about them at all.  I was intrigued.

I asked if I could come see them, and he said with a little advanced notice, he'd get them all out for me. He gave me his address, and we agreed on the next morning, the one day he had off that aligned with my time off.

The next day, I drove up the lane between the rusting mobile homes, and found his trailer. There on a wood deck covered with pine needles, I saw an impressive display of everything... launch stand, motors, rockets, baggies, etc.  I introduced myself and started sorting through the pile.

First thing that struck me was a gallon Ziplock baggie with literally 2 dozen plus loose motors in them.  A quick glance told me that this was the trash bag, as every single motor was burned, spent, used up.  And I told him this was so, that the bag contain trash and had no value. (Never mind that the spent motors might be cut up into home-made spacers for other rockets. Even one goes a long ways, and that's usually D or E motors.) These were mainly 18mm and smaller...  1/2 As and As and Bs.

Next thing was a launch stand, complete with controller, legs, rod and protective cap with launch key attached.  The blast shield was rusted badly, and I had fears that the entire lot had been stored in the collapsing wooden shed that was under the pine tree...unheated.

Third was a wadded-up Estes plastic parachute, with a decayed thick rubber band around it all. It had deteriorated, but was still sticking together, binding the chute, guy strings and whatnot together.  I thought it was trash but set it aside.

I could spot two rockets: First, a very small stub that looked like it might have seen some moisture, but was intact but used.   The yellow nosecone had a streamer tightly rolled inside. It took 1/2 As and such to launch.

The second rocket took A-B-C size motors, and was also worn. The black fin can was attached, but every one of the fins appeared to have been secured by airplane model cement. Had they broken off?  The top of the body tube looked to be slightly flared or crumpled, but still serviceable, if not completely airstream smooth.  The body was a pre-made yellow to black fade of long triangles with some red thrown in.  My guess was this had been a two-rocket starter-pack with launch stand and most of what you would need.

However there were seven sealed blister packs of "COBRA" motors, including two packs of `1/2A4-3 and Five of B6-4. B6-6 and C6-7 plus about 10 loose motors that seemed to be in good shape.  There was a small box of black tip ignitors, several packages of Estes parachute kits, a large roll of recovery wadding, and more.

A package of 4  long BT-20 body tubes, 4 assorted blown plastic nose cones, a package of 4 model paint brushes and unused body tube stickers were present. A single still sealed short Testors spray paint hot-rod red was there, along with a bottle of liquid cement, and 2 turned-over (hardened) airplane glue in orange (once-squeezable) tubes.

There was a pile of papers, including instructions from the Teleflyte Corporation of Moreno Bay, CA on how to wind nosecones, make ignitors and created sugar-powered motors. Also, an envelope dated September 1997 and an Estes Model Rocket catalog 1997 sported the Star Wars logo on the cover.

I started to get excited, as most of this in the range box was in good, unused condition, but someone had started down the path to make their own rockets before setting this aside.

I asked again about the thermal cycling of the motors, indicating that was the biggest risk. The seller was only too happy to explain that he had kept them in the heated trailer for the last six months, but prior to that he couldn't say.  He had found this all in a basement of a high school instructor who had passed away, when they helped clear out the estate.  My heart pounded. It sounded like they had been protected and sat unused for 25 years.

He was only too willing to tell me that he didn't know much about this, but had listed it a half year ago, and I was the first and ONLY inquiry about it.  I told him he had enough to get started in the hobby, thinking I might recruit him into our club. But the kid had two twin babies just 2 months ago, and had no interest.   I was going to offer him half his asking price, but then thought of the twins. Clearly, the family was hard pressed, and would take an offer.  I offered 3/5s of his price and he accepted it.  I paid cash.

He tossed the gallon baggie of spent motors and helped me load the stuff in my car. It fit nicely in the range box, except for the launch stand, which I dismantled.  He admitted that was the only piece that had been stored in the shed for a half year.  I was pleased.

I thought about how fortunate I was to have clicked on his add, and how many new-ish motors there were.  A tabulation showed the 1997 price sticker on the motor packs totaled to $53, just three more dollars than he had been asking.   I thought it a good risk.

I inventoried the entire box when I got home, teased the plastic chute out of the decayed rubber band, and unfolded it carefully.  It was intact, but the strings were cut uniformly at the same length.  Then I looked inside the body tube and found a homemade streamer made from red velvet Xmas ribbon.  A matching 9-yard spool was included in the supplies. 

As you might expect there were 4 corroded AA batteries still in the controller, but they came out cleanly and the corroded contact look to be refurbish-able or serviceable again. 

So, I'm pretty pleased with my haul.

This has been the Thrifty Rocketeer saying, keep your motors in a heated living space...for the next generation of flyers!