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As a kid I watched my dad launch the old Estes and Quest rockets, but I was really too young to be involved. I didn't realize there was an "adult" side to the sport until I was re-introduced to rocketry about 20 years later at SMURFF III in the spring of 1998. I was only there for less than an hour, but I got to see an M-powered rocket launch amidst a flurry of H's and I's... wow! At the time I didn't know anything even existed beyond A through D. I was immediately hooked.
My first rocket was Aerotech's 39"-tall Initiator. Its inaugural launch was on June 4, 1998 on an E15-4W engine. Good flight!
After a busy summer full of building numerous Estes and Aerotech kits and flying almost every week, I made a successful NAR Level 1 Certification flight on September 12, 1998 at SMURFF IV using my 4'10"-tall 4"-diameter LOC EZI-65 on an H123W-S. It launched on an I161W-M later that afternoon. I modified the EZI-65 with an anti-zipper baffle and a homemade retention system. Note the extra set of blind t-nuts, "just in case". I have since added "EZI-65" lettering to the airframe.
On October 6, 1999 at the AMOREA club meeting I took and passed the written portion of the Level 2 certification test (100%). On October 24, 1999 at the Danville (IL) launch I put up my scratch-built 7'-tall 5.5"-diameter "Bittersweet" on a K550-10W for a successful completion to my Level 2 certification!
Matt Stum -- matt@42nd-dimension.com -- NAR#73280 Level 2
