Rocket Fleet, 1986

Part of my active fleet, photographed on the occasion of our morning to afternoon launch at Allmend Frauenfeld, Switzerland, on Saturday, April 26, 1986. It was a beautiful, clear day with only low wind and a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius. Incidentally, this was also the day the Chernobyl nuclear disaster took place.

Lower photo shows, from left: the black Vehicle 31 (featuring self adhesive Mylar foil on payload section), the white and black Vehicle 39 A Enigma, (flown for the first time during this launch), and the black Vehicle 28 A (with white fin and nose cone), a rocket built specifically to fly with Flight Systems E and F black powder motors. The flights of Vehicle 28 A revealed stability deficiencies which subsequently led to a redesign.

Next are the two prototypes of Vehicle 30; #8230 B is on top and #8230 A at bottom. I was about to lose the latter that day. Then the silver/black/red Vehicle 44 Rhea, a payload carrier built from CMR components. To the right of Vehicle 44 are my Estes Bandit (repaired from its previous motor failure) and my trusty Centuri Starfire. Then, the newly completed silver/white/black Vehicle 48 A Heracles (bottom) and the red/white Vehicle 36 B sport model, built from Centuri parts (top).

This is followed by the silver/white/black Vehicle 22 B payload model with its high aspect-ratio fins, my Centuri Excalibur 2, and my Estes Titan II ICBM. The line-up is completed by Vehicle 33, a delta-wing boost glider loosely inspired by Estes' legendary Astron Skydart. Vehicle 33 was scratch-built in 1981, using Flight Systems and Estes components.

In addition to all of these rockets, the top photo also shows one of my Estes Astron Alphas (far right), frequently used to open a launch and determine the wind conditions.

Photography by Martin Kyburz.

[Entry amended October 17, 2016.]