Hello, I was born in 1966. I was always a fan of science fiction, Dr Who, Blake 7, Thunderbirds and Star Trek. But I have also been a fan of science fact and the since the Space Shuttle launches in the early 80's, I always try to watch them on the news they never fail to give me a thrill. Unfortunately the launches are not shown on TV so much these days as they have become to routine for news items.
My first experience with model rockets was when I was about 11 or 12.
My brother, Ian, and I made a rocket from a metal pen and filled it with
phosphor scrapped from match ends. It work really well and we made several
successful flights experimenting with different matches and also powder from
fireworks, it was just a small explosion vented through one small aperture, the
pen casing survived considerably well even though there was no recovery system
if you don't
count neighbour's gardens! Looking back it was a bit dangerous but
thankfully no one was hurt and no property was damaged.
In the last ten years or so sci-fi has been a big interest of mine, and
Thunderbirds my all-time
favourite show. Through this interest I have met many people and made some
good friends. One of which is Laurie Calvert. When he first became
interested in building and flying model rockets I instantly took an interest and
went along to see him and other 'rocketmen' launching their models, including a
Space Shuttle! I did not get involved immediately but I'm sure Laurie must
have seen I was keen and for my birthday in 96 bought me an Estes Ninja.
It took me about seven or eight months to actually get round to making it and I
called it X2-ZERO, a character from Stingray. Then I had to buy a launch
pad and go along to a H.A.R.T. meeting.
I saw the Estes catalogue range and how others were scratch building their own
rockets. Some members had a large range of models from small to large that
varied in power. There were a few scale models available of missiles,
rockets and even sci-fi spaceships. This was the route I decided to take,
but the models out there didn't quite appeal to me so I decided to start my
fleet with a Thunderbird 1 from the Gerry Anderson series Thunderbirds.
I asked advice on materials and began scaling up from a Matchbox model I
owned. After a couple of months it was ready to launch. January 4th
1997 was a bitterly cold day but a few of us went along to Hornchurch Airfield
to have a bit of fun. My first launch was not a complete success but
subsequent launches proved the design worked and it looked FAB! I even
installed two smoke generators to be ignited first for a few seconds before
launching. It even appeared on a Cable
channel news item and crashed magnificently.
I went on to build a Thunderbird 3, a Fireball XL5, an Angel Interceptor, Estes
Klingon Battle Cruiser, a Blake 7 Liberator, Dr Who's TARDIS and lastly a rocket
called SUNPROBE from a Thunderbirds episode. As you can see I have not built
many rockets over the years but have enjoyed what I have done and also the
meetings and special events H.A.R.T. has been involved in.
My sci-fi and movie interest also involves me producing a monthly sci-fi
newsletter for the groups I
am associated with, First Contact and The League Of The Non-Aligned, but the
newsletter is available to anyone as long as they pay the postage.
I am fond of classic cars and own a 1974 SAAB 96V4, I think it's a gorgeous
looking car and wouldn't trade it for anything else, except maybe one with
better bodywork. In short it is my dream car. My SAAB is even a film
star as it made an appearance in a short film I made last year with Laurie.
I also enjoy filmmaking with and the sci-fi group and attending sci-fi
conventions.
I am an armchair supporter of Tottenham and England, although I did go to quite a lot of games a few years ago. I always look forwards to the major tournaments, as long as England is playing.
In the last couple of years I have been privileged to take part in Techno games as a member of the H.A.R.T. team. Last year we won a Silver medal in the Dragster event, it was Laurie's car that won it for us and we got on TV! I may not be as much of an active member as the others but it is a hobby that will always hold an interest for me and my rocket building days are not over yet! I usually need a kick up the backside to get me going, that's all.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this, I didn't mean to go on so much.
One day I will have my own website for all my interests and be able to waffle on
for pages, when that happens I will ask Pete to create a link. If
you'd like to contact me for more info please email me. Until then,
F.A.B. and Happy Launching.