 |
North Coast Rocketry was a model rocket company founded in 1983 in Cleveland, Ohio by Chris Pearson and Matt Steele. Dan Kafun added as a partner in 1989.
| |
North Coast Rocketry was a model rocket company founded in 1983 in Cleveland, Ohio by Chris Pearson and Matt Steele. Dan Kafun added as a partner in 1989.
North Coast Rocketry was the first "full-service" mid-power rocket company, that is, they sold model rocket kits, parts, adhesives, parachutes and motors. They originally licensed their rocket kit designs from Korey Kline of Ace Aeronautics. They later developed their own line of unique High Power rockets and introduced some technologies and designs that were "cutting edge" for their time. Later the NCR catalog also included rocket kits from the fledging company Lots of Crafts (later LOC/Precision) for several years.
To augment their product line, NCR was also a dealer for Class "C" Aerotech motors and Class "B" Vulcan motors in the mid to late 1980s. NCR sold a limited selection of disposable motors beginning in 1984 that were called "North Coasters". The North Coaster motors were manufactured by Aerotech under a special agreement with NCR, who had sole distribution rights. The motors were shipped to North Coast Rocketry near with no end caps or labels, and final processing was conducted by North Coast Rocketry.
The North Coasters rocket motor line consisted of the E28 (24mm), F41 and G60 (29mm) motors. They were phased out late in 1987 due to supply issues. North Coast planned to make reloadable motors, and a few prototype cases were made, but the propellant shipping issues of the early 1990s stopped their development. NCR reloadable motor design was said to be so simple, using color-coded parts, that assembly could be done by someone who knew nothing about rockets and who hadn't read one word of the instructions. The reloadable motor technology was never actually put into production.
North Coast Rocketry also sold the "Whirlwind" composite model rocket motor, which was the first smokey composite motor available. This motor was made exclusively for NCR by Rocket Development Corporation (RDC), which was the same company that introduced the "Enerjet 8" composite rocket motor to the model rocketry world in the late 60's.
In the late 80's, NCR became the first rocket company of any kind to have a 800 toll-free phone number for ordering. They were also the first to take orders by phone, fax or e-mail and accept credit cards for payment.
North Coast Rocketry became the sponsor of the early Large and Dangerous Rocket Ship (LDRS) launches held in Medina, Ohio from 1982 to 1986. In 1987 the use of the name was given to the Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) to use for their annual national high-power sport launch. The launch continues to this day, however, LDRS has never returned to Ohio.
North Coast Rocketry was moved to Salt Lake City, Utah in 1992. During this time, NCR branched out into making composite motors based on potassium perchlorate that would produce a pink flame during the burn.
North Coast Rocketry was subsequently purchased by Estes Industries' around 1995-1996 and served as Estes' mid/high-power model rocketry division. The NCR motor technology was changed by Estes to the more industry-standard APCP (ammonium-perchlorate) composite propellant). All Estes versions of the NCR models used the F62 Dark Star motors, which emitted a dark black smoke trail. These motors were made specifically for NCR rockets and were slightly smaller in diameter than their competitor's motors. The motor was unique in that it had a molded aft thrust ring on the motor. A G70 motor was announced but never produced.
The "North Coast Rocketry by Estes" line of mid-power rocket kits was very popular and command high-prices on the kit collector market today. Especially in-demand is the "Maxi X-Wing" and "Interceptor G" kits.
Estes discontinued the NCR line of rocket kits, motors and other products in 2000. Since the brand has been discontinued, when building the kits today, many people modify the motor mounts to use industry-standard 29mm size motors.
NCR also sold a heavy duty launch pad, launch controller and relay system. They were also the first to sell rocket electronics, manufactured by John Fleischer of Transolve. These included the first rocket altimeter, a radio tracker, a beeper, a variable timer for staging and recovery system deployment and a strobe light.
NCR sold a series of rocketry technical reports, authored by Chris Pearson and Matt Steele, with collaboration of Scott Dixon of Vulcan Systems and John Fleischer of Transolve. These reports were later adopted by the National Association of Rocketry as their technical report series. The Tripoli Rocketry Association also published these same reports in their official monthly publication, the Tripolitian.
At NARAM-53 (the National Association of Rocketry's Annual Meet) in Cincinnati in July 2011, Matt Steele (one of the principals of the former North Coast Rocketry) announced that he had sufficient rights to the name and products and that he and his daughter would be bringing the company back to life with a website going live on October 1, 2011. He said the initial kits would be based on 2.6" tubing, and would not be "three fins and a nose cone".
NCR may refer to:
A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants (fuel/oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder; The inception of gunpowder rockets in warfare can be credited to ancient Chinese ingenuity, and in the 13th century, the Mongols played a pivotal role in facilitating their westward adoption.
A model rocket is a small rocket designed to reach low altitudes and be recovered by a variety of means.
Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) is an oligomer of butadiene terminated at each end with a hydroxyl functional group. It reacts with isocyanates to form polyurethane polymers.
Estes Industries is a model rocket company that was started in Denver, Colorado, USA. The company was the first to mass-produce model rocket engines with consistent and reliable performance. It is popular among hobbyists of experimental amateur rocketry for its simple and easily accessible engines, accessories, and rocket-building kits.
The National Association of Rocketry (NAR) is a non-profit tax-exempt scientific organization dedicated to consumer safety, youth education, and the advancement of technology in the hobby of sport rocketry in the United States. Founded in 1957, the NAR is the oldest and largest spacemodeling organization in the world with over 8,000 members and 200 affiliated clubs across the U.S. It was established in 1957 by Orville Carlisle and G. Harry Stine. It supports all aspects of safe consumer sport rocket flying, from small model rockets with youth groups to very large high-power rockets flown by adult hobbyists.
The AQM-37 Jayhawk is an air-launched supersonic target drone manufactured by Beechcraft capable of simulating inbound ICBM warhead packages for fleet shoot-down exercises.
High-power rocketry is a hobby similar to model rocketry. The major difference is that higher impulse range motors are used. The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) definition of a high-power rocket is one that has a total weight of more than 1,500 grams (3.3 lb) and contains a motor or motors containing more than 125 grams (4.4 oz) of propellant and/or rated at more than 160 Newton-seconds of total impulse, or that uses a motor with an average thrust of 80 newtons (18 lbf) or more.
The Tripoli Rocketry Association (TRA) is an international organization and one of the two major organizing bodies for high power rocketry in the United States.
Motors for model rockets and high-powered rockets are classified by total impulse into a set of letter-designated ranges, from ⅛A up to O. The total impulse is the integral of the thrust over burn time.
Orville H. Carlisle, a shoe salesman in Norfolk, Nebraska invented the hobby that would become known as model rocketry.
Vernon Estes, born January 4, 1930, is the founder and namesake of Estes Industries, the highly recognized model rocket production company, headquartered in Penrose, Colorado.
Amateur rocketry, sometimes known as experimental rocketry or amateur experimental rocketry, is a hobby in which participants experiment with fuels and make their own rocket motors, launching a wide variety of types and sizes of rockets. Amateur rocketeers have been responsible for significant research into hybrid rocket motors, and have built and flown a variety of solid, liquid, and hybrid propellant motors.
Rocket candy, or R-Candy, is a type of rocket propellant for model rockets made with a form of sugar as a fuel, and containing an oxidizer. The propellant can be divided into three groups of components: the fuel, the oxidizer, and the (optional) additive(s). In the past, sucrose was most commonly used as fuel. Modern formulations most commonly use sorbitol for its ease of production. The most common oxidizer is potassium nitrate (KNO3). Potassium nitrate is most commonly found in tree stump remover. Additives can be many different substances, and either act as catalysts or enhance the aesthetics of the liftoff or flight. A traditional sugar propellant formulation is typically prepared in a 65:35 (13:7) oxidizer to fuel ratio.
Quest Aerospace is a company based in Cedar City, UT, United States, that designs and produces model rocket kits.
Ammonium perchlorate composite propellant (APCP) is a solid-propellant rocket fuel. It differs from many traditional solid rocket propellants such as black powder or zinc-sulfur, not only in chemical composition and overall performance but also by being cast into shape, as opposed to powder pressing as with black powder. This provides manufacturing regularity and repeatability, which are necessary requirements for use in the aerospace industry.
Model Rocketry was an American hobbyist magazine published from October 1968 to February 1972. The Editor and Publisher was George J. Flynn and the Managing Editor was Gordon K. Mandell. Other members of the editorial and business staffs, some of whom held several positions at various times during the years the magazine was published, were Assistant Editors Robert B. Singer and Robert Parks ; Technical Editor Douglas J. Malewicki ; Business Managers George J. Caporaso, Jerome Apt, III, Thomas T. Milkie, and Arthur H. (Trip) Barber ; Technical Correspondent George J. Caporaso ; Distribution Managers Thomas T. Milkie, Kevin P. Brown, and Steven Glines ; and Art Director Thomas T. Milkie. The magazine was published by Model Rocketry, Inc., a closely held corporation owned by founding staff members George J. Flynn, Gordon K. Mandell, George J. Caporaso, and Thomas T. Milkie and members of their families. Its paid circulation reached 15,000 by 1970.
A monocopter or gyropter is a rotorcraft that uses a single rotating blade. The concept is similar to the whirling helicopter seeds that fall from some trees. The name gyropter is sometimes applied to monocopters in which the entire aircraft rotates about its center of mass as it flies. The name "monocopter" has also been applied to the personal jet pack constructed by Andreas Petzoldt.
A black powder rocket motor propels a model rocket using black powder. Black powder rocket propellants consist of charcoal, sulfur, and potassium nitrate. Adjustments can be made to the amount of each component to change the rate at which the black powder burns.
Rocketry Organization of California (ROC) is one of the world's oldest and biggest amateur high power rocket clubs. Monthly one day launches are held the second Saturday of each month. Anyone interested in hobby rocketry is welcome, and spectators are always free.