How I Got Started

I actually got my start in model rocketry when I was about five years old.  My dad had been flying rockets since he was a teenager, but when he went to college it was hard for him to continue flying rockets.  Rockets went on the back burner in his life until my mom became the fifth grade teacher at a Catholic school in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania called Lock Haven Catholic School.  She was looking for an end of the year science unit and with my dad's help, she decided that rocketry was the way to go.

It's rocket building week! Going bigger this year! pic.twitter.com/n3L2LLY3Zf

— Lock Haven Catholic (@LHCS311) May 11, 2015

My dad got his clearances and began helping with the building process and launch day.  Every year he goes into the school to help the kids build the rockets, fly them safely, and understand the physics and math behind what happened in the air.  An amazing thing happens when you give fifth grade students model rockets, they want to learn what's going on with their rockets and why Bill's rocket flew higher than Suzy's rocket, or why Timmy's rocket was closer to the launch pad, or why Jane's rocket was in the air the longest.  They want to learn trig and physics, and they actually understand it.

My dad pulled me into this wonderful world of rocketry with my very own rocket kit.  It was the Quest Lightning.  It was the perfect rocket for a five year old little girl, it was all purple.  I remember laying on the living room floor putting it together with Dad and then going out to fly it that weekend.  After that day, I was hooked.  I kept flying and building rockets with Dad, and it was a lot of fun.  We got more friends interested in the hobby and have annual launches and lunch with our friends.  It wasn't until I was in fifth grade that we really got into the hobby, though.

Dad never really asks for much, especially when it comes to family vacations.  It wasn't until 2013 that he requested the destination for our family vacation.  He wanted to go to the National Association of Rocketry Annual Meet for the 50th anniversary (NARAM 50).  I'll go over more of what this is next time.  Until then, fly high, stay safe, and have fun!