Rockets, and boats, and cars. Oh, my!
Model rocketry has been part of my life for as long as RC airplanes, cars, and boats. When I build a model rocket—especially one I designed myself—I get the same level of satisfaction as when I complete a model aircraft.
I experience the same excitement waiting to take it out to the field and see how well it performs. No matter what type of model you build, there's a certain level of fulfillment in knowing that you constructed it. Seeing it perform as intended is icing on the cake.
As a kid, I would ride my bike to my middle school—which had been a flying field before the new schools were built—to fly my CL Cox PT-19 and launch rockets with my friends. I spent my allowance buying fuel for my airplanes and rocket engines. I also raced RC cars and boats across the state of Florida and have a couple of boxes of plaques and trophies I just can't seem to part with.
To this day I still dabble in all of these hobbies, but my true love is model aircraft. So why am I discussing rockets, RC cars, and boats in an airplane magazine? Because they are all enjoyed at the International Aeromodeling Center here in Muncie, Indiana.
At the International Aeromodeling Center
Our site hosts a few model rocketry events each year, and we have an off-road RC car track on-site that gets a decent amount of use in the summer. Even the pond in front of the administration building has seen its share of small, electric-powered boats.
Something you may not be aware of is that all of these modeling activities are also covered under AMA's insurance. The 2012 insurance summary can be found on the AMA website at www.modelaircraft.org/files/500-a.pdf. According to the summary, our insurance "applies to accidents arising from the modeling activities of model aircraft, rockets, cars, and boats, in accordance with the AMA National Safety Code(s)."
State of the Sport
In this month's issue, as part of our "State of the Sport" series, we feature model rocketry. Whether you have been involved in rocketry in the past or have thought about giving it a try for the first time, John Boren's article will get you up to speed on another exciting way to get your models airborne.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
