The Rise and Fall of Estes Rockets: When America Aimed for the Stars from its Own Backyard

Comments · 205

• TH

  @thefactorywhistle · 2 months ago · pinned

  📘 What&apos;s your vintage American engine or toy worth? Find out with The Collector&apos;s Vault → <a href="https://thefactorywhistle.com/">https://thefactorywhistle.com/</a>

• JE

  @jeffsnodgrass9747 · 5 months ago

  I don&apos;t understand why this video is titled &quot;The Rise and Fall&quot;. &nbsp;Estes is alive and well, still going strong to this date.

  47

• ED

  @eddiekulp1241 · 5 months ago

  I bought Estes rocket motors in the 70&apos;s . Great memories

  25

• BR

  @brianwebster1 · 3 months ago

  I grew up flying Estes rockets. Now I am 70 years old and just bought an Estes kit, rocket engines and a model rocketry book for my friends 13 year old kid.

  1

• DA

  @DARYLMETHENEY-p4x · 5 months ago

  I was a guided missile technician in the ‘70’s ,this was a common hobby with my buddies, had a lot of fun with it.

  14

• MI

  @misterjaxon2559 · 4 months ago

  The Scout didn&apos;t have a streamer. It &quot;tumble recovery.&quot; The ejection charged pushed the engine backwards and it was caught on a hook. This significantly changed the center of gravity and the rocket tumbled as it fell. It was very sturdy with thick fins and it easily withstood the impact.

  12

• RO

  @rossbabcock3790 · 4 months ago

  I remember my first D motor class rocket. My dad had to buy them. We had some cool hobbies back then.

  20

• DA

  @davidgroves5395 · 4 months ago

  I remember Este Rockets very well as a kid growing up i the 60&apos;s but my parents would never allow me to build any rockets. Models and Cox gas powered airplanes were fine but no rockets. As an adult having way too much time to kill, I started to buy and build many Este Rockets which gave me much enjoyment about learning all about rockets history. A few years later a dated a female who had a son named Charlie and he totally dug them. We would spend hours together building them and I am sure that he still remembers them to this day.

  3

• ED

  @edwinwise6751 · 4 months ago

  My 10 year son and I were Estes faithfuls . We spent hour’s building , painting , launching and retrieving . Great bonding experience for both of us . All the neighborhood kids were in attendance

  5

• RO

  @rodshelley1170 · 5 months ago

  I sooooo remember those days back in high-school. A few of my buddies and I would visit the local drugstores for those quart bottles of saltpeter (potassium nitrate), and mix it with sulfur and charcoal powder we made with crushed charcoal briquettes. My dad was sure we&apos;d blow the house up making black powder in the basement. We made a few rockets with the powder, and had a few good flights, &nbsp;a few fizzlers, and a few kabooms. We finally went completely with Estes engines and had lots of good flights. And a few relaxed dads! LOL

  11

• PI

  @pixelchi · 4 months ago

  I was 12 or so and bought my first Astron Space Plane with a personal note from Vern Estes recommending the first flight using a 1/2A-8-3 motor. Not satisfied with an adult telling me what motor to use, I was into power and used a B16-5. The Space Plane shredded upon takeoff. From that point on I joined NAR and listened..

  9

• RU

  @RussGallagher · 4 months ago

  My younger brothers were regular customers of a hobby shop that stocked these rocket motors, tubes, and various balsa wood parts to build model rockets in the 1960&apos;s.

  1