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About Ken Baldwin (May 30, 2004).
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I'm married, work as a Systems Analyst, live in Canada and am completely consumed with Model, Mid and High Power Rocketry.
In Junior High School, my science teacher, Mr. Glacier introduced the class to Estes rockets. we had a lot of fun building
and flying them, I even submitted a design to Estes. I was cautioned to watch the foward fins for stability. At the time I
had no idea what Estes meant, I mean, they're cool right ;-) Later that summer, three Ken's, Wilton, Moffat & Baldwin, were
able to talk Ken Wilton's dad into travelling to Calgary for a big launch. I believe that would have been SAM. We made the
trek from Sherwood Park. That was pretty much the last time I launched rockets, vertically, until May of 2003.
Some buddies and I were very much into Drag Racing. Either a Jet or Rocket car came to Calgary and we decided we should build
a model rocket car. I remembered the Estes motors, had a Cox .049 Vega Station Wagon, so we built a couple of cars from parts
etc. We went out to what is now a shopping center, pounded some nails in the pavement, strung some wire between them and raced
cars. What a 'blast' that was! We did that four or five times, until one of the motors decided to CATO. There were parts strewn
for about 60 feet. Again, that was the last time I burnt BP, vertically or horizontally, until May 2003.
Enter a buddy from work. He and his wife own some land south of town and have had a Rocket party every year since I've known him.
He kept inviting me to them, but for whatever reason I wasn't able to make it. Finally I said to myself build a rocket and
go to the party. So I went out and bought an Estes CC Express, two stage flight was always something I'd wanted to do in Junior High.
I built it, bought a pack D12-0's and D12-7's and then discovered I wasn't going to be able to go to the party, DOH!
So I arranged with my work buddy to come out the weekend before and fly it. Well, if I'd had a dozen packs of motors I'd have flown it
18 times. I decided to give my buddy the CC Express to launch at the party. It was a bit of a windy day and when they
launched it, it pulled what another buddy calls the Estes factor, it disappeared. A search party was formed but alas it couldn't be found :-(
Oh well, lot's more CC Express's on the shelf right! I bought and built another, I was hooked.
I then discovered the Calgary Rocketry Association's (CRA) web page and started researching. What a change!
Model rocketry was pretty much the same, but now there was Mid Power, E, F & G motors, and High Power, H, I, J, K, L, M, N and O motors.
And I thought D's were the big ones!. I had to get involved. I contacted the CRA and was told to come out to one of the launches, which I did.
I bought more motors went out to the CRA Club launch site met some fun loving people and lost the CC Express on the first flight!
So, off to the store for another CC Express, still have the sustainer from that one :-) The booster got lost in the snow in November
and was found half eaten by mice this spring.
That fall I attended my first High Power launch, Sullivan Lake XI. I took my CC Express with me, camped for the weekend with another buddy
and his family and was completely wowed. I joined the CRA and Canadian Association of Rocketry (CAR) that weekend. I decided I had to get certified,
so I arranged with High Power Rocket Technologies (HPRT) for a bunch of parts for a 4" 54mm with a 38mm adapter. These parts became TSP1.
So now I'm Level 3 certified, I can fly up to L impulse motors. I plan on spending the summer and fall of 2004 building and flying a variety of
rockets. Check my Flight Plans page for more details.
Regards,
Ken
CAR #S825 L3
TRA #10018 L2
Not sure if anyone's interested in where kcheeb came from, but I'll tell you anyway :-)
I used to play a lot of video games and then went on to the popular home versions. From time to
time I'd get the chance to leave my initials, KCB, behind. A friend, who said he was tired of seeing them,
took those initials and decided to put his own pronunciation on them, K CHEE B. It just stuck with me.
So when user names on the internet became popular, that was about all I could come up with.
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