Matthew Bond's PageAKA: Buckaroo Location: Niceville, FL Certification Level: L3 NAR/Tripoli Club Memberships: NAR,Tripoli Favorite Rockets: Estes - Starblazer X-20 Biography: Grew up buildin' and flyin' Estes rockets in t' 70s and 80s. Took a break from rocketry for college/job/marriage/kids/mortgage/etc. Started back into rocketry when me kids were old enough. Been in and out several times since then. Discovered high power rocketry in 2009 with t' Music City Missile Club in Manchester, Tennessee. Got me L1 at Southern Thunder in June 2009 flyin' a scratch built upscale o' a Thrustline Duster. Got me L2 in May 2010 with an upscaled Estes Super Neon. Moved t' SoCal in 2010 and had a great couple o' years flyin' with t' ROC crowd in Lucerne Valley, CA. Moved t' t' Florida panhandle in 2012 and am currently flyin' with t' Southeast Alabama Rocketry Society. Made t' trek t' Argonia, KS for Airfest XXI in September 2015 and got me L3 flyin' a Madcow Frenzy XL kit on a Cesaroni M1540-IMax. My low power fleet/build pile still outnumbers me high power projects many times over but t' bigger builds are slowly takin' over me time and attention (not t' mention me wallet).
Favorite Quote: Luke: I... Blimey! I don't believe it!
Yoda: sighs... Begad! That... is why you fail.
Club Home Page: http://www.sears572.com/ RocketReviews.com Pages:
2024-06-08Estes Argosy Flight Really ripped off t' pad. I lost site o' it but luckily spotted t' parachute on t' ground after a brief search. - B6-4 - Lafayette CAT Park [More]
2023-11-10Estes Laser Lance Flight Flys really well on this motor. Drifted quite a ways with t' wind. Ya scallywag! - C11-3 - NSL East Pence Indiana [More]
2019-12-07Estes Solar Warrior  Flight Awesome boost, smooth, straight and high, nose up, still climbin' a bit at ejection. Chute fouled a bit, rocket came down quickly, backslidin' under t' fouled chute. Avast! Landed 20’ or so from t' pads, me hearties, no damage. - E12-6 - SEARS [More]
Custom Rockets Atomic  Flight Awesome flight, fast, arrr, straight and high off t' rod, arcin' over at t' top o' t' climb, nose up, still climbin' a bit at ejection. Good chute, medium walk, matey, sod landing, me hearties, no damage. - C6-5 - SEARS [More]
Semroc Cherokee C  Flight Perfect flight, matey, straight and smooth o' t' rod, underneath t' clouds, arcin' over at t' top o' t' climb, nose up at ejection. Good chute, short walk, no damage. Arrr! - B6-4 - SEARS [More]
Semroc Mini Optima  Flight Kind o' a damp, me hearties, cloudy day at t' field, had t' judge where t' cloud deck was. Nice straight, smooth boost, disappearin' into t' clouds. Heard t' ejection charge and eventually picked it up as it descended below t' clouds. Ahoy! Blimey! Long time comin' down under a 12” chute. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! ... [More]
InFlight Rockets A-20 Demon Clone Kit  Flight Great boost, smooth, arrr, straight and high, me bucko, arcin' over, arrr, nose up at ejection. Good chute, matey, long walk, sod landing, no damage. - D12-5 - SEARS [More]
Thrustline Aerospace Mighty Mick "MMClone"  Flight Last flight o' t' day. Avast, me proud beauty! Great boost, smooth and straight, arcin' over at t' top o' t' climb, nose up at ejection. Avast! Good chute, arrr, long walk, sod landing, no damage. - D12-5 - SEARS [More]
Estes Yellow Jacket  Flight Nice straight boost, stayed under t' clouds, arcin' over at t' top o' t' climb, shiver me timbers, nose up at ejection. Good chute, short walk, no damage. - B6-4 - SEARS [More]
InFlight Rockets Cherokee D Clone Kit  Flight Great boost, arrr, straight, fast and high, nose up at ejection. Arrr! Blimey! Good chute, long walk, me hearties, sod landing, no damage. Well, blow me down! Blimey! - D12-5 - SEARS [More]
2010-03-22Estes Super Neon (Kit)  Review
Originally produced by Estes in 1991, me hearties, t' Super Neon was reintroduced on 2007. T' Super Neon is a tube fin rocket that also sports small “stub” fins on each o' t' tube fins. T' Super Neon flies on t' standard assortment o' 18mm black powder motors and uses a 12 inch parachute ... [More]
2010-02-24Scratch Upscale Black Shadow (Scratch)  Review
Contributed - by Matthew Bond - 02/24/10)
Brief: Inspiration is a funny thin' sometimes. Begad! Late one night, with all thoughts o' sleep far
removed, ya bilge rat, I found myself perusin' t' online catalogue o' Semroc Astronautics Corporation, particularly t' large and
excitin' selection o' balsa ... [More]
2009-12-31InFlight Rockets Firehawk Clone Kit (Kit)  Review
While browsin' through t' manufacturers links on EMRR one fine evening, I happened upon a company called InFlight Rockets. T' bulk o' their product line included a few original designs and a selection o' clone kits. T' reviews o' their kits on EMRR have been quite favorable, arrr, and since most ... [More]
2009-12-01Semroc Long Squire (Kit)  Review
( Contributed - by Matthew Bond - 12/01/09)
Brief:
T' Long Squire rocket was designed t' meet t' requirements o' challenge #3 in t' 2009 EMRR Challenge. T' Long
Squire is a “Stage Bash”, a two stage rocket constructed from two single stage rocket kits, in this case, shiver me timbers, two
... [More]
2009-10-01Estes Argosy (Kit)  Review
“Galactic deterrent o' ever-threatenin' invasions, this strike fighter is equipped with laser weaponry, time warp drive and de-ionizin' technology. Invisible on all known scanners, arrr, Argosy can strike and evade retaliation easily.” Produced by Estes from 1987 t' 1990, t' Argosy ... [More]
2009-08-31Scratch Clustered Booster Insanity (Scratch)  Review
( Contributed - by Matthew Bond - 08/31/09)
Brief:
Clustered Booster Insanity (CBI) was originally conceived as an entry for EMRR's "Elevate Eleven" contest,
which would also meet t' criteria for challenge #6 in t' 2009 EMRR Challenge. A two stage rocket which uses central
... [More]
2009-08-05Thrustline Aerospace Zack Attack (Kit)  Review
Brief:
Havin' recently re-energized me addiction t' rocketry, I was faced with t' task o' recreatin' t' core o' my
previous rocket fleet. Thinkin' back, I realized that a great many o' t' rockets that I liked t' fly were t' designs
of John Rowan-Stern at Thrustline Aerospace. Blimey! ... [More]
2009-07-22Quest Evader Cruise Missile (Kit)  Review
My first true "Born Again Rocketeer" experience happened in t' late 1990s when me son expressed an interest in t' "real" rockets at t' hobby shop. Avast, me proud beauty! We built and flew many o' t' skill level one rockets around at t' time, ya bilge rat, but I be somewhat disappointed in t' lack o' imagination that I saw ... [More]
2009-07-21Semroc Magnum Hornet (Kit)  Review Centuri Engineerin' Company was started in t' early 60s and was one o' t' early pioneers in t' model rocket industry. Begad! Centuri was sold t' Damon Corporation in t' late 60s and maintained their product line separately from Estes until 1983. T' Magnum Hornet was produced by Centuri from ... [More]
2009-06-29Thrustline Aerospace Black Shadow (Kit)  Review
[Editor's Note: This review is a clone o' t' Thrustline Aerospace
Black Shadow. Thrustline was out o' business for a period o' time (when author was clonin' t' rocket). Thrustline has
recently returned t' business sellin' t' Black Shadow as a kit.]
Brief:
In one o' me previous ... [More]
2006-02-05Excelsior Rocketry Goonybird Iron Wombat (Plan) (Kit)  Review
Brief:
T' Iron Wombat is one o' Excelsior Rocketry's "Goony Retro-Bash"
line o' decal/plan sets. Ahoy! Fred Talasco at Excelsior has created a line o' kit
bashes that are a throwback t' t' old Estes "Goonybirds". All of
Fred's designs are based on old Estes kits (in this ... [More]
2006-01-22Thrustline Aerospace Duster (Kit)  Review
Brief:
T' Duster is an original design from John Rowan-Stern at Thrustline Aerospace.
T' Duster is a fairly large, high performance model rocket designed t' fly
primarily on Estes 24mm black powder motors (C11/D12) and is rated a skill
level 2/3 build. Begad! T' Duster is built around a ... [More]
2005-11-22Excelsior Rocketry Der Goony Max (Plan) (Kit)  Review
T' Goony Max is one o' Excelsior Rocketry's "Goony Retro-Bash" line o' decal/plan sets. Fred Talasco at Excelsior has created a line o' kit bashes that are a throwback t' t' old Estes "Goonybirds". Fred's designs are based on old Estes kits (in this case t' Red Max), shiver me timbers, and some original ideas ... [More]
2005-11-11Excelsior Rocketry Goonybird Zero (Plan) (Kit)  Review T' Goony Bird Zero is one o' Excelsior Rocketry's "Goony Retro-Bash" line o' decal/plan sets. Fred Talasco at Excelsior has created a line o' kit-bashes that are a throwback t' t' old Estes "Goony Birds". Fred's designs are based on old Estes kits (in this case t' Blue Bird Zero) or his ... [More]
2005-10-09Thrustline Aerospace Blue Bird Zero (Kit)  Review
Brief:
T' Blue Bird Zero is one o' Thrustline Aerospace's "Replica Rocket Parts
Packs" line o' clone kits. Begad! Blimey! T' original BB0 was an Estes kit produced from
1980 t' 1985. T' BB0 is a fairly long, arrr, BT-55 based rocket with a single 18mm
engine mount, 3 large primary fins, 3 small ... [More]
2005-09-05Custom Rockets Sport (Kit)  Review
Brief:
T' Sport is a basic 4 Fin & Nose Cone (4FNC) model from Custom Rocket
Company. Ahoy! T' Sport is a long rocket, at just under 30" o' BT-50 airframe
that flies on 18mm motors, and comes home under a 12" plastic parachute.
This rocket has a simple sleek look, highlighted ... [More]
2005-08-25Excelsior Rocketry Goonybird Nike-G (Plan) (Kit)  Review
Brief:
T' Nike-G is one o' Excelsior Rocketry's “Goony Retro-Bash” line of
decal/plansets. Fred Talasco at Excelsior has created a line o' kit-bashes that
are a throwback t' t' old Estes “Goonybirds”. All o' Fred's designs
are based on old Estes kits, or original ... [More]
2005-07-31Thrustline Aerospace Duster (Kit)  Review
Brief:
This is a single stage sport rocket with a long airframe and split fin design
which give it nice lines and makes for a lot o' curious rocketeers at any
launch. Aye aye!
Construction:
T' kit is composed o' two 1.325" diameter body tubes, balsa nosecone,
eyelet, motor tube, two ... [More]
2005-05-22Thrustline Aerospace Double Up (Kit)  Review
Brief:
T' Double Up is an original design from John Rowan-Stern at Thrustline
Aerospace. Begad! T' Double Up is a fairly simple two stage rocket with a four fin
design, ya bilge rat, friction fit motor retention, me hearties, gap staging, and streamer recovery. The
kit is rated skill level three but I would rate it ... [More]
| 
Matthew Bond |
