Estes Maxi Alpha, 1978

Although the Estes Maxi Alpha first appeared in Estes' 1977 catalogue, we only discovered it a year later. Having originally found out about the existence of Estes in 1976, we had nonetheless been unable to obtain the 1977 catalogue in Switzerland. This made the contents of the 1978 Estes catalogue even more unpredictable and exciting to us, once our mail ordered copies finally arrived.

Next to the Der Big Red Max Deluxe Model Rocketry Outfit with its gloriously unique Big Foot launch pad, it was also the spectacular upscale appearance of the Maxi Alpha on page 46 of the catalogue that captivated me deeply. So I ordered the kit for the then pricey sum of $ 9.50 and built (deficiently) and flew it that summer. The recovery of the rocket by means of a 60 cm parachute always looked spectacular.

The above photo, taken in front of my childhood home in Nürensdorf, Switzerland, seems to be the only record of my Maxi Alpha during its existence.

Estes Astron Goblin

Estes Astron Goblin D-motor powered sport model with streamer recovery, photographed in front of my childhood home in Nürensdorf, Switzerland, approximately in 1978. This particular Goblin was likely ordered from the 1978 Estes catalogue, at a cost of $ 5.25.

At that time, one had to send a letter containing the list of rockets one desired to order to Estes in Penrose/CO, whereupon Estes calculated the overseas surface shipping charges for the order and then returned a letter containing the total cost of the order. One then had to go to the bank and obtain a registered cheque (itself quite a procedure) and then send this in a registered letter back to Estes. Each one of these letters commonly took around seven days to cross the Atlantic. All one could then do was to wait for the "4 to 6 weeks for delivery".

Needless to say, it rather took determination to be a rocket modeller in Switzerland.