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.

Vehicle 66

Maiden flight of the then newly completed Vehicle 66 on a somewhat conservative Estes D12-7 black powder motor, launched from an Aerotech Mantis launch pad, northeast Switzerland, June 17, 1999. Vehicle 66 was designed as a pure sport model, strongly inspired by the legendary Estes Der Red Max, a model rocket I worshipped as a teenager in the late 1970s after building it both in its original guise and in the Der Big Red Max version.

Vehicle 66 measures 390 mm in length and 44.5 mm in diameter. It was built from MRC and Estes parts and carried an Estes Transroc II sonic beacon during its first flight. The rocket is intended to be flown with D, E, or F motors. Top photo was taken in Zurich, Switzerland, on May 18, 2016.