"BRB CLUB MEMBER GEORGE GASSAWAY

MAKES COVER OF "SPORT ROCKETRY MAGAZINE"

 

  Upon returning from the mailbox with my new November / December 2004 issue of "Sport Rocketry Magazine", I caught a glimpse of a familiar face on the magazines front cover. It was none other than "Birmingham  Rocket Boys" member George Gassaway posing with his beautifully modeled "Orbital Skydart." George, who is a master model builder and considered by most of us to be the "guru" of model rocketry, semi scratch built this awesome radio controlled boost glider and headed for the 2004 NARAM- 46 competition held this summer in Virginia.
  George teamed up with Bob Parks, (who is also pictured with George on the magazine cover), to help him fly  his R/C boost glider duo. Bob Parks, who frequently commutes from California to Virginia to work for John Langford's Aurora Flight Sciences company, was chosen by George to pilot the radio controlled "Sky Dart" glider while George took over the pilot command for the huge radio controlled "Sky Booster."  George stated that it was great to be able to have Bob involved in flying this project, given that he is one of the early R/C RBG pioneers from the MIT Rocket Society.
  When George flew his "Orbital Skydart" at NARAM it was another crowd pleaser. At first look at George's creation it reminds me so much of my old Estes "Orbital Transport" that I owned and flew back in the 80's but George has taken this boost glider project and concept to an entirely another level. It is comprised of a 2X scaled-up "Skydart" boosted on the back of a specially designed winged booster with a span of 3 feet and a length of nearly 5 feet. It launches on two clustered G-12 motors, then stages by air-starting an engine in the "Skydart." Thus we have two big beautiful gliders, both powered and both returning by radio controlled glider flights.
   All of us here at BRB are proud of George for his achievements and for the national recognition he received from being featured in the NAR'S "Sport Rocketry Magazine." It gives me great pleasure and joy to write this report and to give honor to  a man that I have found to have a genuine love for model rocketry and the unselfish desire to teach others what he has learned. Congratulations George from all of us and we are glad to have you on our BRB team. Keep building and flying those awesome,  beautiful rockets and keep making us proud.


Written by: Ronald Witherspoon
Founder / Birmingham Rocket Boys / NAR Section # 665