Cathy in the Wright

One Small Step For Grade A Double Yokes...

Here at The Outpost, one of our favorite summertime activities is firing off model rockets. It’s exciting to give the countdown, hear the engine ignite, and watch the rocket shoot up into the sky until it’s out of sight. The real highlight, of course, is trying to retrieve the rocket from the neighbors’ soybean fields or cow pasture. And there is a veritable rocket graveyard located in the top branches of several Outpost oak trees - parachutes fluttering in the breeze like memorial flags. In spite of the losses, we carry on and send additional missiles into the great blue yonder feeling, I imagine, not too unlike NASA scientists.

So imagine my excitement to hear that the son of a coworker has gone semi-pro. Eric Eide and his 4H team from Farmington took first place in their division at the Team America Rocketry Challenge in Virginia this past weekend. Details of the event are here, although they have not updated the site yet to reflect this year’s winners.

Sponsored by the AIA (Aerospace Industries Association), NASA, the National Association of Rocketry, and many corporate sponsors, the contest challenge was to build a rocket that would carry a raw egg, stay airborne for a minimum of sixty seconds, and return the egg to earth uncracked. And this contest was not just for bragging rights; winners shared $60,000 in prizes.

Congratulations to Eric and his 4H teammates! Eric, I’m inviting you and your family for an Outpost Rocketry Day this summer so The VP and I can learn some tricks of the trade. If you can make the rocket come down and smash the egg on The VP, I will give you $60,000 as well.