On Tuesday of this week, our latest Advanced Rocketry Workshop video showed how to apply a paper skin to a balsa wood fin using water-thin super glue. It was quite a popular video, as we got a lot of comments about the topic on our YouTube channel.

If you haven't see the video, you'll find it here.

SpaceX Launch - The mother of all clusters

What excitement I had watching the SpaceX Starship launch on Thursday morning. I came into work a bit early so I wasn't caught in rush-hour traffic during the launch. My attention was riveted to it, as I'm sure you were too. As it took off, I immediately noticed the little engine icon down in the bottom corner of the SpaceX livestream. It showed which of the 33 motors were working, and which ones shut down. Did you catch that before it even cleared the tower, three engines had shut down? Even with three engines out, it cleared the tower going over 147 Km/hr. It looked slow, only because the nearly 400 foot tall rocket had a lot of distance to cover.

While it didn't reach orbit, I have to congratulate all the engineers and technicians that worked on that beast. For us rocketeers that often fly cluster motors, I can appreciate what a massive accomplishment they achieved. And I can't wait to see their progress for the next test flight.

What Are We Working On Next?

You may have heard we've set an ambitious goal for 2023. We aspire to release 12 new rocket kits this year, or about one per month. We're actually on pace for that mission, which makes me so proud of the whole Apogee team. They not only treat customers the best, but unlike a lot of manufacturers, when we release a new kit, that doesn't give us a license to have all the others go out of stock. Our priority is to make sure that every kit we manufacture is available, even while we add new ones to the inventory. That is what makes me so pleased about our team. The Mandalorian creedo describes the Apogee philosophy perfectly: "This is the way..."

Our next new rocket kit is planned to be out on May 2nd. It is an entry level kit (Skill Level 1 classification) that we're calling the Wayfarer. It is based around our new BT-60 size nose cone that was released on February 28. I don't want to reveal too much now, but it will be a great kit that you can use to introduce younger modelers to model rocketry. We're going to give it a huge amount of decals too, so that the rocket can be decorated in minutes after just a one color paint job. This will allow those newbies to beam with pride with a rocket that an expert modeler would be jealous of.

April Tool of the Month: Rocketeer's Needle File Set

We have a great Tool-of-The-Month offer for April. It is an electroplated diamond coated needle file set, an indispensible tool for any model rocket enthusiast. This set includes three essential metal shapes: round, flat, and triangular.

The round file is perfect for creating smooth curves and shaping concave surfaces, while the flat file is ideal for straight edges and flat surfaces. Finally, the triangular file is excellent for creating sharp edges in corners and fine detail work.

For model rocket enthusiasts, these files are essential for shaping and refining various components of the rocket, such as the fins, nose cone, and the inside of a launch lug. The precision of these files makes them ideal for creating smooth aerodynamic shapes and surfaces, which can greatly improve the performance of the rocket. You'll use them as much, or even more than you do a hobby knife; that's how indespencible these are, and why they are such a great deal.

To get this set of three files for free (a $6.25 value), just purchase $60 worth of Apogee's merchandise. This offer is only available until April 30, 2023, so don't miss your chance to get this valuable tool for your toolbox. Act now, as this offer will not be repeated!

What to Look Forward to Next Week?

In issue 598 of our Peak of Flight Newsletter, we will be discussing how to create a motor file for RockSim and then how to load it into the software.
While many rocketeers use standard commercially available motors that are already included in the RockSim software, there are a small number of people, including experimental rocketeers and university engineering students, who do make their own motors. They will need to create their own motor files to run simulations in RockSim - so this article will show them how to do so.
And even if you have no intention of making your own motors, the article is an interesting way to find out how your favorite model rocket software works behind the scenes, and why motors act certain ways when simulating rockets.

I'll see you in your email in-box next Tuesday.