Tim left this morning for the World Spacemodeling Championships which is being held in Austin, Texas. He'll be in the steamy heat through next week watching the best competition modelers from around the globe compete for fame and bragging rights. This is the first time the championship event has been held in the United States since 1992. Tim's daughter, Ashley, is part of the team and is flying in two of the events in the adult division. If you're interested, you can catch the results of the contest, which starts on Monday in real-time at the website: https://2023-wchsm.enavigator.org/

Newest Rocketry Kit - The TTV

The newest Apogee kit was released this past Tuesday, in case you missed it. It is the "Timer Test Vehicle" (TTV). It was specifically designed to give you an economical way to try out your electonic staging timers before you commit to putting them in an expensive high power rocket. Flying 2-stages with small composite motors is a cheap and effective way to learn the skills you'll need to take your big rockets to spectacular heights. But that doesn't make it easy. Until now, anyway.

This rocket is a marvel of engineering, with lots of features packed into a small rocket. It includes an electronics bay, ejection baffle, through-the-wall-fins, laser-cut plywood centering rings, and two nylon cloth parachutes. It can also be used to test dual-deployment electronics, or a Jolly Logic Chute release. You can get this rocket today here!

Because the TTV is so unique, we decided to make an entire series of build videos for it. So also on Tuesday the first video was released. It gives a general overview of this novel two stage rocket, pointing out the various features of the design. It also makes a point to stress the importance of keeping the two tube couplers straight during the assembly.

We sort of forgot to announce last week, that we also got a new Estes kit in stock here at the Apogee webstore. It is the So Long two-stage rocket. Where the TTV uses indirect staging, the So Long uses direct staging, where the ejection charge of the booster motor ignites the upper stage motor.

The So Long two-stager can reach over 3600 feet on a combination of two F15 motors – that’s more than two-thirds of a mile high! The kit includes a large payload section so you can send your high-altitude experiments aloft. And for safe returns, the two bright orange streamers are easy to spot and designed to bring your rocket down quickly – don’t let this one drift away! A simple but rugged design means a fun build that you’ll be launching in no time. Get this fun 2-stage rocket here.

Name Our Next Rocket - Win a Free Kit

This is your chance to be involve in a new Apogee kit. And at the same time, you have the opportunity to win a free rocket kit!

This image shows a model rocket glider kit that we're releasing soon. It needs a catchy name, and we would like your input. We based the design loosely on the military's Ground Launched Small Diameter Bomb (GLSDB), but we don't want to call it a "bomb." If possible, we'd love to use the acronym in the name somehow. But we're open to any great suggestions. What do you think we should name this cool model rocket? If we use your suggestion, we'll give you a free kit when the rocket is available (coming really soon).

Additional Apogee Videos For Your Enjoyment

This past week also was a busy one for our video editor. We put out several product and unboxing videos. These are now on YouTube and our website:

YOUR ABSOLUTE THE LAST CHANCE!

Rocketry Tool of the Month - Dental Scaler

This offer ends tonight at midnight, so to get it free, place your order right now before it is too late.

Our June Tool-of-the-Month is a unique tool that we had made, called a "Dental Scaler." What it is great for, is very precise scraping off tiny glue globs from your rocket so you can get that pristine rocket that is showroom ready.

No matter how intense your construction techniques are, there are always small blemishes on the rocket. The average modeler doesn't notice them, but the seasoned pro certainly does. You can always tell the quality of the model by the minute details. It is the finishing touches that tell you how much of a craftsman a builder is.

This little tool has been one of my favorites for over 20 years. It allows you to touch up those little tiny spots on a rocket by scraping them away, without marring the rest of the rocket's finish. It saves you a lot of time and effort, because you don't have to refinish everything. You can simply scrape it away with a precision tool like this one. It has been one of my secret tools that I always have near by when I'm building rockets. You should have one too.

To get this dental scaler for free (a $11.95 value), just purchase $75 worth of Apogee's merchandise and add the coupon code at checkout on our website. This offer only lasts until June 30th.

What is Coming Up Next Week?

Next week, you'll have an opportunity to learn about the batteries you might want to use in your next rocket project. This article by Martin Jay Mckee is titled: "Selecting Batteries for Rocket Electronics." It will be a general overview, explaining the differences in batteries (such as Alkaline versus Li-Po), and what size you may need. If you've ever been confused by the large selection of batteries, this article may help you out.

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