014 Miss Riley

This rocket pays homage to the movie that is responsible for getting myself and many others into hobby rocketry. The "Miss Riley" was the final rocket launched by Homer Hickam and the Rocket Boys in the movie "October Sky". It has been one of my favorite movies for some time, even before I started getting interested in model rocketry.

The rocket itself is a kit from LOC Precision called the "Bullet". It is the largest model rocket I have attempted to build. The inner workings of this rocket are no more complex than any small model rocket it's just bigger and more impressive to the eye.

Because of the size finishing the rocket was a real pain. The nose was really poorly made with a huge seam that needed a lot of sanding. The body tube had the normal spiral grooves that needed to be filled but also had many irregularities that took hours of extra work. Overall I was not impressed with the kit and will steer clear of LOC Precision in the future.

All the work that went into this rocket paid off though. It looks good and should fly great. I am having trouble finding a place to launch it and my other rockets too. The field where I used to launch is being developed and the local club in San Antonio lost their field too. I hope we can find a place soon.

Manufacturer - LOC Precision
Stages - 1
Weight - 28 oz.
Length - 39 in.
Diameter - 4 in.
Fin Material - Plywood
Recovery - 36 in. Parachute
Current Status - Active