Sport Rocketry

Not that long ago, my sweetheart, who spends time on various rocketry boards, casually mentioned in a response to a discussion board that "my wife uses a streamer on her Alpha." While the vast majority of the comments just accepted, as most of our friends do, that I also do rockets, there was a wag who commented, "wife...flying...rockets…Does not com- pute!" I think, and hope, that he was merely trying to be funny. 24 MAY/JUNE 2024 SPORT ROCKETRY Avis working with her Heli-roc at 60 Acres, Redmond, Washington. Photo by Bernard Cawley. by Avis M Cawley NAR 111785 wife of Bernard Cawley Don't Let Him Have All the Fun Seriously, why not do rocketry together? ere have always been women involved, in one way or another, in NASA and rocket science in general. e gracious and lovely Gleda Estes is a shining example. e NAR is actively recruiting girls, for good reason. Many of the rocket scientists of the future will come from the ranks of kids playing with model rockets today. Girls belong in that group. But what about us "older girls"? From this point forward, I'll be address- ing the gals who stand in support behind the flight lines, take pictures, and cheer the guys on. You could be the next wave of rocketeers. Guys, at this point, it might be easier if you just forward this to her and go on to a good article on helicopter recovery or altimeters. Catch up with her later and talk about it. Gals, what do you do while he's off fly- ing rockets? Hopefully not doing laundry, running the kids to soccer, and mowing the lawn because it's going to be waist-high before rocket season is over. at way lies madness. A healthier approach is to head into town, have a latte, or a lunch with your friends and look for that new out- fit that might make him think about tak- ing you out to dinner as soon as he washes the smell of black powder off. Aer all, he might be spending a small fortune at the vendors' tents, and he won't mind if you enjoy yourself a bit. Am I right? ere's yet another alternative, and I'm really glad I took it. You can take up rock- etry yourself. I'm far from the only one. ere are ladies at most of the meets I go to, sporting their own rockets and enjoying it. Why? Well, it's fun, to start with. ere's nothing quite like watching something you put together yourself, sweated over getting the paint smooth on, and generally put something of yourself into, flying straight and high into a brilliant blue sky on a calm morning. Another good reason, although it de- pends a bit on your two personalities, is that it's good for your marriage. If you re- ally enjoy doing things together, this is per- fect. Rocketry naturally takes a team, and what better team than the two of you! With kids underfoot, you may have your hands full just keeping wee fingers out of trouble during an organized launch. Heaven knows, I've been there! However, if both of you are competing, the team has to divide up responsibilities, including the child-minding. It's good for the kids to know that you work together and both care about them. If you have a place to launch informal- ly, have a family launch. at is truly the

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