Model Rocketry (magazine)

Model Rocketry (magazine)

Model Rocketry was an American hobbyist magazine published from October 1968 to February 1972. The Editor and Publisher was George Flynn and the Managing Editor was Gordon Mandell. The magazine was owned by the editorial staff and the paid circulation reached 15,000 by 1970.

The launch of Sputnik in 1957 and the space race to the moon made model rockets a popular hobby. This magazine was started at the height of the Apollo program. Each issue had plans and instructions for constructing rockets typically powered by black powder rocket motors such as those made by Estes Industries. There were also technical articles on model rocket design that would include several pages of theory and equations. There was a series of articles starting in October 1969 on writing FORTRAN programs to calculate flight parameters. The magazine also covered model rocketry clubs' launch meets and contests.

From August 1969 to February 1972 Model Rocketry incorporated The Model Rocketeer, the official journal of the National Association of Rocketry.

The September 1969 issue of Model Rocketry has a typical cover design and contents. The cover photo shows the launch of a model rocket approximately 2 feet (60 cm) tall with a small camera as the payload. The camera will take a photo after the rocket reaches its apogee and starts its descent with a parachute. The magazine has construction plans for an egg lofting rocket. These would be used in competitions to see how high an egg could be launched without cracking. The topics on the cover include Apollo 11. There was a 6 page article by the Managing Editor, Gordon Mandell, about the first manned mission to land on the moon.