In Memory of Belker

This very creative and interesting bone shaped rocket, was built and donated by Bob Kaplow.  He and his wife Judy had a sheltie of their very own.  Bob donated this very special rocket in memory of Belker.  Here is the story as Bob tells it.    

"Belker (Quicksilver Belle Curve on the papers) was born 8-Dec-1983. We got her direct from a local breeder who shows dogs, as you did. She was the middle of 3 sisters, with 2 bigger brothers from the litter. Even as a 8 week old puppy, my wife was impressed with her intelligence and trainability. She finally picked us out by snuggling up in my wife's lap.

Actually, we had the name before we got the dog. My wife, Judy, was a big "Hill Street Blues" fan, and thought "Belker" was a good name for a dog. Then she had to talk me into getting one. Once we decided on a Sheltie, the name really didn't fit, but it stuck anyway. Belker aced obedience school, we didn't do too bad ourselves. She learned to listen to the instructor, anticipating our moves.

Her first introduction to rockets was probably NARAM-26, where she learned countdowns. She loved to chase rockets, usually herding the smoke trail left after a launch. She lost all interest in them once they landed. She also chased jets flying overhead.

Belker attended NARAM-26, 31, 32, 33, 35, 38, and 40; and dozens of other contests, sport launches, and club launches. She was the unofficial NIRA mascot for many years. I had meant to register her as an NAR member, and request #54321, but never quite got around to it.

When she was 7 we moved from a townhouse to a large house. She had a bigger yard, but had to get used to stairs, which she never really liked. For years we knew neighbors not by name, but by their dogs names. 4 years later our daughter was born, and they became fast friends.

Belker passed away on 31-Oct-1998. Things have been too quiet without her.                                                 

Personally, I've been flying rockets since 1964, and attending NARAMs since 1975. I haven't missed a year or a NARAM since I started. I've been reserve champion at NARAM-29, meet reserve champion at NARAM-42, and set about a dozen US records. I've been an NAR member since 1969 and a NIRA member since the late 70s. I'm most notorious for fighting to bring back Dual Eggloft as a competition event, having entered and flown a McDonalds Happy Meal twice in NAR competition and for getting kicked out of TRA for speaking out against internal corruption."

Thanks Bob, Judy and Belker...

First Launch 1-28-02

This flight was long and high on a "C-5" motor.  The rocket went very straight, with a decent recovery in spite of some chute burn.  My Stepson Chris caught the rocket.

Milk Bone 1st Launch Full
This was a very nice launch, with a good catch buy my Stepson Chris.

Milk Bone 1st Launch Slow
This is a slow motion clip of the above launch with some music dubbed in.

Check out the Movie Star Page for More videos

2nd Launch 1-28-02

The second launch was just as high and straight.  I had replaced the very nice Mylar chute with a Estes chute since it had some minor burns.  This Estes chute never opened at all, and fortunately the rocket came down right on top of us, and juts happened to be directly in line with the video camera. Again my step son Chris caught it.  This catch however was a bit more of a challenge.