Handbook of Model Rocketry

by G. Harry Stine

The Classic Guide by the "Father of Model Rocketry" Now Completely Revised and up to Date… This new edition of the model rocketeer’s "bible" shows you how to safely build, launch, track, and recover model rockets—and have fun doing it. Whether you’re a beginner or a veteran model rocketeer, the Handbook of Model Rocketry, the official manual of the National Association of Rocketry (NAR), will become your well-used reference book. G. Harry Stine has been a model rocketeer since 1957 when he founded the NAR and started the first model rocket company. Stine’s Handbook, after satisfying rocket enthusiasts for nearly three decades, remains the definitive resource. Recent technological progress has had a major effect on the model rocket hobby and sport. This revised and updated edition covers such new technology

Genres: Nonfiction, Science, Physics, Technical

368 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1970

About the author

George Harry Stine attended the University of Colorado in Boulder. Upon his graduation he went to work at White Sands Proving Grounds, first as a civilian scientist and then, from 1955–1957, at the U.S. Naval Ordnance Missile Test Facility as head of the Range Operations Division.

Stine and his wife Barbara were friends of author Robert A. Heinlein, who sponsored their wedding, as Harry's parents were dead and Barbara's mother too ill to travel. Several of Heinlein's books are dedicated one or both of them, most particularly Have Space Suit - Will Travel. Stine also wrote science articles for Popular Mechanix.

G. Harry Stine also used these alternative names:

Lee Correy, Harry Stine, George Harry Stine.

Reviews

[Henry Watts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well there you go. Coolest book I've read all year, this is the book I've been searching for (kinda of). I love space, I love rockets, and I really like model rockets because I didn't go to college. This lil' bible here is easy to read and fallow and filled with answers to so many questions, many that I hadn't even been asking. I almost put the thing down after the first two chapters, I was all "I know this shit, ugh", yep I thought I had wasted my 18 bucks, but no, oh no. This book is filled with the equations that I have been dying for and they're explained it about as straight forward as you can get. So, ya know, if you fly model rockets and haven't read this book you're doing yourself wrong.

[Johann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great handbook--more of a technical manual, but an easy and enjoyable read. What was funny was the little name dropping of the companies that the younger Stine works for throughout the book. Estes Rockets has been around since 1958 and is a good solid company. But we didn't really hear about Estes Rockets in the book. Instead, the author always recommended Quest Aerospace rockets--his company.

[Peet Denny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everything you've ever wanted to know about building and flying your own rockets.
From buying your first kit, to Tsiolkovsky's rocket equation.
Helps with building rockets in Kerbal Space Program too!

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw Millville Public Library had this and picked it up. I wasn't expecting much with it being more than 25 years old. I figured things have changed since then and this will satisfy my enthusiasm until my rocket arrives. This is turning out to be a much better read than I thought. Love how Stine writes. It hearkens back to a time prior to the PC-police. He tells the reader he is stupid if he does certain things. It's refreshing. Stine sounds like many of the adults who guided me to adulthood. I like that. And most of what I am reading is still relevant all these years later. I do laugh at the references to phone books, phone chains, Radio Shack, and BASIC. Yes, times were different. ;)

This book is exciting. For someone like me who is just getting into the hobby, it was full of information. More important, it was full of enthusiasm. Stine was an advocate of the hobby and he was energetic in his writing about it.

Some of what was presented here is a dated. I suspect hand-eye sighting for altitude is not used much these days. All the trigonometry to calculate various things is no longer done. I know K-sized motors exist. Only G are discussed here.

Nevertheless, a whole of topics were raised that I had not even considered. And while I doubt I will ever build a model to scale from research I conduct, it is fascinating to know this is an area of the hobby. I was equally fascinated with the depth of glide recovery systems. That seems like a larger field of the hobby than I would have thought.

Having finished this book, I am even more eager to begin.

[Brendan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite old at this point, but still has plenty of useful information and doesn't shy away from the math. Beneficial to get a look at some of the older altimeter systems that they would use before the embedded systems that are more widely available today. Of course, he is adamant about not building your own engine. This strikes me as an unrebellious way to go about life, but I suppose I understand not wanting to blow yourself up.

If just getting into model rocketry, this probably isn't necessary. Just buy an Estes rocket, build it, and then build another. They're pretty intuitive. This book is more of a resource for building your own from scratch.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good information, badly edited and so quite slow and difficult to read. Persists in using Imperial measurements even though it acknowledges the world has moved to metric. Could do with a proper updating to take into account modern technology.

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good book to start a hobby of building and flying model rockets! It covers all the basics you need and dives into some advanced topics!

[Mark Bates · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little dated but still a good overview of model rocketry and National Association Of Rocketry procedures.

[Carl · Rating 5 out of 5]

The model rocketeer's "bible". Required reading for anyone seriously interested in building and flying model rockets. Particularly useful for those wishing to graduate from commercially available model kits and move on to kitbashing or designing one's own model rockets.

[Jossalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

read this with the Girl Scout troop, while we were learning Rocketry. Terrific basic handbook and guide. We used it to design and build our own rockets for the TARC competition, and watched October Sky as part of the activity. that's another book to read...

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very Interesting book about model rockets.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I knew Mr. Stine...great man, mentor, and missed....

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first edition had how to make your own solid fuel rockets if I remember right, removed for safety in subsequent editions. Still a good book for such things.