Our Deepest Condolences to the Friends and Family of Carl McLawhorn

Posted on August 12, 2013 by Roger

It’s with great sadness that we learned today of the passing of Carl McLawhorn.

Carl founded Semroc Astronautics Corporation in his college dorm at North Carolina State University in November of 1967. Semroc produced a line of model rocket kits and motors. Quickly growing to a company with twenty-five full-time employees working at two facilities, Semroc faced some fiscal challenges and, in early 1971, the company became insolvent and closed its doors.

A little over three decades later, Semroc returned. Reincorporated on April 2, 2002, Semroc currently produces a large line of quality model rocket kits including many reproductions of the classic kits of the 1960s and 1970s.

We never met Carl in person, but, through all of our dealings with Semroc, we always found him, and his wife, Sheryl, to be friendly, courteous, and professional. Carl contributed much to the model rocketry hobby and will be sorely missed.

— Roger and Bracha
jonrocket.com

Larry W.’s Boost Gliders

Posted on August 1, 2013 by Roger

Larry W. of Crestwood, Kentucky, recently emailed us to share some photos of rockets he has built using parts that he purchased from JonRocket.com and Semroc.

Larry has loved rockets since he was in the fifth grade and watched the Mercury astronuats
go into space. He’s now a 40-year veteran of public and private education and teaches a course in Aerospace science at a private high school in Louisville, Kentucky.

First up is Larry’s scratch-built glider and booster. “The white rocket with the black glider has been flown before with a different glider as payload. The original glider was lost when it flew across the road from our launch site, passed over a small cornfield and was last seen moving toward some trees.”

Larry has also crafted another glider which is more closely based on the X-20 Dyna-Soar space plane proposed by the US Air Force in the early days of the “Space Race.”

The Dyna Soar glider will be flown on top of a model of the Titan IIIC, the rocket that the Air Force had chosen to launch the Dyna Soar.

The white booster uses a standard C6-3 motor while the Titan IIIC uses a larger C11-3 motor.

Thanks, Larry, for sharing your story and the photographs of your rockets!

New Catalog Photos

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Roger

At yesterday’s NEFAR rocket launch, Mike Orpi allowed me to photograph some of his rockets for use in our online catalog. He showed me several of FlisKits’s models that he had built. Mike’s obviously a fan of Flis’s design and has done a great job building these challenging kits.

Mike Orpi's Dead Ringer and HEMV-4

You can see more photos of Mike’s rockets in the July 2013 NEFAR Launch photo album at RocketReviews.com.

Fourth Birthday Sale

Posted on June 30, 2013 by Roger

It’s been four years since Bracha and I began running JonRocket.com and we’re celebrating our anniversary with a sale.

From Monday, July 1, through Sunday, July 7, we will have many of our products on sale with savings of up to 20% off our already discounted prices.

The sale prices are good only on in-stock items and the items on sale may change each day.

Thanks to all for your patronage over the past four years!

Rocketarium’s New Rebel Kits

Posted on April 29, 2013 by Roger

Rocketarium continues to create unique kits that take advantage of computer-aided design and production. The Mega Rebel and Retro Rebel kits feature dozens of precision-cut plywood pieces which go together like a 3-D jigsaw puzzle to create a couple of amazing looking, and great flying, model rockets. The two new kits are now available at JonRocket.com.

New – Download Our Catalog

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Roger

You can now download our JonRocket.com catalog in PDF format so you can read it offline or print it.

The PDF catalog is automatically generated from our online catalog each day and reflects our current inventory and prices.

Adobe’s Acrobat Reader is required to view or print the catalog.

New Products Added to Our Catalog

Posted on April 11, 2013 by Roger

We’ve added a number of new products to our online catalog just in time for Spring building!

Semroc has introduced the Starship Excalibur. Based on “Estes Kit Plan #55,” the Excalibur kit models is a retro-futuristic space ship.

We’ve also add two other new kits from Semroc. The Centurion-F is a larger model rocket which flies on 29mm motors and the Maxi-Micron is an upscale of the classic Centuri beginner’s kit.

From Estes, we’ve add the new Astron Sprint-XL. An upscale of the classic Astron Sprint designed by Mike Dorffler, the XL features ellipitical fins and a sleek boat tail.

Other additions to our catalog include the Mini Fat Boy and more parachutes from Top Flight Recovery.

We Will Be At ROCK’s March Launch

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Roger

We’re planning to attend ROCK’s March launch on March 2 in Oviedo, Florida. Look for for the JonRocket.com trailer and stop by to say “hello!” to Roger, Bracha … and Oscar.

We stock a supply of Estes model rocket motors (including the new composite F and G motors). We also have some Aerotech motors and many of the supplies you might need such as igniters, recovery wadding, glue, and tape.

JonRocket.com at clixGalore

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Roger

For those who may already be using the clixGalore affiliate network, we have created an affiliate program for JonRocket.com at clickGalore. Like our Sharasale affiliate program, the clixGalore program allows you to add JonRocket.com links and banners to your web site and earn commissions on sales that they generate.

New DFR Technologies Scale Model Rocket Kits

Posted on February 20, 2013 by Roger

We are excited to announce that we have added the first of DFR Technologies’ new series of scale flying model rocket kits to the JonRocket.com store.

The first of the new kits is the Delta-II – GPS, a 1/72nd scale flying model of the United Launch Alliance, NASA, and USAF GPS workhorse rocket.

The Delta-IV 4M Medium – GPS is a 1/124th scale flying model of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Medium 4+2 Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle.

Finally, the Delta-IV 5M Medium – WGS or NROL-2 is a 1/124th scale flying model of the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Medium 5+4 (5+2) Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle.

These new kits feature 3D-printed plastic parts and pre-applied printed wraps which make the kits easier to build while adding detail to the scale models.

We are expecting more new kits from DFR Technologies soon!

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