|
|
CHARTER MEMBERS |
Christian Vatsaas |
This is the guy you need to blame for everything. At least everything related to the Vatsaas boys and rocketry, because it was our Dad who got the whole thing started. If memory serves, he brought home an Estes Astron Scout one day, assembled it with the boys, and drove them out to the Little League fields where he ignited the motor by popping the hood and touching the leads to the car battery. He stood by laughing when Brad launched his first scratch-built design (which flew in a drunken serpentine pattern). And he's still laughing, as the boys continue to stimulate his twisted sense of humor.
Read Christian's complete bio |
| |
|
Bradley Vatsaas |
The eldest, oddest, and most eccentric of the team,
Bradley excels above all his peers in discovering ever more
creative and expensive methods of drilling craters into the
desert floor. As his imagination appears limitless, there is little doubt
that the more sadistic onlookers will continue to be pleased whenever Brad
starts a countdown.
Read Bradley's complete bio |
| |
|
Rick Vatsaas |
As a Born Again Rocketeer, Rick is trying to make up for all those poorly
built models he made as a kid. So far the only discernable difference is
the expense, effort, and the size of the crater. Rick is an engineer by
trade, with an academic interest in failure analysis. As Rick is second only to Brad in the art of unrestrained ballistic trajectories,
his rocketry projects provide him with plenty of data.
Read Rick's complete bio |
| |
|
Mark Vatsaas |
As the youngest and least rocket-prolific, Mark has much catching
up to do in the art of raining rocket debris on unsuspecting patches of ground.
To date, Mark has managed to crash, crunch, fold, spindle and mutilate
a mere 75% of his modest fleet. He is certain, however, that with diligence
and determination he too will attain the high standards set by the rest of
Rocket Team Vatsaas.
Read Mark's complete bio |
|
|
NEXT GENERATION MEMBERS
Our offspring are beginning to share our enthusiasm for Rocketry. The best part about having a child who likes rocketry is that the dad can occasionally state (truthfully) that his hobby endeavors can be classified as "quality family time".
|
| |
|
Stefan Vatsaas
|
Like most boys his age, Stefan runs a mile-a-minute -- so his attention span is typically shorter than the length of time elapsed between a Chicago stoplight turning green and the second car in line honking it's horn. When he stays focused on one thing, that's an event worth recording on the Internet.
Read Stefan's bio |
|
|
HONORARY MEMBERS
A rare and altogether dubious distinction bestowed on those who have provided valuable hands-on support to our various rocketry endeavors. Whether these deeds are performed out of enthusiasm or pity is unimportant, as they have warmed the cockles of our hearts. (Warm cockles, incidentally, are an early symptom of sunstroke.)
|
| |
|
John Carlson |
By far the most gifted modeler in the family, Cousin John was drafted into RTV via clandestine vote among the brothers. We've managed to keep his membership a secret from him so far, so please show the decency to keep this discovery to yourself. John strayed from rocketry for a time to make a name for himself in the hobby of RC aircraft, but the adoring throngs now thrill to the flights of his thirty-year old fleet (which look better after three decades than most rockets look after three flights.) You have your option: you can read John's complete bio or you can look at the stuff in John's garage.
Read John's complete bio |
| |
|
Cory McCormick |
Cory can attribute his invitation to join RTV to his almost Zelig-like persistence in positioning himself inside the frames of the many family portraits we took at the launch site. After a while we forgot what life was like without Cory lurking in the background. A strange symbiosis developed, and the result is the twisted interdependence you see today.
Read Cory's complete bio |
| |
|
Dave Erickson |
Dave works with Rick at Lockheed Marten, and is probably the only reason Rick has not yet severed a limb during rocket construction. Other than preventing the loss of major body parts, Dave's main contribution to rocketry so far has been to offset Rick's power tool deficiency. (While the lack of extensive power tools is a rather embarrassing condition to reveal, it only serves to prove what modern, caring, sensative males we really are.)
Read Dave's complete bio |
| |
|
Billy Dahlberg |
Billy recently reacquainted himself with rocketry and jumped in with both feet. Eager to learn everything he can about High Power, he offered to help Brad with his Level 3 certification. He was invaluable. He may ultimately contribute more to the hobby than anyone, as his photography skills are superb. Don't let Billy's intimidating appearance fool you -- he's really a teddy bear, despite the fact that his graduating class voted him "Most Likely to Take a Life."
Read Billy's complete bio |
| |
|
Loren Kjersten |
The only member of the team to have actually been expelled from an accredited university, accused of being an incorrigible sociopath -- and for that, Loren has our unrestrained admiration (the rest of us have proven to be quite corrigible given plenty of time and Prozac.) Loren flew rockets as a youth but stayed on the sidelines as an adult until MASA lost their launch range to urban sprawl -- Rick then contacted Loren to see if he would grant access to some of his vast rural acreage. MASA now launches on Loren's farm, although flight activities are sometimes impeded by crime scene tape and forensic investigators.
Read Loren's complete bio |
| |
|
Todd Haring |
Todd was introduced to Rocket Team Vatsaas by his good friend and neighbor Billy Dahlberg. His first exposure to RTV came at the G. Harry Stine Launch in 2002. He survived all our attempts to pin him to the ground with any number of ballistic objects, and lived to return to the launch site another day -- and quickly began producing some of the finest rocket craftsmanship around. We Phoenix residents were dismayed to learn that Todd would soon uproot his family and move to North Carolina, where he would team up with Burl Finkelstein to terrorize the skies of Orangeburg. All facial similarities between Todd and Cal Ripkin Jr. are purely coincidental.
Read Todd's complete bio |
|
Gerald Meux Jr. |
Gerald Meux Jr. is a hobby junkie — and whether the hobby involves rockets, RC aircraft, RC cars, motorcycle drag racing, or his extensive collection of My Little Pony figurines, Gerald never does anything halfway. As a classic example, he is widely regarded as a global expert on the valuation of Beanie Babies.
Gerald was actually corralled into an association with RTV when Brad needed some local advice on radio controlled aircraft in the design and operation on the 4:1 scale version of the SpaceShipOne. He learned to like it, and accepts the mantle of Honorary Member despite the continuous war of loyalties he experiences with the Hillbillies.
|
|
|
MEMBERS-AT-LARGE
One of the beauties of having a web site is that you meet wonderful, fascinating people from all over the world. Unfortunately, you also make contact with the likes of these guys. How do they become Members-at-Large? Well, it has nothing to do with large members. Sun Tzu on the Art of War says "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer." That should explain everything.
Actually, these are really nice guys and we are honored to know them. Well, not honored exactly. More like relieved they are aren't hiding outside our windows. They are accomplished rocket enthusiasts, albeit a few grains short of a full reload, if you get my drift. In other words, this page is quickly becoming an anthropomorphic version of the OddRocs page. OddRocketeers, you might call it...
|
| |
|
Paul Lavin |
Commonwealth Affiliate
We first heard from Paul soon after we posted information about Cory's flying tetrahedrons. It worked like chum does on sharks. Imagine our dismay when we learned there was more than one of them. Paul shares Cory's distain for any vehicle with tubes or fins. He inquired almost immediately about membership status, probably because he thought it would net him a free T shirt. Paul is originally from Ohio, went to England to study, and yes, met a girl. He is now living with his family in the United Kingdom. He's been there long enough that everything he writes sounds like John Cleese.
Read Paul's complete bio |
| |
|
Burl Finkelstein |
Confederate Affiliate
Burl's first contact with RTV was a rebuke. He cursed the day that he stumbled into our collection of sundry rocket-shaped items (found on the NotRocs page) because he was then compelled to purchase the very cool but overpriced rocket trash can found there. Since that day, Burl has been a solid contributor of web site material and unsolicited rocket advice. Some even good. So we asked Burl to join RTV as a member-at-large, partly so we can keep our jaundiced eyes trained on him.
Read Burl's complete bio |
| |
|
Osgood Conklin |
Gold Coast Affiliate
Osgood is a true renaissance man. Aside from rocketry, his interests include dead languages, bluegrass music, scrimshaw, bonsai, and Ricki Lake. Osgood was briefly the captain of the 1984 Belgian Olympic Pentathlon team. He speaks Klingon, is widely known for his vintage harmonica collection, his prowess on the unicycle, and the fact that his left buttock is three times the size of his right.
Read Osgood's complete bio |