K'Tesh! A Chat with Jim Parsons, OpenRocket Wizard - The Model Rocket Show

Jim Parsons' OpenRocket sim of the Estes Cineroc and Omega

The latest episode of The Model Rocket Show podcast is up, and I'm talking with Jim Parsons. You may know Jim by the username K'Tesh on The Rocketry Forum, and one of the things he's known for is creating accurate-looking simulation files of kits past and present, using OpenRocket - the free, open-source model rocket design and simulation software.

I've used Jim's information as reference material when trying to get decals or paint in the right places on some of my builds.

Cherokee D decal placement

I even downloaded his sim of the Estes Leviathan when preparing for my High Power Rocketry Level 1 flight, because that's the kit I used, and I knew the fins would be accurate if Jim made the file.

You can listen to the episode on most podcasting apps, or directly on the website by clicking here.

Check out K'Tesh's master list of OR files on The Rocketry Forum by clicking here.

See Jim's excellent Flickr stream by clicking here.

Download OpenRocket here.

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Nothing Flies Like a Flis - The Model Rocket Show - Episode 2 - FlisKits

Claude Maina's Streaming UFFO lifts off. Photo courtesy Jim Flis.

Episode 2 of The Model Rocket Show podcast is up, and I'm pleased how it turned out.

This show was meant to come out a year and a half ago, on The Rocketry Show, but one thing and another happened, and... well, I think we finally have a good episode.

Curtis Heisey's upscale FlisKits Deuces Wild

We're talking about FlisKits, and in the first half of the show we revisit the final FlisKits Anniversary Launch from September of 2018. Then we spend time talking to Ray DiPaola, one of the current owners of FlisKits.

Jim Flis, the company's founder, has already told me he liked the show, which was my hope. I love seeing Jim at launches. He's a great guy, and I know he was probably looking forward to hearing what we recorded so long ago.

Jim Flis holding a Saturn V prototype. Photo courtesy Curtis Heisey

The show is on most podcast apps or on the show's website (with some show notes and photos), if you prefer to listen on the web (click here to go to the website and show notes).

Give it a listen. I hope you'll enjoy it.

Part 2 of my FlisKits Tres build is coming soon.

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New Podcast - The Model Rocket Show!

I'll be doing a new podcast, called The Model Rocket Show. It should be debuting the weekend of March 28. It's from LittleBeth Media, and is a spinoff of The Rocketry Show podcast.

The Rocketry Show tends to deal mainly with high power rocketry and really advanced stuff. But there's a need for people whose main interest in rocketry is in low power rocketry, whether they are beginners or longtime rocketeers who prefer model rocketry. And then there are those rocketeers who enjoy both sides of the hobby, and would like to hear more episodes focused on the model rocket side of things.

It can be difficult to address both ends of the hobby with one show. Some advanced rocketeers are no longer interested in model rockets, and some beginners may have a hard time following some of the more advanced episodes.

Look for all kinds of stuff on the new show - build techniques, interviews with people in the model rocket industry, TARC, listener questions, and maybe some first steps toward high power certification - like "what's a good first kit" type stuff.

So, whether you're a Rocket N00b or a longtime modeler, I hope you'll check out the new podcast when it comes out. You can hear the trailer by clicking here.

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The Commander Thinks Aloud

A podcast I really enjoy is called Song Exploder. In it, musicians pick apart the recordings of songs to explain how they were created, and you get to hear how the song was developed, track by track.

For the anniversary of the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster (February 1, 2003), I present you my favorite episode: The Commander Thinks Aloud, by The Long Winters.

I first listened to this on a terribly rainy drive to teach a model rocketry class last summer, and I've listened to it several times since. It's very moving.

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