Hi Folks:
Since announcing the completion of Teleflite's new book, "Amateur Rocket Motor Construction", I've received a dozen or so emails asking if there's a second book on the horizon, and the answer is, at least for now, no.
In 1982 when I started my work on rockets, my home was located on open county land, surrounded by open fields, and subject only to county and state regulations, which were more relaxed at the time. In the years since, a large city has grown up around me, and local regulations alone would now prevent me from conducting any further work at this location.
I completed the last of the new book's motor tests in 1998, and have been occupied since then with the other aspects of the book's production. In March of this year I auctioned off the last of my "rocket stuff" on eBay (You all missed your chance!), and in April, with a twinge of regret, I tore down my old, cement block test facility. In the process I evicted a VERY angry possum.
Though I don't fly rockets as a hobby (I'm into telescopes and amateur astronomy), I'm still interested in them, and if, in the future, I move to a suitable location, I might take up the work again. In the months ahead, I'll focus on the business of marketing the new book, and some of the related tools and supplies. Beyond that, I have a machine shop, and when I've got the "book business" and its website running smoothly, I plan to start a completely unrelated sheet metal manufacturing business.
Dave Sleeter/Teleflite