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Blast From The Past

Hangin' Out With 'Mr. Cineroc' Part 1
Back in 1976, I received a letter in the mail from Silver Spring, MD, dated October 16th  and signed by a gentleman by the name of Herb Desind. In the letter Mr. Desind stated that he was a member of the Starlords International Association of Rocketry (This was a correspondence-based club ...
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Hangin' Out With 'Mr Cineroc' - Part 2 - The Mad Scientist
In a November 17, 1977 letter, Herb sent along this photo... Referred to as his 'Mad Scientist' picture, it shows Herb and the launch of a two-staged Vigilante carrying, (what else?) a Cineroc.  Here are Herb's comments on this particular flight; "I am enclosing a photo a friend took of ...
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Hangin Out With 'Mr. Cineroc' - Part 3 - One Of Herb's Rockets
Here is another photo which Herb Desind sent along in one of his letters....  Following is an excerpt describing this flight: " This rocket pictured is my very first 2-stage F-100 Cineroc carrier, the Janeine II.  It was named after a rock-and-roll 'pirate' music ship I ...
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Hangin' With 'Mr Cineroc' - Part 4 The Day I Lost Herb's Rocket
Following is a tale of woe and sorrow surrounding an ill-fated Cineroc flight which I conducted for Herb Desind: This event occurred in the Winter of 1977 - I don't remember the precise date -when I accompanied my room-mates on a skiing trip to Breckenridge, Colorado. Since I wasn't a skier, I ...
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Hangin' Out With 'Mr. Cineroc' - Part 5 - Herb at NARWIN-1
In a letter dated January 6, 1978, Herb wrote; "Now on to other things.  I went to NARWIN-1 'Winter Nationals' in Phoenix over Christmas.  They were great and well run.  I met Stine, L. Reese, and many others." A month later, a letter dated February 6, 1978 arrived in my mailbox with ...
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Hangin' Out With Mr. Cineroc, Part 6 - Us Guys Here In Colorado
At the time that I was corresponding with Herb Desind starting in 1976, the local rocket club I belonged to (Skywatchers/ROMAR) had dwindled to only five or six regular members.  We had lost our ability to maintain NAR Section status because we didn't have the required 10 NAR members. ...
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Hangin' Out With 'Mr. Cineroc', Part 7 - Herb, The Science Teacher
In a short letter dated February 24, 1978, Herb enclosed a newspaper clipping with a photo.  This was a rocket demonstration launch conducted at Eisenhower Junior High School , presumably the school where he taught science.  According to the article, the launch was put on by the ...
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Hangin' Out With 'Mr. Cineroc' Part 8 - I Found 'Em !!
After much moving boxes around, rummaging, and sustaining a cut on my finger, I found two 8mm film reels containing some Cineroc flight footage I had taken for Herb Desind.  These were processed by Herb and sent to me.  The pieces of tape identifying the reels are his hand writing.  ...
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Hangin' Out With Mr. Cineroc, Part 8 - One more Anecdote...
In a letter dated September 13, 1978, Herb wrote the following: "First, I think it is funny as hell how the Estes R&D guy saw your rocket bust.  I am glad the Cineroc is OK.  The reason the film is not thru is that it is too short a time.  The film I would bet still has ...
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Hangin' Out With 'Mr. Cineroc', Part 9 - Wrappin' Things Up
Well, boys and girls, this is likely the final post in the main body of this series about Herb Desind.   The final letter from Herb  I possess is from late 1978.  I am not sure why we lost touch.  It was probably because of some changes that were going on in my life at the ...
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