The
DARS Fall Classic XII
Classic
Starships
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Past
Present Future
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September 27,
2025 In Gunter Texas |
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The Fall
Classic is The Dallas Area Rocket Society’s contest that is part air show,
museum visit, and science lesson all rolled into one! The contests are simple and fun... The
rockets are classic and cool... Did we
mention that there are prizes?
This years
theme is Classic Starships. In
this category Saturn V’s compete against SpaceX Starships and Star Wars
X-Wings. If you haven’t competed
before, fear not! There are plenty
of opportunities to get your Classic on in the Classic Classic and Classic
Upscale events. All the details for
each event can be found in the overviews below and in the guidelines
document.
All of the
fun can be found in Gunter,
on September 27 from 11am to 4pm.
Registration starts at 10:30. If
you are new to the event, please take a look around and be sure to check out
the articles and pictures from past events at the bottom of the page.
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News
and Updates
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Registration |
The registration
process is pretty simple for the event and currently scheduled to start by
10:30. Basically, we will have 3
lines, one for each category of rockets (Classic, Starship and
Upscale/Downscale) Bring your rocket(s) to the volunteer to get them on the
registration sheets and they will give you back a sticker that goes next to
your rocket on the display board. You
need one for each rocket, since they will all be unique numbers that people
will vote with. Pre-registering models
to cut down on the rush at set up.
Send me your name, along with your rocket(s) name and original
manufacturer, to garyb2643@att.net and I
will put you on the sheet. When you
come to the registration, just let the volunteer for your category know that
you are pre-registered and we will check you in and give you your id stickers
for the display
boards |
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Prizes |
Time to get you
some of this! Current listing of the
expected prizes for the 2025 Fall Classic
The sponsor abbreviations are (MQR – Max Q Rockets, WBHT – Wild Bills
HobbyTown, RRR – Red River Rocketry, CR – Chas Russell, Gary Briggs – GB,
Alyssa Briggs – AB, Ralston Dorn - RD) Classic Starthips 1st –
Blue Origin New Glenn kit from MQR and a $50 Gift Certificate from WBHT 2nd –
SpaceX Falcon 9 kit from MQR 3rd –
SpaceX Starhopper kit from MQR The Classic Classic 1st
Place - Estes Explorer Aquarius kit from CR and $50 Gift Certificate from
WBHT 2nd
Place – ASP Loki Dart kit from CR 3rd
Place - Predator kit from RRR Classic Upscale 1st –
SpaceX Falcon 9 kit from MQR and a $50 Gift Certificate from WBHT 2nd –
Sirius Rocketry Mid Power Interrogator kit from CR 3rd –
Estes Mecury Redstone kit from CR Best in Show 1:144 Painted
SpaceX Starship and Booster v2 from MQR kit and $100 Gift Certificate from
WBHT Young Rocketeers Drawing Diamond Ring kit
from RRR Delta Syx kit from
RRR 2025 Catalogs from
Estes (48 so everybody gets one) Semroc Vega kit
from CR MPC Taurus kit from
GB Quest Nike Smoke
kit from GB $10 Gift
Certificate from WBHT (X10) RRR Delta Syx kit
from AB Sirrisu Rocketry
18mm Interrogator kit from AB Estes Baby Bertha
RTF from RD Estes Sprit RTF
from RD Quest Cobalt RTF from
RD Estes Expedition
RTF from RD Estes Taser RTF
from RD Estes Ghost Chaser
RTF from RD |
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Schedule |
All times subject
to change depending on the weather and the speed of the volunteers 9:00 Arrive early for set up of booth and
range 10:00 Range Opens 10:30 Registration
Opens for the Fall Classic 11:00 Voting opens 11:45 Doug Sams
Memorial Mass Launch 12:00 1st
Young Rocketeers Drawing 1:00 2nd Young Rocketeers Drawing 1:30 Voting ends 2:15 3rd Young Rocketeers Drawing 2:30 Winners Announced |
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T-Shirts |
The order is now closed. All shirts are
accounted for. No new orders are
currently planned. You can see the front
and the back. Big Thank you to my daughter Alyssa (this is her
Instagram for the Sci Fi trilogy that she is writing) for the assist on
graphics! |
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This
Year’s Event Sponsors (Click
on the logos to link to their sites)
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This
Year’s Event Line Up
Classic Starships
Any NASA or commercial orbital space craft and anything that
has been imagined to go orbital and beyond is in! Real, Sci-Fi, or just your imagination. That includes commercial kits, clones,
scratch builds and plastic model conversions. Plastic model conversion to
flying rocket will be allowed in this category with certain stipulations (see
the guidlines).
The Classic Classic
Rockets
qualify for this category if the original design of this rocket was introduced
in the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s. (Breaking news – Rockets
from post 1999 designs are now eligible in this category!) This category is open to originals, clones,
and re-issue versions of the rockets from these eras. Here are the lists of all
Estes and Centuri kits.
Rockets are judged by the public, so sometimes it pays to match the original,
and sometimes not. Bonus points apply to
this category for providing vintage catalogs of the same year as your
rocket. Flight points also apply.
Classic
Upscale
Kit based or scratch built models of classic rocket models
that are scaled up -or- scaled down.
Always hard fought, and generally the category that generates the Best
in Show winner.
Best in Show
This award goes to the rocket judged best in show by the
voting public. All rockets in all
categories are eligible to win best in show.
The Doug Sams Memorial Mass Launch
Doug
Sams left us for the big rocket launch in the sky in 2022. He co-founded the Fall Classic event and was
a huge part of DARS for many years. He loved
clusters, multi-stagers, and classics.
And man, could he paint! He had a
particular afection for the Astron Midget which he
flew in more configuration than you can concieve, but mostly upscales. As he moved toward bigger motors, the Astron Avenger became a
favorite. The Squirrle Works imortilzed
one of his designs with the Tuber. At this event we plan to fly all 3, at once,
drag race style! Well at least as many
as we have pads for. Build one and join
the fun.
Young Rocketeers Prize Drawings
Once again this year we will be holding drawings for the
young rocketeers for some great prizes.
Rocketeers 14 and under are eligible.
You must be present to win.
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What’s
a Classic?
Much of this is in the eye of the beholder. Generally Classic rockets are considered to
be those designs that appeared early in the hobby when everything was new and
anything was possible. That certainly
includes the 60’s when Vern Estes, G. Harry Stine, Lee Piester, and others
created kits, motors, and components to build safe and reliable hobby
rockets. It includes the 70’s, since
that is the decade where the competition between Estes and Centuri was the
fiercest and when other constructors began to come on line. We include the 80’s and 90’s in our
competition as there were still many great designs that appeared in thoes
decades that would be a shame not to represent.
These Classic
designs continue to be popular with the old timers in the hobby that grew up
with them, as well as those that came into the hobby beyond these decades. The evidence for this shows up with events
like Estes re-release of Classics like the Super Orbital Transport, Red Max,
Long Tom, Interceptor, and the Super Mars Snooper. The fact that the Big Bertha has been made
continuously since at least 1965 (the original shape appeared as the Ranger in
1962) probably says it all.
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Helpful
Links
Guidelines/Rules for
all the events Guidelines (If you are going to compete, YOU NEED TO READ THE RULES!)
Map and directions to
the site Gunter Field
Tips for building your own Classic Cloning the Classics by James Gartrell Doug Sams Painting Guide
Three Classic
must-have sites (maybe 4!) Ninfinger.org JimZ’s
Rocket Plans Ye Olde Rocket
Plans Vintage Estes Rocket Estes and Centuri
Kit Lists
Parts is parts eRockts Balsa Machining Service
The Hall of Fame
winners of past events The
Hall of Fame
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Past
Classics Pictures and Reports:
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Event Year |
Picture Gallery |
Articles |
Links |
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2017 |
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2014 |
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2013 |
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2012 |
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2011 |
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2010 |
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2009 |
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2008 |
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2007 |
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2006 |
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2006 NSL |
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2005 |
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