In June 1998, my summer was well underway, and my main focus was model rockets. I wanted another project to fill my already cluttered work table on the back porch. Eventually, I settled on the Mini-Bomarc, a simplified version of the BOMARC Surface-to-Air-Missile. I found the plans online. The design is based around a BT-20 tube, with BT-5s for the ramjet nacelles, balsa wings, and a mini-engine mount. The design recovers under a small parachute.

The only special parts that are no longer available that I needed for Mini-Bomarc were two ramjet nose cones and a balsa conduit above the wings. The latter was simple enough, but the nose cones were considerably trickier. I had read about lathing nose cones on electric power drills before, but this was my first time trying it. The result was not very convincing, but it satisfied me at the time.

For some reason, I had decided to use regular (instead of mini) engines in this rocket. I never could shove enough solder into the nose cone to make up for the added weight of the larger engine, so I gave up on the rocket. I shoved it into a drawer in my desk, where it stayed for two years, after having its vertical tail fin broken off.

It wasn't until the summer of 2000, when my main focus was rockets once again, that I came to my senses and realized that it wouldn't be very hard to make Mini-Bomar launchworthy. I replaced the regular engine mount with the appropriate mini-engine, then I replaced the very heavy, solder-filled nose with and empty one. Then I painted the whole thing white, except for the red nose cone and the rear of the ramjets, which I made silver.

After several failed attempts to make the decals, I decided to go ahead and fly the rocket without decals. After two and a half years in the works, my Mini-Bomarc took to the skies for the first time. The flight wasn't perfect, because it spiralled on the way up, but it ended with a catch and absolutely no damage. Later, I printed out decals on cheap label paper, but the white background is actually a pale blue, so the ultimate effect is of poor craftsmanship.

• BOMARC Missile Sites
• BOMARC on Astronautix.com