Some time late in the summer of 1999, I decided that I wanted to custom-build a model. I figured that I had learned a lot since my previous attempts, all of which were failures.

I made a fin pattern and cut out the fins. I didn't even bother to draw up a plan; I was doing this on a whim.

The rocket that emerged from this impulsive rocket building frenzy consisted of a BT-20 tube, an ogival nose cone with a bump on it that looked like a jet fighter cockpit, three highly swept fins, and 18 mm rocket engine power.

I spray painted it white, and made the cockpit insignia blue. I printed out decals on my computer to decorate the new design.
I dubbed the rocket Space Racer, after a paper airplane that I had flown extensively in 5th grade. It turns out that this wasn't the first rocket to bear that name. Estes used to make a Skill Level One rocket bearing the same name.

Space Racer first flew on August 22, 1999. Its boost was stable and the flight was declared an unqualified success. I was ecstatic.

Space Racer was not a particularly good design. I made the fins small thinking that small fins create less drag than big fins. That was counter-productive, because I needed to add a lot of nose weight, which impaired the performance even more than bigger fins would have.

On May 7, 2000 Space Racer flew for its last time. It had flown before, on April 21, 2000. That flight had been on a B6-4 engine. The May 7 flight was on a C6-3 engine. Space Racer screamed off the pad and rushed to an incredibly high altitude.  We never saw it again. We searched and searched and searched, but to no avail. My mom tried to encourage me by saying that it was in orbit. I don't think we could get a model rocket engine that big.

Despite its design flaws, Space Racer flew well, and I remember it fondly as my first successful custom-built model rocket.

Official WAEC Plans

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	Space Racer with the other two WAEC rockets which had flown by November 21, 1999, SAM-66 and Sunbird II.
	Record shot of Space Racer, December 1999.
	Space Racer ready for its last flight.
	Space Racer departs from earth for the last time on May 7, 2000.
	Internal layout for the "real" Space Racer.