Estes Vashon Cold Propellant Rocket Valkyrie-1 NewInBox

Valkyrie-1
Estes/Vashon Cold Propellant Rocket

NO ENGINES or FUEL or PROPELLANT contained in this AUCTION!!!

This is a complete STARTER set containing the Valkyrie-1 cold propellant flying model rocket and launcher. These "cold propellant" model rockets were produced during the 1960s - 1970s. Originally, they used a non-combustible, freon-type propellant. (You can still fly them today using different materials.) The propellant is a compressed liquid that vaporizes as it races out through the rocket nozzle. On warm days, this provides significant thrust, boosting the Valkyrie-1 to altitudes up to 500 feet! The Valkyrie-1 rocket has an ingenius parachute recovery system. It has a special "separator" module, in front of the motor, which inflates with pressure from the filled motor and grips the paracute tube on top of the rocket. As the propellant exhausts from the motor, the pressure in the separator slowly decreases, draining through a tiny hole so that you get a time delay before the parachute tube is released.

The cold-propellant rockets were originally made by Vashon Industries in Washington State. This company was later bought by Estes. Estes then introduced a line of "coldpower convertible" rockets, with a spring-operated parachute ejection system, and the option to use solid-propellant rocket motors or a removable cold-propellant motor. The Valkyrie-1 kit in this auction bears the Estes name, but it is the old-style design just like the original Vashon kits. A real classic!!!

Here is a great web site, courtesy of Thomas Beach, that has much more information about the Vashon rockets, as well as how you can still fly them today, using commercially available propellants:

http://www.mindspring.com/~vashon/index.html