Model Builder Launches Plan for Rocket Flight

Paul McQuown is no rocket scientist, but he has plenty of high-flying, liquid-fueled, stainless-steel-and-aluminum dreams.

McQuown, a 30-year-old United Parcel Service mail sorter, spends all his spare time--and money--building and launching rockets.

In the last three years, McQuown and his buddies have launched seven bright orange, six-foot rockets in remote areas of California and Nevada. They are now working on their most ambitious project: a 16-footer of stainless steel and aluminum, designed to travel about 20 miles on its fuel of furfural alcohol and nitric acid. They plan to launch it in Nevada later this year.

“Not many amateurs have reached their level,” said Bill Wood, aerospace engineer for Westinghouse Electric Corp. in Sunnyvale, one of the group’s consultants.

Wood, who also is treasurer of the Tripoly Rocketry Assn., a national amateur rocket organization, said there are about 500 serious amateur rocket engineers in Southern California who have gone beyond model rockets--usually about 13-inch-long paper, plastic or cardboard models that travel less than a mile.

McQuown and his colleagues, including Ron Milfeld, owner of a Rancho Cucamonga metal shop, clearly have something much bigger in mind.

“A lot of people think that it’s a big joke until they see it, and when they see it, it ain’t a joke no more,” Milfeld said.

McQuown’s love affair with rockets started when he was 9 and his Missouri cousins introduced him to the world of model aviation. McQuown, who grew up in El Monte, mowed lawns for months to save $26 for a rocket kit.

He built model rockets of paper, plastic and cardboard. He spent hours in the library reading about rocket engineering.

After high school, McQuown, the son of a minister, went to theology school. But after a year, he decided that theology wasn’t for him. “I really didn’t have a mind for religion. . . . Science was more my thing,” he said.

“People were always telling me that I had my head in the clouds,” McQuown added.

He took a job at a gas station, where he met a customer--Milfeld--who shared his rocket dreams. And Milfeld, whose father owned a metal shop, had the means to get them started.

McQuown and Milfeld started building aluminum rockets, although neither has any formal education in rocket engineering.

Their efforts picked up about three years ago when they attracted the attention of aerospace engineers who have provided free technical know-how to the duo, which has expanded into a group billing itself as Independent Rocket Systems. The group is composed of McQuown, Milfeld, five aerospace experts and five other rocket enthusiasts with expertise ranging from computer programming to metal work.

McQuown and his group hope that their 16-foot rocket will generate commissions from businesses looking for individualized rockets. For instance, a communications company could use a rocket to set up a satellite, McQuown said. The group, which has videotaped its past launches, plans to put together a persuasive sales video.

“I figure the odds of this paying off are better than playing the lottery,” McQuown said. But until then, he’ll keep his UPS job for money and continue rocketry for love.

“It’s something that’s built inside of us,” McQuown said. “Everyone has a dream. . . . We want to fly rockets.”

Flying rockets, however, can be an expensive dream. The six-foot rockets each cost about $1,000 to build. The 16-foot model, the largest and most advanced, will end up costing about $7,000, McQuown said. He has put in about $3,000 so far, and will kick in every extra penny he gets. In fact, he said, the incentive to build the latest rocket came two years ago when he received a $1,500 tax refund.

The group also spends a fair amount of time scouting for suitable launch locations and obtaining permits. Previous launches have taken place in Lucerne Dry Lake Bed, near Big Bear.

According to state fire marshal officials, anyone who wants to fly a rocket must get approval from the local fire department. Rocket launchers must also apply for a permit from the Federal Aviation Administration. In addition, for launches on government land, a permit from the U.S. Bureau of Land Management is required.

McQuown’s wife, Joanne Buffa, said her husband’s hobby is a joy to behold.

“Watching him at a launch is unlike anything else,” Buffa said. “His eyes dance. . . . He is like a little boy sometimes.

“To share this with him is an incredible feeling. When you’re out (at the launch) and all of a sudden you see the smoke and hear it roll and it’s off! . . . You’re just awed by the whole thing.”