Goonybird Rockets: “ Zaniest Flying Freaks in the Universe”

1. Goonybird Rockets: “Zaniest Flying Freaks in the Universe” Ed Chess & Mark Bundick Fox Valley Rocketeers Feb 7, 2009

2. Goonybird Background • GOONYBIRDS were first released in 1973 by Estes Industries. They were described as the "Zaniest flying freaks in the universe". The idea was to appeal to kids, and they featured wacky designs. • Wayne Kellner and Mike Dorffler have been attributed as the primary creators of the line that was in production only two years. • Some love them, others hate them, but the GOONYBIRDS are a true oddity of model rocket history. 

3. The Original Goonybirds • Star Snoop • Cloud Hopper • Galaxy Guppy • Zoom Broom • Missile Toe • Sky Shriek • All six kits were about 8” long and featured a plastic nose cone, die-cut fins, quick-change mini-engine mount, parachute recovery, stick-on decals, and a unique, goofy design.

4. Pages from 1973 Catalog

5. Star Snoop

6. Cloud Hopper

7. Galaxy Guppy

8. Zoom Broom

9. Missile Toe

10. Sky Shriek

11. Fred Talasco Loves Goonybirds! • Fred loved Goonybirds as a kid, but his Dad wouldn’t let him own them. Thus the lifelong fascination started. • Had the idea of finishing a Baby Bertha as a Goblin, and the resulting look spawned more ideas for “squat, mutated versions of older kits, dopey looking originals, and even squished 'scaled' models.” • Built some prototypes and flew them at NARAM 46, where the phrase “you can build anything from a Baby Bertha” was heard a lot.

12. Retro-Bash at Excelsiorrocketry.com • Fred (Phred) sells Retro-Bash decal/plansets at his webstore. • Retro-Bash decal/plansets are not kits, but decals, instructions, and patterns that allow modelers to kit-bash Baby Bertha kits (and a few extra parts) into models that have the flavor of the original Goonybirds. • Some examples from Phred phollow.

13. Goony Ghost Designed by Fred Talasco’s Niece, Alexa Now, for some fun and games… Name the inspiration rocket!

14. Der Fat Max

15. Der Fat Max Und Der Red Max

16. Goony Max

17. Goony Max Der Red Max, again!

18. Honest Goon

19. Honest Goon Estes Honest John

20. Goonydent

21. Goonydent Estes Astron Trident

22. Apogoon

23. Apogoon Estes Astron Apogee II

24. Not So Nice…..Device

25. Not So Nice…..Device Estes Mean Machine

26. V-10/6

27. V-10/6 Estes V2

28. Goonybird Zero

29. Goonybird Zero Estes Blue Bird Zero

30. Nike-G

31. Nike-G Estes Nike-X

32. Goony Goblin

33. Goony Goblin Estes Goblin

34. KRAM

35. KRAM Estes Mark II

36. Iron Wombat

37. Iron Wombat Estes Wolverine

38. Mosquito Mike’s Upscaled Goonybirds • Missile Toe, Cloud Hopper, and Zoom Broom kit-bashed from Estes Fat Boy, which has the right height to width ratio, resulting in ~1.6X scale-up. • Use everything except the engine mount, which is replaced with a “D-engine” mount. • Galaxy Guppy and Star Snoop are based on 4.5” diameter tubing with 29mm motor mounts and fly on F and G motors.

39. Mike’s Upscaled Goonybirds

40. Other Goonybird Designs Goony Marc 2 GR-71

41. Other Goonybird Designs Goony Marc 2 (Bomarc) GR-71 SR-71 Blackbird

42. More Goonybird Designs Optigoon Guzzler Nike Goon

43. More Goonybird Designs Optigoon (Estes Optima) Guzzler (Estes Sizzler) Nike Goon (Nike Hercules)

44. More Goonybird Designs Space Probe AIM-54A Goonix

45. More Goonybird Designs Space Probe (Estes Alien Space Probe) AIM-54A Goonix (Estes Phoenix)

46. More Goonybird Designs Goondromeda Cheroon

47. More Goonybird Designs Goondromeda (Estes Andromeda) Estes Cherokee and Cherokee Goon

48. More Goonybird Designs Goony Alien Space Probe Goony LTV Scout

49. More Goonybird Designs Goony Alien Space Probe (Estes Alien Invader) Goony LTV Scout (Estes LTV Scout)

50. More Goonybird Designs Goonie Disrupter Goonie Vega 1