Rocket lifts off - about an inch
Greenwood Lake. Rocket demonstration is reminiscent of the historic flight of a rocket airplane in 1936, says NASA ambassador.
| 01 Mar 2024 | 11:08
Jim Hall of Monroe, a NASA Ambassador, tries to launch a rocket outside the Elks Lodge in Greenwood Lake, N.Y. (Photos by Kathy Shwiff)
The rocket lifted about an inch off the ground.
Children look at model airplanes inside the Elks Lodge.
An attentive and patient crowd watched outside the Greenwood Lake Elks Lodge on Saturday, Feb. 24 as NASA ambassador Jim Hall of Monroe used vinegar and baking soda to fuel a toy rocket.
After a few tries, it lifted barely an inch off the ground.
The demonstration was similar to the historic flight of a rocket airplane on Greenwood Lake in 1936 that was meant to carry mail from New York to New Jersey.
The plane was designed by Frido Kessler, who immigrated to the United States from Germany.
The flight on Feb. 23, 1936, was the third one scheduled, historian Steve Gross explained later Saturday during a presentation inside the lodge.
The first flight had been scheduled in November 1935, although even then the lake did not freeze that early in the year, he said.
The second one was scheduled in mid-February 1936. The fuel ignited but burned out before a weight was dropped and the plane was launched, only to crash immediately.
Later, there were reports that that demonstration had been sabotaged by a worker disappointed that he had not received more credit for the experiment.
Gross marveled that somehow promoters had persuaded film crews and others to come back up to Greenwood Lake from New York City to watch the third attempt on Feb. 23, 1936.
On that day, the rocket plane with a 15-foot wing span launched, crashed, then shot across the frozen lake and took off again. The postcards and letters it carried later were delivered by the U.S. Postal Service.
The 1936 rocket plane was called Gloria for the 5-year-old daughter of the village treasurer, John Schleich. Some people in the audience remembered her as Gloria Quackenbush, who became a local teacher.