The DARS Fall Classic XII

Classic Starships

Past, Present and Future

 

 

 

 

 

September 20, 2025

In

Gunter Texas

 

The Fall Classic is The Dallas Area Rocket Society’s annual contest that is part air show, museum visit, and science lesson all rolled into one!  The contests are simple and fun... The rockets are classic and cool...  Did we mention that there are prizes? 

This years theme is Classic Starships.  In this category Saturn V’s compete against SpaceX Starships and Star Wars X-Wings.  If you haven’t competed before, fear not!  There are plenty of opportunities to get your Classic on in the Classic Classic and Classic Upscale events.  All the details for each event can be found in the overviews below and in the guidelines document.

All of the fun can be found in Gunter, on September 20 from 11am to 4pm.  If you are new to the event, please take a look around and be sure to check out the articles and pictures from past events at the bottom of the page.

 

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News and Updates

Prizes – Our next sponsor steps up for more times than I can count.  We welcome John Dyer and kits from his stash at Red River Rocketry. 

 

Additions – The Doug Sams painting and finishing guided has been added to the Tips for Building Your Own Classic links

 

T-Shirts   Still in design, but we can’t have a Classic without commemorative T-shirts…

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This Year’s Event Sponsors (Click on the logos to link to their sites)

 

         

 

See your companies name here and be a part of Fall Classic history

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This Year’s Event Line Up

Classic Starships  

Any NASA or commercial orbital space craft and anything that has been imagined to go orbital and beyond is in!  Real, Sci-Fi, or just your imagination.  That includes commercial kits, clones, scratch builds and plastic model conversions. Plastic model conversion to flying rocket will be allowed in this category with certain stipulations (see the guidlines).  

The Classic Classic
Rockets qualify for this category if the original design of this rocket was introduced in the 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s.  This category is open to originals, clones, and re-issue versions of the rockets from these eras.  Ninfinger.org can be an invaluable resource here, as they have lists of all Estes, Centuri, and other rockets made, as well as many of the catalogs they appeared in.   Rockets are judged by the public, so sometimes it pays to match the original, and sometimes not.  Bonus points apply to this category for providing vintage catalogs of the same year as your rocket.  Flight points also apply.


Classic Upscale
Kit based or scratch built models of classic rocket models that are scaled up –or- scaled down.  Always hard fought, and generally the category that generates the Best in Show winner.

 

Best in Show
This award goes to the rocket judged best in show by the voting public.   All rockets in all categories are eligible to win best in show. 

 

The Doug Sams Commemorative Mass Launch

Doug Sams left us for the big rocket launch in the sky in 2022.  He co-founded the Fall Classic event and was a huge part of DARS for many years.  He loved clusters, multi-stagers, and classics.  And man, could he paint!  He had a particular afection for the Astron Midget which he flew in more configuration than you can concieve, but mostly upscales.  As he moved toward bigger motors, the Astron Avenger became a favorite.  The Squirrle Works imortilzed one of his designs with the Tuber.  At this event we plan to fly all 3, at once!  Well at least as many as we have pads for.  Build one and join the fun.

 

Young Rocketeers Prize Drawings

Once again this year we will be holding drawings for the young rocketeers for some great prizes.  Rocketeers 14 and under are eligible.  You must be present to win.

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What’s a Classic?

Much of this is in the eye of the beholder.  Generally Classic rockets are considered to be those designs that appeared early in the hobby when everything was new and anything was possible.  That certainly includes the 60’s when Vern Estes, G. Harry Stine, Lee Piester, and others created kits, motors, and components to build safe and reliable hobby rockets.  It includes the 70’s, since that is the decade where the competition between Estes and Centuri was the fiercest and when other constructors began to come on line.  We include the 80’s and 90’s in our competition as there were still many great designs that appeared in that decade that would be a shame not to represent. 

These Classic designs continue to be popular with the old timers in the hobby that grew up with them, as well as those that came into the hobby beyond these decades.  The evidence for this shows up with events like Estes re-release of Classics like the Orbital Transport, Red Max, Long Tom, Interceptor, and the Super Mars Snooper.  The fact that the Big Bertha has been made continuously since at least 1965 (the original shape appeared as the Ranger in 1962) probably says it all.

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Helpful Links

Guidelines/Rules for all the events Guidelines (If you are going to compete, YOU NEED TO READ THE RULES!) 

Map and directions to the site Gunter Field

Tips for building your own Classic  Cloning the Classics by our departed friend James Gartrell  Doug Sams Painting Guide

Three Classic must-have sites Ninfinger.org    JimZ’s Rocket Plans   Ye Olde Rocket Plans

Parts is parts eRockts  Balsa Machining Service

The Hall of Fame winners of past events   The Hall of Fame

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Past Classics Pictures and Reports:   

Event Year

Picture Gallery

Articles

Links

2017

Shroudlines Article

2017 Site

2014

Shroudlines Article

2014 Site

2013

Shroudlines Article

2013 Site

2012

Shroudlines Article

2012 Site

2011

Shroudlines Article

2011 Site

2010

Shroudlines Article

2010 Site

2009

Shroudlines Article

2009 Site,

2008

2008  

 

2007

2007

Shroudlines Article

 

2006

2006@Windom

Shroudlines Article

 

2006 NSL

2006@NSL

Sport Rocketry Article pg1  pg2

 

2005

2005

Shroudlines Article

 

 

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