Rocket Man Virtual Cache

🚀 Rocket Man 🚀

Unfortunately, I couldn't get Elton John to be here to welcome you to the virtual cache. Instead, this cache will bring you to Norfolk's very own Rocket Man. You are going to Prospect Hill Cemetery. This is a modern, active cemetery. If there are services or mourners nearby, please be respectful and come back later if needed.

Orville Carlisle is credited as the inventor of modern model rocketry. In the beginning, rocketry and explosives was only a passion of Carlisle's. By day, he owned and ran Carlisle's Correct Shoes in downtown Norfolk. His shoe store was located across the street from the former location of the Norfolk Post Card Company (GC849QR). By night, Carlisle tended to his fireworks and pyrotechnics collection. Once his collection grew too big for his basement, he dedicated part of the store to be a fireworks museum - the world's only such museum, at the time. It was curtained off from the rest of the store, but it kept children entertained while parents were shoe shopping. Like-minded individuals from all over the country would come for a private tour of the collection. Much of Carlisle's memorabilia even predates the Civil War.

In the mid-1950s, Orville's brother, Robert, who enjoyed model airplanes, approached Orville about building a model rocket. Using his knowledge of explosives, Orville invented a motor for their model rocket. It was a single-use motor, safely fueled by a solid propellant. Carlisle's motor became the standard design for model rocketry, and is widely used in the hobby today. Along with the new motor, Carlisle developed his first model rocket kit: the Mark I Rock-a-Chute. A Mark II model was developed later. This kit included a parachute that pops out of the rocket after launch, allowing the rocket to safely float back down to Earth. Then, all you do is insert a new motor, and it is ready for re-launch!

Solid Rocket Motor

The Rock-a-Chute would not be marketed until a few years after its invention. In 1957, US Army aerospace engineer G. Harry Stine published an article in the Mechanix Illustrated magazine about missle and model rocket safety. With the excitement of the Space Race, many amateur rocket enthusiasts turned to creating their own explosives to launch model rockets in the air. Stine's article gave Carlisle an idea. His rocket motor is a safe design, and it could help make model rocketry a safe, fun hobby for anybody. He wrote to Stine, and included a sample Rock-a-Chute kit. Stine was very intrigued. They formed a partnership, opened Model Missiles, Inc. in Denver, and began mass-producing model rocket motors and kits.

Model Missiles could hardly keep up with demand. Vern Estes, of Estes Industries, invented a machine (dubbed "Mabel") that could produce Carlisle's motors much more rapidly. Unfortunately, Carlisle lost his patent rights for his motor due to a technicality, and Model Missles was forced to close its doors. Estes Industries took over production of the rocket kits. Though this chapter of his life was over, Carlisle's legacy and contributions to model rocketry will not be forgotten. He and Stine started the National Association of Rocketry. Stine donated both a Mark I and Mark II Rock-a-Chute to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, in Carlisle's name, in the 1970s.

Mark I Rock-a-Chute

Carlisle made a name for himself in the pyrotechnics industry. He traveled all over the world, and worked as a consultant for some big events. He was called regarding Queen Elizabeth's 25th anniversary celebration, as well as Ronald Reagan's first inauguration. Carlisle kept busy at home in Norfolk. He still had his shoe store and fireworks museum. He's helped the high school orchestra perform Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overature, which calls for cannon fire in the score. He lead the charge on the annual community 4th of July celebration, which still happens today as "Big Bang Boom".

Norfolk's Big Bang Boom 4th of July Celebration

👻 Virtual Cache Requirements 👻

This is a Virtual Cache, so there is no container to find; no log to sign. Instead, I have an easy question to answer AND task to perform, to prove that you visited the burial site of Norfolk's Rocket Man, Orville Carlisle.

1. Please send me a message or email with the answer to this question:
   What is the family name on the large grave stone immediately behind Orville Carlisle? This is the stone between Orville and the cemetery road.
2. Take a photo at Orville's and his wife, Mary's burial site. Please include yourself, a personal item, or a piece of paper with your caching name in the photo. Do not reveal the answer to the question. Post the photo with your log. Bonus points if you include something rocket-themed!

Sources and further reading:

• Chicago Tribune article, 1988
• Trail Link
• Wikipedia, Orville Carlisle

Virtual Rewards 3.0 - 2022-2023

This Virtual Cache is part of a limited release of Virtuals created between March 1, 2022 and March 1, 2023. Only 4,000 cache owners were given the opportunity to hide a Virtual Cache. Learn more about Virtual Rewards 3.0 on the Geocaching Blog.