In article ,
"Morgans" wrote:

"Orval Fairbairn" wrote in message
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In article ,
"Morgans" wrote:

"Orval Fairbairn" wrote

Just look for my Johnson Rocket parked in the Vintage area.

A Johnson Rocket in Vintage? How's that happening?

Easy -- it is 61 years old!

Ahhh! I just realized what I was thinking of.

I was thinking of the Harmon Rocket, which as many of ya'll know, is a
modified RV. I could not resolve the fact that Van's aircraft had been
around for that long! g

A little time on Google turned up some interesting info on a plane that (I
think) was unknown to me previously.

A sweet little plane, indeed. I can definitely see the resemblance to the
Culiver, since it was designed with the Rocket still fresh in the designer's
memory.

Yes -- rumor has it that a Culver Cadet got too close to the Alamogordo
A-bomb tests, got its DNA altered and developed a thyroid problem.

Pop Johnson built the first (wooden) Swift, allegedly by copying a
Culver Cadet and making his own mods. That airplane later became the
Rocket 125, of which one was built. The Rocket 185 is an entirely
different bird, being tri-gear, with an O-435 Lycoming and much better
performance.

BTW: The Rocket 125 now sits (fully restored) in the SnF museum.