Behold the Corpulent Stump, a rocket launched by a couple of crazy Scottish enthusiasts. Weighing 110 pounds, the home-made projectile, built from scratch by 39-year-old IT worker Richard Brown, reached speeds of 469 mph for its minute-long flight, became the most powerful non-commercial rocket to be launched in the UK before, alas, it crashed into the Scottish heather just two miles from its launch. More pics below.
Costing £4,000 ($8,000) to build and £650 ($1300) to launch, the Corpulent Stump was just one of the missiles on show at International Rocket Week, an annual rocket-fest held in Scotland. Permission is needed from Air Traffic Control to launch the rockets. Mr Brown, 39, who travelled up from the south of England in order to fire his pride and joy, which he built from scratch, admitted that his hobby was the equivalent to using 100-buck notes to light his cigars with. But he didn’t see it as a deterrent, claiming that he would build bigger and better models. “I couldn’t take up something like fishing,” he added. “That would be boring.”
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