Frequently Asked Questions
We released our "Little Joe" DVD years ago, and since that time we've noticed that folks have many of the same questions about who we are, what we're doing, and what plans we have for the future.
Are you discontinuing your DVDs? Yes, eventually. The era of physical media is rapidly coming to a close. So, we won't be making DVDs any more, nor will we be entering the BluRay market. We will still be making cool videos, usually focusing on scale modeling techniques, and those will all be posted to YouTube for free. In addition, all of our content is already available on YouTube. If you still wish to purchase our physical DVDs we will continue to offer our DVD collection of all ten subjects at a remarkable low price while supplies last. We will also offer our Bell X-1 DVD as a single DVD, again at a special low price.
Have you discontinued sales outside of the United States? Yes, the obstacles associated with international sales have simply become too numerous and complicated. Note that all of our video content is available worldwide for free on YouTube, though!
Who are you? My name is James Duffy, and I am a lifelong aviation enthusiast. I have built model spacecraft and aircraft for literally as long as I can remember. Model rocketry is another lifelong passion of mine, and I have had the privilege to represent the USA at every FAI World Spacemodeling Championships from 2002 through 2021. In 2023, I had the privilege of serving as Event Director for the World Championships, which we held in the Austin metropolitan area.
My preferred modeling subjects are the Little Joe test vehicle and the two-stage Bumper WAC variant of the V-2, which accounts for a few of the offerings you can see here on this site.
I am also an FAA certificated commercial pilot, holding single engine, glider, and instrument ratings, as well as a UAS remote pilot certificate. Additionally, I hold a B.S. in Aviation Science from Texas A&M University-Central Texas.
Where do you find the footage that appears in your DVD packages? We source film from a wide range of sources, but most of what you see on each rocket.aero DVD comes from the National Archives, where literally billions of feet of film are preserved. The variety of subjects are staggering, covering practically every US aircraft flown prior to 1980. The challenge is that nearly all of this remakable footage is still on celluloid film, not in an easily accessible digital format. We research the available footage, identify the film elements that we'd like to include on our DVDs, and work with the Archives staff to transfer the footage into a digital format.
Did you actually tool up to produce an injection-molded plastic model kit? Yes. Don't tell my wife, m'kay?
Who is "rocket.aero?" And how did they end up with such a screwy name? When the .aero TLD (top level domain) for the aviation industry was first opened up in 2002 we were among the first to snag a name. As an FYI, the correct pronunciation of our name is "rocket dot aero," and we keep it all in lower case to piss off our old English teachers.
Why did you begin producing aviation and space history videos? Well, the simple answer is that I am simply goofy for anything that flies, probably much like most of the people visiting this website. There is also a more thorough answer: during a trip to the National Archives facility on Fort Worth to delve into their extensive NASA holdings for any available Little Joe info for a model project, the archivist made an offhand comment concerning the NARA film holdings. A light bulb went off over my head, and I soon found myself sliding down the slipperly slope into the world of archival film. I ended up building a series of spiffy Little Joe models based on the film uncovered during that first search, and have moved on to other subjects since. As a matter of fact, the film unearthed for our "V-2 in America" DVD was used as the basis for a series of Bumper WAC models.