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Posted by Rikshaw on 19:14:26 08/23/03
In Reply to: Cleaning out the tackle box look what I found. posted by Ted
Hey Ted,
My Grandfather passed away several years ago and as I moved recently I came across several of his old reels.
Gramps was with the Lockheed and RCA Skunkwerks from the late 40's through the 70's and they were always doing weird stuff.
As a kid I rarely got to know anything about what he did, but one of the reels I found sure brought some memories back.
About 30 years ago My Grandfather and some of his crew were doing some sort of altitude and wind testing out at Edwards AFB with some really weird weather balloons. Unlike most weather balloons that are simply released, these needed to be sent aloft, allowed to drift for a bit, and then retreived.
I remember that as a small boy I listened intently as they tossed different ideas around on how to acheive this. Finally it was decided that a fishing pole and reel would work best, so we headed to the valley and bought this HUGE Penn Rod and reel to accomplish the feat.
Lo and behold... what do I find in my grandfathers possession? This same reel.
I'll show it to you some time. It is HUGE, with imitation scrimshaw design patterns molded into the side plates.
I have never seen a reel like it since then and one of these days I'll find out all about it. It sure would be fun to know exactly what they were testing for that day... but I guess we never will.
Ric
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