Snowriter Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 Anyone know when they started being sold to the public and when they stopped? Also, who was in charge of A-Team? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
*Ace* Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 Mr. T 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big canuck Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 I had a 160 in 1985 (I think) Bought it from The Snowboard shop when Ken was selling them out of his Mom's house's walkout basement/garage. Great board till it broke in half. They had a 150, 160 and as I recall the 180. Jeff Grell invented the "highback" binding adapter. Pre edges, three fins. Don't know when they went away. The good old days fo sho. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 I had a 160 in 1985 (I think) Bought it from The Snowboard shop when Ken was selling them out of his Mom's house's walkout basement/garage. Great board till it broke in half. They had a 150, 160 and as I recall the 180. Jeff Grell invented the "highback" binding adapter. Pre edges, three fins. Don't know when they went away. The good old days fo sho. you'll get your answer soon as I seem to remember one of the east coast carvers here worked for flite....... I'd do a search for the board building threads to figure out who it is, he was talking about epoxy squirting out during pressing and building a press out of fire hose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobdea Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 gecko is who it was using a firehose is actually an old Idea; I'm pretty sure Winterstick invented it...at least thats who we (Flite) stole it from. You need a mold that has a gap roughly within a half inch of equidistant for the whole opening. As for how to make the mold...we band saw'd 3-4 sheets of plywood bolted together until had it wide enough and then bolt all 12-14 shets together and sand smooth. We were doing small volume production so we bondo'd the opening areas but in truth that isn't really neccessary. A small compressor is all that's needed to maintail air pressue 30psi in the hose makes a huge amount of pressure when confined by the mold (beware squirting hot glue). If you have any other questions I will try to answer them Returning to building snowboards is a lottery dream for me...or maybe retirement if I can find a niche to build for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gecko Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 Steve Derrah started building skateboards in the early 70's transitioning to flatlam (skateboard construction) snowboard boards in the either the late 70's or early 80's I think the last Rocket was pressed in 1984, twin tip flatlam followed for a year and then Steve moved pressing from rental of press time at a facility in I think Michigan someplace to in house with the firehose press. This was also the same time that Flite started building cassette style boards (modern construction). I think Stevie moved Flite out of the Garage and into an industrial park in the early 90's...I think the Name was sold to an Aussie who built mostly freestyle boards for a few years and then I think Stevie sold it again to someone in the Seattle area (maybe K2). Stevie liked to go fast and built a lot of what at the time would be considered alpine boards, 180cm and 200cm boards were pressed and lots of fun, though I did almost lose a lift ticket on the 200cm at Stowe. The first board we made which still looks like a modern Alpine board was the 87-88 UFO 170cm nearly centered stance, and it looked a lot like a Donek Axxes/Coiler AM there were also a number of Asyms, a 172cm GS gun and a 162cm Slalom board (that I still own)... Stevie truly was a snowboard building genius definitely in the class of Sean/Bruce/Chris...though sadly this was before the boom of the 90's or the resurgence of alpine after 2000. BTW I learned to ride in a 150 rocket at Stowe Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willywhit Posted October 13, 2008 Report Share Posted October 13, 2008 I had a bunch of different Flite skateboards in the late 70's, I grew up close to the RI border and Newport/Middletown. Good boards but they ALL broke, delamm'd after heavy abuse. skatin' was BIG in that area back then. Centifugal Force in Seekonk, Shooting Star and Zero Gravity skateparks in Boston. halfpipes and quarter pipes all over. those were the dayz.:rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeM6 Posted March 10, 2022 Report Share Posted March 10, 2022 On 10/12/2008 at 10:35 PM, big canuck said: I had a 160 in 1985 (I think) Bought it from The Snowboard shop when Ken was selling them out of his Mom's house's walkout basement/garage. Great board till it broke in half. They had a 150, 160 and as I recall the 180. Jeff Grell invented the "highback" binding adapter. Pre edges, three fins. Don't know when they went away. The good old days fo sho. I also had the 160, bought out of the Snowboard Shop garage, with the fins and the high back adapters. It was too thick/stiff and the bindings were brittle. Ended up smashing them up beyond recognition and ended up on Burtons M6. I still ride that board today (literally today) albeit with a patchwork of binding parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
inkaholic Posted March 10, 2022 Report Share Posted March 10, 2022 My brother and I had a 150 rocket. That was a heavy, stiff board but it was a lot of fun. ink Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lazlo Posted January 13, 2023 Report Share Posted January 13, 2023 Stevie D. came into my print shop shopping for a catalog sheet in 1983(?) with a prototype Rocket 140 w/ metal edges, swallow tail, P-Tex, 2 side fins, and a skeg. Seeing that board was an epiphany for me, who dreamed of slalom water-skiing on snow. My life changed that day. I was 25 then and I ride 20+ days today. Love it now as much as I did then. We traded printing for boards, became friendly and I hung around his factory, getting every model he made. Rocket, Predator, Wave Hog, UFO, Weapon, Doris Asym, more I think. Alpine? I was 5'5" /130 lbs and rode a 180 UFO with minimal side cut. Not because I was crazy but because we didn't know any better. The Doris Asym was the greatest board I ever rode and at the peak of my strength and ability. It took me heli-boarding heaven in the 90's. In the late 80's I met Jeff Grell and rode together a couple days at Aspen Highlands. Growing up w/ the sport was a privilege. Stevie was a genius shaper, never got the recognition he deserved, and should have been an industry leader. It there's ever a Snowboarding HOF, he should be on the 1st ballot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tojach Posted November 6, 2023 Report Share Posted November 6, 2023 Hi Lazlo, I've seen a lot of Flite boards, but haven't seen that Pro Rocket, without binding straps, before. Do you still have it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edward Posted November 11, 2023 Report Share Posted November 11, 2023 I made Flites for the Derrahs on 1977,78. Again mid 80s, and for Australian Chsrlie 1993,94. Still have my 77' or is it 76. 1st photos I gave riding February 10th 1977. Can't remember date I bought it. But got it right there at the Portsmouth RI factory pre Fall River factory. Ed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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