posted 03-30-2009 05:25 PM              

As a long shot please advise if you see anything like this on eBay or the like. I can furnish pictures and description. I doubt if this would be happening but I'm desperate. I've done all types of searches and contacted people and no luck.

It has a lot of sentimental value to me and would have gone to my sons and their children.

I bought for the large sum (when you are poor) of $24 in 1960 for my "Advanced Science" class my Sr. year in HS. This was something us "brains" did to help hold off the Russians-think Sputnik in October 1957.

I used it all through college and the first years of my engineering career before calculators caught on.

I would bring it out during my Cosmosphere tours when we stopped in front of Wernher von Braun's and Korolev's Slide Rules (the holy grail). The boys and leaders always were very interested and astounded, as am I in hindsight, that we used this as a major part of our calculating to get to the moon. A handy tool even though it wouldn't add and was accurate only to the third place.

The tours also enjoyed it as I have about 30 astronaut autographs, all in person. This is like knowing the secret Fraternity handshake to show this to those guys as it brings back memories of "I had one of those" or I had a Pickett or K&E and mine was better (good natured like bragging about your car) Walt Cunningham and Wally Schirra particularly had strong reactions to it.

I had my college adviser, Astronaut Tom Akers and Sandra Magnus from my Alma Mater; Missouri School of Mines (later known as U of Mo-Rolla, and currently Mo U of Science and Technology).

Also the late Steve Fossett and Sir Richard Branson right after Fossett completed his solo flight around the world.

Also Scott Carpenter, Gordon Cooper, Wally Schirra, Walt Cunningham, Alexis Leonov, Pavel Vinogradov, Buzz Aldrin., Gene Cernan, Richard Gordon, Jim Lovell, Ed Mitchell, Charles Duke and many Shuttle Astronauts including Hoot Gibson, Sally Ride.

Although I have never had the pleasure of meeting Neil Armstrong, he was gracious enough to correspond with me by email about his slide rule, his usage of it, and how when he was teaching Engineering at U of Cincinnati, his students didn't have the conceptual visualization of the quantification of an answer like us older Slide Rule guys did. That is because our answer might be "734" and we had to know if that was 7.34, 7,340,000, 0.00734, etc. We had to have some common sense about the proper size of an answer and also use our scientific notation (that is 10 to the 3rd or 6th or whatever). The students Neil had put blind faith in their multi-digit answers since a "Computer" did it-no allowance for garbage in-garbage out". Neil further make some remarks about his duties and appearances during 2003 for the Centennial of Flight which he was very in to.

My experience with slide rules and the Astronauts who used them led me a few years ago to buy one owned at Annapolis by the late Ted Freeman. Glad to have it but sure wish I had mine.

This is like a piece of my soul is gone and while this is a desperate attempt on my part, I appreciate you reading and any tips that might turn up.

posted 03-31-2009 04:07 AM               

And to show it in the context of von Braun and Korolev's slide rules... WOW! I must get over to Kansas.

Best of luck with recovering it.

posted 04-19-2009 08:32 AM               

Is there some sort of avenue used to contact the major auctions houses to say "if this item turns up..."?

Place an ad in your paper. Maybe try Craigslist.

These are all long shots, but sometime long shots pay off big, right?

posted 04-21-2009 11:37 AM               

Be vigilantpeople, I'm sure these items will turn up some day.

posted 04-23-2009 12:26 PM              

Lou, thanks for the heads up. I was too late to view the ebay item (closed) but it notes that it is a Pickett. Mine was a Post. What type did you use Lou?

I'll see about posting a picture.

posted 04-23-2009 10:29 PM               

Did you check under the seats, seat mats, the space between the seats and the console (if you have one), and between the seat and seat back?

I once thought I lost an important ID badge, but later found it lodged between the seat slide and the middle console on the floor.

posted 04-24-2009 11:21 AM              

quote:

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Originally posted by STEVE SMITH:
I'll see about posting a picture.

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That is Gene Cernan just above it in Gold Ink.