MMI Aerobee Hi Starter Kit 001A
 

I was recently able to photograph all the parts of MMI's first kit, produced in April 1958. I have posted some of the pics to Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/500326...57624314354881/

Unfortunately there was a limit to how many pics I could upload so I will post others as I get a chance.

Enjoy,

Steve

I was also able to make scans of all the paperwork in the box. Very interesting reading.

More paperwork from the kit.

So, who owns the kit? Bill Stine?

Motors in the kit are the Brown Manufacturing motors which preceded the motors produced by Vern Estes. Very different nozzles.

Contents of the motor box included 6 motors, instructions, 6 disposable body tube liners, and 6 paper parachute protectors. Interestingly, in the kit box are small square pieces of brown paper which the instructions indicate were to be placed over the end of the parachute protector to further shield the parachute from the hot ejection charge.

Typical fireworks sky rocket nozzle without the fuse installed.

No, it wasn't Bill. Although I very much enjoyed his company at the recent Great Lakes Cup in Chicago. Did you know Bill built most of the rocket models which still hang from the ceiling of Lee Piester's Hobby Bench store on 17th Avenue in Phoenix? Bill was Hobby Bench's first employee!

As for the MMI kit, the owner has asked to remain anonymous. But I've never seen any pics from one of these kits so I did my best to document every piece.

Thanks for sharing, both of you!

Scott,

The instructions clearly show electrical igniters. The igniters in the box are packaged in foil and only the ends are visible (really hard to see in the photo below). I can't tell if what's in the package is really short strips of wire covered with pyrogen, like the instructions seem to indicate or if these are short pieces of fuse. My impression is that they are really electrical igniters as shown in the instructions because if they were fuses they're really, really short. Also, the stickers to hold the igniters in place, as shown in the instructions, are included in the box.

Another interesting aspect of reading the instructions is that they have directions on how to build your own electical ignition system, the only significant part not included in what was obviously meant to be a starter kit.

I didn't mean to say those motors used fuses. I just said the nozzle is typical of a sky rocket nozzle with the fuse removed. You could light a sky rocket with an electrical igniter as well if you yanked the fuse out. ;)