Ye Olde Rocket Forum - View Single Post - Enerjet 1340 Kit on Ebay

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jerry Irvine

The Phoenix Bird was the first to use both the plastic fin unit and the plastic nose cone and coupler combo mold. The Centuri Argus fins are the likely source of EJ 1340 fins.

The mold on the 1340 had about the same nose cone shape but the nose base and coupler bases were smaller OD to fit the Minimax tube. The mold details were different too. The seat between the two coupler shoulders was smooth and short on EJ and visually detailed and longer on Centuri. The plastic was thicker on EJ as well. You can control the shot mass on a blow molded part. On model rockets the trick is to be as light as possible without voids.

Jerry

Jerry,

I think you pretty much called it in post 4 ..... this is an SPEV of sorts. The originals as you stated all had red for the plastic parts. In the eBay listing the seller states these parts are orange and his model was purchased in 1974. I guess towards the end of the run for EnerJet they used some of the "Centuri Orange" fin cans that were later offered in the Centuri Rocket Times sold as parts along with other items like the original black egg capsule parts. The nose cone/coupler listed here is obviously for the Phoenix Bird based on the line drawing and wasn't the 1340 part made for the thicker tubing you noted.

http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ca...76WcenRT10.html

Also what I originally thought was possibly the motor tube looks to be the payload tube and it appears to be black? The published literature suggests the 1340 model didn't require paint because it featured "heavy-wall pre-colored spiral wound cardboard and glassine tubing".

Did any of your originals feature a black payload tube or was it white like the main airframe? Centuri through the Rocket Times certainly was eliminating at least some of the EnerJet parts around this time and I wish I would have at least bought a couple of those original black egg capsules for Egg Crate clones.

By what's posted in the listing this by all means appears to be an original 1340 but it is somewhat odd based on the parts selection that was included in this 1974 version. I also didn't realize the actual kit number "1340" appeared on a decal sheet with the EnerJet logos.

It's already climbed out of my price range for bidding but if I had bought it I would open it, inhale the EnerJet air from the bag ..... build it and then fly it on composite F and G motors at our HPR field. I would also document all the contents for Scott to post online for all to enjoy.

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