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Old 04-11-2007, 02:46 PM
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Daniel Runyon Daniel Runyon is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Deep South
Posts: 350
Default Estes Designers - Their Kits & Works

An attempt to get up a list of ALL Estes designers and what they made. Any knowledge you have to offer would be awesome! All contributions will be added to this master list so check it out from time to time should you be interested. So far:

Estes Designers - Their Kits & Works

Vern Estes (founder of Estes):
- Astron Scout
- Big Bertha
- Space Plane*

*Based on John Schutz's first boost glider design, but Vern built a couple dozen variations of it in order to make a model that could be easily built as a kit.

Earl Estes (Vern's Brother):
- Transroc

G. Harry Stine:
- Astron Mark

Wayne Kellner:
- Mars Lander
- Red Max
- K-50 Interceptor
- A-20 DEMON

Mark Kellner:
- Goblin

Ron McClaren:
- Moondog
- All the Star Wars plastic kits
- Sizzler
- Long Shot
- Mach 12
- Python
- Silver Comet
- All the Mighty Mites
- Outlander
- SR-X
- Intruder
- Invader
- Raider
- many more!

Dave Meyers:
- ARV Condor
- Corkscrew
- Transwing
- the never-produced F117
- Sweet V
- Launch pad for the Mighty Mite starter set

Gene Street:
- Astron NIghthawk Glider
- Cherokee D
- 1/70 Saturn 1B
- If Roy Recalls Correctly he was also credited with those gorgeous illustrations in all the mid to late 60's instructions!

Bill Simon:
- Sky Hook (his first design, according to Vern!)
- Alpha
- Scissor wing Transport
- SPEV (see note below)
- Started the BT nomenclature for body tubes.

Carl from Semroc adds this information...

"The SPEV is questionable. Gleda said that Bill was fired the first day Damon took over. The SPEV was almost four years later. If it was a "Spare Parts Elimination Vehicle", Bill had to have had a real vision. I think it may have been an inside joke to put his name on it as the designer."

Keith Niskern:
- late 80's version of the Saturn V (originally from Centuri and had done their Saturn V)

Matt Steele:
- 2157 Saturn V
- AstroSat
- Banshee
- Mk-109 Stingray
- Quark
- Gemini DC
- Firebird
- Nike Arrow
- Sabre
- X-ray
- X-Flyers
- Heatseeker
- Flash
- SM-3 Seahawk
- Fireflash
- Rattler -7
- Big Dawg
- AIM-120 AMRAAM
- Big Daddy
- Most North Coast Rocketry By Estes rockets!
- Eliminator, Lance Beta, Patriot, Archer, and Bomarc

Larry Renger:
- Astron Falcon
- Sky Dart Boost Glider
- BOMARCS (large and small)
- Stratoblaster
- Centurian

Mike Dorffler (Still there as of 4/11/07):
- LTV Scout
- Cineroc
- Astrocam
- Optima
- Pegasus
- Sprint
- SWAT
- Blue Bird Zero
- AIM-9 Sidewinder
- F22
- Asteroid Hunter
- AstroCam
- The EX2 Concept
- "most everything electronic that came out of the company"
- Co-designed the igniter plugs with Ron McClaren (you never know when such a simple device will be such a tough nut to crack!)

Tim Van Milligan (91-94):
- CATO
- Skywinder
- Omloid
- Delta Clipper
- TurboCopter

Now owns Apogee and is the developer of RockSim software!

Mary Roberts:
- Airwalker Starter Set

Roguepink (Identity Unknown):
- Porta Pot Shot
- Stone Age
- Pop Fly
- 18mm SpaceShipOne

and Rocket Doctor (Identity Unknown):
- Baby Bertha
- Converter/Deluxe SuperShot Screw Machine
- No.2 SkyWriter
- 36D Squared
- Screamin Mimi
- Suggested the breakaway in the new Mean Machine
- Wrote and reviewed instructions

North Coast Rocketry Only

Chris Pearson
:
- NCR Phantom

Dan Kafun:
- Big Brute
- Interceptor G
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