PDA

View Full Version : Central Rocket Company info?


shockwaveriderz
10-31-2006, 01:35 PM
I know somebody out there has a circa 65 catalog from this company based in wisconsin? THey advertised in the old American Modeler magazine in the classified ads section dating back to 1958! Wasn't this company the forerunner of MRI- Model Rocket Industries, which became MPC then AVi? I beleive the guys name was Mike Bergenske ?

??

terry dean
nar 16158

Carl@Semroc
10-31-2006, 03:34 PM
I know somebody out there has a circa 65 catalog from this company based in wisconsin? THey advertised in the old American Modeler magazine in the classified ads section dating back to 1958! Wasn't this company the forerunner of MRI- Model Rocket Industries, which became MPC then AVi? I beleive the guys name was Mike Bergenske ?

??

terry dean
nar 16158The only surviving copy I have is 1962. They were Central Rocket Company P.O. Box 89 Waupaca Wisconsin. I gave a copy to Senator Mike Enzi last year. He and I both bought a lot of Zinc Dust from them in the early 60's! I also bought some of their Type CRX Rock-A-Chute engines, I think before I bought engines from Estes.

Ltvscout
10-31-2006, 05:05 PM
I know somebody out there has a circa 65 catalog from this company based in wisconsin? THey advertised in the old American Modeler magazine in the classified ads section dating back to 1958! Wasn't this company the forerunner of MRI- Model Rocket Industries, which became MPC then AVi? I beleive the guys name was Mike Bergenske ?
It's actually spelled, Myke. Yes, Myke had MRI, bought out MPC when they went out of the rocket biz, then started AVI that featured a lot of vaporware. They did have some nice motors though. Myke still lives up around Madison here in WI.

msm0202
11-07-2006, 11:32 AM
Terry,
Thought I'd send along scans of a couple of things we have here regarding Central Rocket Company. One is a 1962 flyer for their StarHawk rocket, and another is a photo of a bag that was used by Vern and Gleda Estes to mail motors to Central Rocket before Estes moved from Denver to Penrose (You'll notice the Denver address on the tag). Vern confirmed that this is Gleda's handwriting on the bag.
Mark

shockwaveriderz
11-08-2006, 12:47 PM
carl/mark:

you learn something new over here everyday! For example, I didn't know that in 1962 Orv Carlisle was licensing his Rock-a-Chutes to be sold by Central Rocket. Were these Brown Manufacturing, MMI or Estes Rock-a-Chutes?

just checkin'


terry dean
nar 16158

msm0202
11-08-2006, 03:38 PM
carl/mark:

you learn something new over here everyday! For example, I didn't know that in 1962 Orv Carlisle was licensing his Rock-a-Chutes to be sold by Central Rocket. Were these Brown Manufacturing, MMI or Estes Rock-a-Chutes?

just checkin'


terry dean
nar 16158

Terry,

I actually have a couple of spent Central Rocket Company Rock-A-Chute motors. (I got them from Randy Liebermann, who did quite a bit of research on all of this several years ago.) Both of the motors I have were made by Brown for Central Rocket under an agreement between Orville and CRC. However, eventually Central Rocket, according to Randy, began making their own motors because it was too expensive to pay Carlisle a royalty per motor, per their existing agreement.

I'm not sure if Vern Estes ever made any Rock-A-Chutes for Central (I've never asked him that specifically , even though Vern and Gleda certainly mailed some motors in 1960 to Central Rocket in that bag that I mentioned in an earlier posting.) But Carl may know more about this.

Randy Liebermann believes that Central decided to make their own motors after ending the agreement with Carlisle/Brown. However, they did allude in correspondence to Orville that they could buy motors from Estes at a lower cost than what they were paying Carlisle in royalties alone.

But you should talk to Randy about this—although give him a few days because he's on deadline for me right now. :)

I'm attaching another scan from Central Rocket regarding the Rock-A-Chutes.

Best,
Mark

shockwaveriderz
05-03-2007, 04:37 PM
I was doing some research today and I came upon a Classified Ad in the April 1960 issue of American Modeler where Central Rocket announces that Rock-A-Chute motors were available.


As far as price was concerned, my timeline shows that the Brown motors were shipped to MMI at $0.13 each while the Vern Estes motors were initially sold to MMI at $0.07 each.


terry dean
nar 16158

DaveR
05-03-2007, 08:26 PM
It's actually spelled, Myke. Yes, Myke had MRI, bought out MPC when they went out of the rocket biz, then started AVI that featured a lot of vaporware. They did have some nice motors though. Myke still lives up around Madison here in WI.

......Vaporware??? :confused: :confused:

barone
05-03-2007, 08:49 PM
......Vaporware??? :confused: :confused:
Items that appear in a catalog but was never made.

DaveR
05-03-2007, 09:13 PM
Items that appear in a catalog but was never made.
Thanks for enlightning me Don. :) Learn something new everyday.

Seems that would detrimental to a company after a while.

How was the quality of the kits that AVI did produce?

A Fish Named Wallyum
05-03-2007, 09:41 PM
Items that appear in a catalog but was never made.

I always thought it meant self-venting underpants. :confused: :eek:

stefanj
05-03-2007, 10:37 PM
How was the quality of the kits that AVI did produce?

Well, to judge from the one sample -- a "Lineaus Gigantus" -- not bad. It was made from MPC parts.

I still have the instructions and will scan them in some time.

AVI also produced reproductions of the old MRI kits. These were basically MPC technology without the plastic parts. I bought many of these, along with original MRI kits, from AVI in the mid 70s. They were good quality, although the MRI streamers were kind of weird. (Heavy duty blue plastic that had a permanent curl in it.)

From memory: Zeus, Lepus, Flare, WAC Corporal.

stefanj
05-03-2007, 10:39 PM
The rocket shown in the pictures above appears to have a spin fin unit that was used with fireworks.

Estes carried it as well.

I had one of these, scavenged from a beach on a July 5th, and used it on one of my ugly early homebrew rockets.

Bazookadale
05-04-2007, 12:42 AM
It's actually spelled, Myke. Yes, Myke had MRI, bought out MPC when they went out of the rocket biz, then started AVI that featured a lot of vaporware. They did have some nice motors though. Myke still lives up around Madison here in WI.


I paid for some Delta - Vee motors, never got a refund. Does anyone know the story behind them? The designations were close to Enerjet motors, the pictures looked like re-labeled Enerjets, were they planing to make their own motors or buy the motors from Centuri/Enerjet?

shockwaveriderz
06-11-2007, 07:51 PM
I've developed some new information about Central Rocket company. I was originally under the impression that CRC was a fore-runner of MRI; it may well have been, but CRC was run by a Richard Goldsmith(?), not a Myke Bergenske; or it may have been run by both or sold to Myke later.

Anyay per the CRC estes rocket "bag". new information I have developes show that Estes industries, betweem 5/60 and 8/65 sold 25,200 model rocket motors to United Scientific Co. (CRC). I do not know exactly when the transistion from Orv Carlisle Rock-A-Chutes to Estes model rocket motors occured.

This does NOT mean that Estes was selling its motors to CRC as early as 5/60.

CRC sales of R-A-C seem to have started circa 1/60.

terry dean
nar 16158