Preserving the Past

[Tau Zero]

Okay. (heavy sigh) I hate to open a rat's nest, or can of worms, or Pandora's box (again), BUT!

If you could ask *any* questions of any of the surviving "Fathers of Rocketry" (Estes, Piester, or anybody else),

1) Who would it be?

2) What things would you ask them?


This is a serious inquiry (remember that I'm a TV news reporter), so the only type of questions that I DON'T want to hear are those like, "Grr! Dammit, Vern, why did you go and sell Estes, anyway? All they're putting out these days is just [insert uncomplimentary term here]..."

Y'know, I'm trying to avoid "Fanboy"-type rants.

But otherwise, feel free to let me know.


Thanks in advance,

--Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"

[ghrocketman]

I would have questions for both Lee Piester and Vern Estes

For Estes:
Why was 1977 the last year for arguably three of the best Estes kits made ? The K-29 S1B, Astron Sky Dart, and Astron Scrambler.
Why did the B8 engines (Especially the B8-0, B8-7, and B8-3) last such a short time as those were to replace the B14 for a "load-lifter" 18mm motor ?
What criteria were used to decide when a motor was discontinued ? Profitability ? Sales Volume ?

For Piester:
Was Centuri still making a profit when the Enerjet E and F motors were discontinued ?
I realize that the last Enerjet catalog was for 1972, but for how long (what year) were Enerjet motors/kits available until ? I see references to the fact that the Nike Ram was actually available until around 1980...how about the engines, even if it was only to those that had some sort of personal contact. When was the last production run for Enerjet engines ?

Why did the D21 motor not make production ?
What was the largest motor produced by Enerjet including Industrial/Research applications.

[CPMcGraw]

If you could ask *any* questions of any of the surviving "Fathers of Rocketry" (Estes, Piester, or anybody else),

1) Who would it be?

2) What things would you ask them?

For Estes:

A. Do any drawings and/or photographs of the original "Mabel" survive? Of her later siblings? Could they be published today?

B. Why/how did the "standard dimensions" of 13mm, 18mm, and 24mm for motors come about? What were the factors which pushed metric dimensions over US/Imperial dimensions?

C. Hindsight question: If you had known back in 1955 the history that we've now had in model rocketry, 1) what changes would you have made yourself in the business model you followed?; and 2) what suggestions would you have made to the other early players that would have improved the later conditions for the hobby?


For Piester:

A. Aside from academic and military programs, what were some of the other customers for small sounding rockets during the EnerJet era, and did you see such a market as "growing" to the extent that a buisness model could actually be developed around it?

B. Did you forsee the interest by "the masses" in HPR during this time? Were you anticipating such interest, and did you try to position EnerJet to be an entry-level player for such enthusiasts?

C. Hindsight question: If you had known back in 1955 the history that we've now had in model rocketry, 1) what changes would you have made yourself in the business model you followed?; and 2) what suggestions would you have made to the other early players that would have improved the later conditions for the hobby?

[Rocketaholic]

I think it would really be great to have a book or a CD that has historical items about the hobby of Model rocketry. That even includes the trials and tribulations that were encountered with getting the business going. Interviews by key rocket figures is awesome. That is of very significant value I think. There are a lot of smart people in this hobby. :D

[A Fish Named Wallyum]

I think it would really be great to have a book or a CD that has historical items about the hobby of Model rocketry. That even includes the trials and tribulations that were encountered with getting the business going. Interviews by key rocket figures is awesome. That is of very significant value I think. There are a lot of smart people in this hobby. :D

Terry "shockwaveriderz" Dean is gathering a lot of stuff in this vein. I don't know if he has book plans, but you could ask him via pm. He has only posted here sparingly, but he still pops up on Yahoo Old Rockets and RMR.

[Ltvscout]

Why did the D21 motor not make production ?
I heard there's a story about the D21 in the current Sport Rocketry.

[Tau Zero]

I would have questions for both Lee Piester and Vern Estes

For Estes:
Why was 1977 the last year for arguably three of the best Estes kits made ? The K-29 S1B, Astron Sky Dart, and Astron Scrambler. [snip]

For Piester:
Was Centuri still making a profit when the Enerjet E and F motors were discontinued ?
I realize that the last Enerjet catalog was for 1972, but for how long (what year) were Enerjet motors/kits available until ? I see references to the fact that the Nike Ram was actually available until around 1980...
GH,

Good questions there. However, I'd probably have to ask someone other than Vern and Lee these questions, since Lee sold Centuri sometime in 1970, and Vern sold Estes about 18 months before that, IIRC.

Anybody else?


Thanks,

--Jay

[shockwaveriderz]

I would ask VD Estes the following:

How di you become aware of the MMI?

Did you and GHS have any correspondance in any way before you walked into MMI in 7/58?

Tell us about the patent infringment case that OHC/MMI filed against you and EI. Backstory please.

Why did you file design patents on :
1. Toy Rocket Motors
2. Model Rocket
3.Model Rocket Gliders
4. Multi-Staged Model Rockets

when all of the above where already in the public domain when you filed for the patents?

Why did you decide to "get out of the Model Rocketry biz" after only 9 years? (60-69) Di you see the "writing" on the wall?


Tell us about your input/contributions into the John Shultz original design , the space plane.

shockie B)

[shockwaveriderz]

On page 61 of the 1965 edition of the Handbook of Model Rocketry is a B&W photo of the original "mabel-1" with John Shultz "feeding" it..... John was the 3rd person to operate MABEL ( and almost was killed by it too! Received SEVERE burns from it)) after Gleda and Vern himself. VD Estes atarted work on MABEL-1 in 7/58 and had her spitting out motors for MMI by and on JAn 16,1959.

I have atached the photo from the 65 HMR..enjoy

[snaquin]

On page 61 of the 1965 edition of the Handbook of Model Rocketry is a B&W photo of the original "mabel-1" with John Shultz "feeding" it..... John was the 3rd person to operate MABEL ( and almost was killed by it too! Received SEVERE burns from it)) after Gleda and Vern himself. VD Estes atarted work on MABEL-1 in 7/58 and had her spitting out motors for MMI by and on JAn 16,1959.

I have atached the photo from the 65 HMR..enjoy

Cool photo shockie, thanks for sharing it!

[shockwaveriderz]

Craig: I can answer your "B." estes question above. In the mid 60's there became a effort for the implemetation and adoption of the metric system here in America.... we were still using the OLD "english" system.....

The NAR Sporting Code became metric in late 1967.. EStes, centuri more or les followed suit around the same time frame..
EStes 1968 catalog was metric..Centuri 1969 catalog was metric..

I got into model rocketry in 67 at age 13 while in the 7th grade. I remmber the science teachers making a big deal about learning the metric system. It was to create a world wide standard on which to establish everything.

GHS wrote an article titled " Model Rocketry Goes Metric" for the 3/68 American Modeler magazine..

As far as how did motors did their dimensions, see the 7/71 issue of Model Rocketry maga at Ninfingers website. It has an article by GHS that describes how they came to be.

http://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/ModelRocketry/Model_Rocketry_v03n09_07-71.pdf

hth

terry dean