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Did You Ever Win A Rocket Manufacturer Contest?
Many of us no doubt remember the various contests once sponsored by Estes, Centuri, and other rocketry manufactures way back when. Some of the ones that most readily come to mind are the rocket design contests, cartoon contests, photo contests, and any number of ‘one off’ contests where you had to name old vintage kits or aircraft, the name of a sci-fi film character, etc.
I entered a couple of the Centuri one-off contests (a vintage aircraft naming contest and a vintage kit naming contest), but, alas, I never won anything. I guess the closest I ever came to ‘winning’ anything relative to the major rocket manufacturers was being selected in latter 1978 to a catalog ‘highlight’ spot on the Centuri Aerospace Team (CAT) member page. But, that really was not a ‘contest’ per se and does not count in regards to what I am asking in this post. In later years as an adult, I traveled all over the country for a number of years doing my LDRS high power rocketry video series and met many, many wonderful people. Some of those names I recognized from old Centuri, Estes, and NAR publications. And in the past 15 years or so as I have obtained more and more vintage literature from other manufacturers besides Centuri (I had a great amount of Centuri literature from my first pass in rocketry throughout the 70s), I recognized more and more names listed in those publications as winners of the various contests sponsored by the companies. Back in the day as I kid, I never thought I’d meet ANY of those people, but one never knows, especially at a young age, just what all will transpire in later years. So...if you were a winner of ANY of those contests back in the day, please, if you are so inclined, share your memories of the contest, what you entered, and what you won as a result of your efforts. It is always interesting to me to read about other’s efforts back in the day and whatever ‘claim to fame’ they might have had! Earl
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Earl L. Cagle, Jr. NAR# 29523 TRA# 962 SAM# 73 Owner/Producer Point 39 Productions Rocket-Brained Since 1970 |
#2
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I never did, but a buddy of mine did win one back around 1982 or 83. Don't remember the design either, other than if it was his it had to be goofy.
Of all things, he chose the Boeing ALCM for his prize. I told him he was a BOZO for not getting the Saturn V.
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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!! Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't ! Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY. ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, and HAVOC ! |
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I won an AVI contest in . . . well, the mid 70s. I was in Junior High School. Maybe 1977. It was for a spaceship-like model called the Congreve; I got a $50 certificate. That bought a LOT of old MPC kits back then!
AVI folded before I could use the last $15 or so.
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NAR #27085 - Oregon Rocketry - SAM |
#4
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I won an Estes DOM contest with a boost glider design. Never got it published or anything. Don’t remember any prize or certificate. Of course that was 50 years ago.
Earl, I love your video series. I have them all.
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Dale Windsor NAR 12081, TRA 1795 L3 SoAR 004, TARA 005, MDRA 032 L1 cert: AAA Magnum PA Crude/Vulcan H100 Smokey Sam L2 cert: LOC/Precision Magnum/Aerotech J350 L3 cert: Smokin' Rockets Nike Smoke/Aerotech M1315 |
#5
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Quote:
I assume, from how you describe the contest and his prize selection, that it was the Centuri design contest? Centuri allowed winners to choice any ONE item from their catalog and many did choose the Saturn V. I just looked through several of the Centuri Rocket Times issues from the early 80s, but I did not see a winner from the Michigan area in the ones I looked at. Earl
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Earl L. Cagle, Jr. NAR# 29523 TRA# 962 SAM# 73 Owner/Producer Point 39 Productions Rocket-Brained Since 1970 |
#6
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Do you have a copy or drawing of the design you can share? Or, does the actual rocket still survive? Earl
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Earl L. Cagle, Jr. NAR# 29523 TRA# 962 SAM# 73 Owner/Producer Point 39 Productions Rocket-Brained Since 1970 |
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Quote:
Dale- You mean to say in a short 50 years you’ve forgotten some of those details?? I recall Estes would have these columns and columns of winners in their various Model Rocket News issues of winners for their DOM contest. It seemed in the latter years of them doing the DOM they were getting further and further behind in getting judging done. Thanks for the comments on the videos. I enjoyed doing them and was sorry I had to stop for family health reasons. They were a ton of work though, whew boy! Earl
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Earl L. Cagle, Jr. NAR# 29523 TRA# 962 SAM# 73 Owner/Producer Point 39 Productions Rocket-Brained Since 1970 |
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I can remember that I had to sit on the floor to draw it up. Taped the paper down and used my drawing tools from my 10th grade drafting class. The b/g was probably “based” on ones I saw certain NARHAMS members flying (probably Paul Conners). The ones I built flew very well. I think I remember meeting you at a Battle Park, VA launch (1991?) when Tim Eisner and John Cato (maybe Tom Binford, as well) tracked me down (saw the Georgia plate on my car). Started my journey in HP.
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Dale Windsor NAR 12081, TRA 1795 L3 SoAR 004, TARA 005, MDRA 032 L1 cert: AAA Magnum PA Crude/Vulcan H100 Smokey Sam L2 cert: LOC/Precision Magnum/Aerotech J350 L3 cert: Smokin' Rockets Nike Smoke/Aerotech M1315 |
#9
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Quote:
I think it was probably when you started coming down to the grass farm outside Douglas/Nicholls for some of our HotShot launches we used to have from about 1990 through the latter 90s. I think that is when we first met, but I do recall when the others you mentioned went to the Battle Park launch. I recall I had some other commitment that weekend and could not make it up. Do you still have a copy of your BG design? Earl
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Earl L. Cagle, Jr. NAR# 29523 TRA# 962 SAM# 73 Owner/Producer Point 39 Productions Rocket-Brained Since 1970 |
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Quote:
What video series was this?
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