"Centuri Memories"

[Crossposted to Ye Olde Rocket Forum (YORF) and OldRockets]

(clears throat to sound official) Our Esteemed Fellow Rocketeers who are putting on NARCON 2006 have asked me to assemble an article based on the following suggestion from Scott Goebel, who is the Director for NARCON 2006, as well as Facility Coordinator and President of WOOSH (the NAR Section sponsoring the event):
"I know that Centuri Engineering's products meant a lot to many rocketeers and an article that captures the lore of the Centuri product line and what the hobby meant to you then and now is something that would make the program book a big hit."

Here's how each of you can help the aforementioned article for the NARCON 2006 program book *personal.* I want you to send me *your* stories about why Centuri rockets, launchers, Designer's Specials, and so on, were special to *you*. No matter whether it's about your favorite Centuri rocket, or a memory that brings back "warm fuzzies" about Centuri "back in the day," I want to hear from you!

Include the following with your story: Your REAL name, along with your internet username, your city and state (or province/whatever and country if you're located outside the US).


Remove all of the spaces and put the "@" and "." in their proper places in the address below:

centuri 2006 (at) earthlink (dot) net

...and e-mail me *your* "Centuri story."


I need these as soon as humanly possible so I'm setting a working deadline of midnight January 23 (your local time). Let's get cracking, and I'll be checking my mailbox!


Cheers, and thanks in advance,

--Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"
Twin Falls, Idaho, USA

Originally posted by centuriguy
Here's how each of you can help the aforementioned article for the NARCON 2006 program book *personal.* I want you to send me *your* stories about why Centuri rockets, launchers, Designer's Specials, and so on, were special to *you*. No matter whether it's about your favorite Centuri rocket, or a memory that brings back "warm fuzzies" about Centuri "back in the day," I want to hear from you!

Click to expand...

Okay, I have a minor addition to make. After you tell me your "Centuri story," please include a final paragraph that describes either what you're doing with Centuri-related or -derived products today (cloning, etc.), or what your perspective is about Centuri now that you're an adult.

Please note that I didn't say "*mature* adult."


Thanks, and cheers,

--Jay

Are you including Enerjet and related products, or just the "classic" Centuri line?

barry

Originally posted by dbarrym
Are you including Enerjet and related products, or just the "classic" Centuri line?

barry

Click to expand...

Go with that. I'd think that any related products would just help flesh things out.

Originally posted by dbarrym
Are you including Enerjet and related products, or just the "classic" Centuri line?

Click to expand...

Barry,
As a matter of fact, I contacted Steve Naquin earlier this week about the Advanced Rocketry Group's Trident 222-(something or other), which is a "clone" of one of the old Enerjet kits (2250?), and told him to include that in his story.

As Bill E. has said, please jump right on in with your comments about Enerjet. I'm taking any and all comers, so if you're willing to write something up, I'm willing to take a look at it, and I'll probably plop it right into the document I'm compiling.

Heck, I even put Bill's story in first. (Of course, he was the first one who wrote me. )

So yeah, let's hear it!


Cheers,

--Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"

The original deadline of January 23rd is racing ever closer, but so far, I have received "Centuri Memories" from:

Bill Eichelberger
Mike Jerauld
John E. Thompson
Buzz Nau
Chuck Walden
Steve Rogers
Craig McGraw
...and some yahoo with the initials J.G. =8-O


I'm also including the following list of websites, since most of them are mentioned in the "Centuri stories":


Related Web Pages to Visit


Doug Holverson's Centuri Memories
https://members.cox.net/retrojayrocket/

Sven Knudson's Ninfinger Productions - Centuri catalogs
https://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/rockets.html

Jim Zalewski's JimZ Rocket Plans - Click on "Centuri"
https://www.dars.org/jimz/rp00.htm

Ye Olde Rocket Plans - Centuri
https://www.oldrocketplans.com/centuri.htm

Craig McGraw's BARCLONE - Original Rocket Designs
https://barclone.rocketshoppe.com/

Steve "Austin" Rogers - Click on "Nostalgia Fleet"
https://homepage.mac.com/srogers4/rockets/index.html

Chuck Walden's Photo Gallery
Click on "Rocketry" and especially "2003 Centuri Trip"
https://atomicturtle.net/modules/xoopsgallery/ (NO "www!")

Semroc Astronautics Corporation
https://www.semroc.com

Essence Model Rocket Reviews (EMRR)
https://www.rocketreviews.com/


I *haven't* received any stories about Centuri's "Enerjet" line.

If you want to share your story, this *could* be your last chance. There's less than a week left, but I still want to hear from you, so drop me a line at the "centuri (remove spaces) 2006" address earlier in this thread.


Thanks, and cheers,

--Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"

Jay, I am writing mine now...

barry

Originally posted by dbarrym
Jay, I am writing mine now...

Click to expand...

Barry,

Thanks! Get that to me "soonest"...

Steve Naquin is my other "Enerjet guy" (and he hasn't sent me his story yet), but so far, it's just you two.


Thanks again, and cheers,

--Jay

here ya go....also Emailed to you.

Barry

-------------------------

I first got started in rocketry in the early 70's. I was a kid of 10-12 years old at the time and somehow came into possession of a couple of Estes kits (Skyhook and Alpha) and a few motors. Not long after, I connected with a couple of older kids that had formed a club (the "Hypersonics" of Hacienda Heights, CA) and quickly progressed into bigger and more complex rockets. To us, Estes was the "every guy" stuff, but Centuri always seemed to be on the cutting edge. As I look through my old memorabilia, there are a few pictures of Estes rockets, but many more of my well remembered Centuri designs - the Laser-X, the Black Widow (2-stage, with a gliding booster stage!), the Arrow 300 (3-stage and over 3 feet tall - wow!), the Little Joe (my first cluster launch), the SST Shuttle, the Starfire, and tons of Mini-Dactyls. I must have built (and lost) at least a dozen of these great flying little gliders - usually at contests. Not all of the Centuri designs were perfect - I could never get a Hummingbird BG to glide well, nor did my X-24 ever do anything but tumble - but I almost always headed for the Centuri kit rack first to find my next project.

However, my fondest Centuri memories are centered around the Enerjet motors - and what they represented to me. Upon "discovering" a couple of E-24's and F-67's in an out of town hobby shop, I was thrilled (and shocked) to find out that there was actually a BIG motor that a kid like me could get access to (other than the feared Estes D-Kaboom-13's!). This was REAL rocket power and what I had long aspired to. The older guys I hung out with (one of whom is now a noted HPR motor manufacturer) were early adopters with high power composite motors and more advanced projects - and Enerjet made it possible for me to participate with them at some of the first launches out at Lucerne Dry Lake. My first Enerjet kit was the Aero-Dart, and I vividly remember the thrill of seeing that real silk parachute - a sure sign that this was a serious rocket! I was particularly enamored of the 2250/2650 "Sounding Rocket" series designs - even the name evoked real rocket science - and I built many versions, learning about electronic staging, high speed (!) design, electronic payloads, and high altitude recovery along the way.

I later moved on to the entire FSI 'high power' motor line, and am now working on my Level 3 project (I rejoined the hobby last year after a 25 year hiatus). I've now flown plenty of J's and L's, but nothing has yet equaled the rush of seeing my first BIG Enerjet motor ignite, literally taking my breath (and months of allowance and after-school work money) screaming up into the clear desert sky. Thanks Lee!

duplicate post...?

Did you get my email?

John Chapman

Originally posted by thejohnchapman
Did you get my email?

Click to expand...

Yes, I did! Thanks for sharing your wonderful story!

Cheers,

--Jay

Jay,

I emailed my story to you earlier this evening. Let me know if you got it.

Thanks,
DeWain Feller

Originally posted by DeWain
I emailed my story to you earlier this evening. Let me know if you got it.

Click to expand...

Yes, I did. And a *great* story it is. In fact, right now it's just before mine in the article. I've got 20 stories so far, and nearly 10,000 words, according to MS Word 2002.

Thanks, and cheers,

--Jay

__________________
Do you mean I've been mispronouncing "Estes" all these years?
And "Centuri" too?

(Phil Hartman voice) *Yes.* Yes, you *have.* --I used to pronounce the latter one "Sen-chur-IH" (short "i" sound). But the "rocket guy" at the local hobby shop still says "Ess-TEEZ." --I guess he's never been to Estes Park, Colorado.

So, when and where do we read your work?

[Crossposted to The Rocketry Forum (TRF), Ye Olde Rocket Forum (YORF), and Yahoo!Groups "OldRockets" (no acronym available ;-D )]


Sorry, all. I've had an inadvertent amount of "real life" intruding into my time this week. (Go figure.)

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed their Centuri and Enerjet memories for the NARCON 2006 program book. If you're not able to make it to NARCON this year, and you haven't already already signed up for a "Non-Attending" registration, I highly recommend that you do just that.

Scott D. Hansen, my co-conspirator with the WOOSH faction (sorry, "Section") of the NAR assures me you can order your copy of the NARCON 2006 program book thusly:

Either order it via check by downloading the non-attending PDF form found on this page, https://www.narcon2006.org/registration.htm

or by buying it with an online purchase via PayPal at this page, https://www.narcon2006.org/online_pay.htm.


Please note that along with your program book, you can *also* order the CD-ROM which (if I understand correctly *and* all goes well) will include at least excerpts of the speeches by Lee Piester and Matt Steele.


Thanks once again,

--Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"
Twin Falls, Idaho

I'd like to thank everyone who contributed their Centuri and Enerjet memories for the NARCON 2006 program book.

Click to expand...

[Crossposted to The Rocketry Forum (TRF), Ye Olde Rocket Forum (YORF), and Yahoo!Groups "OldRockets"]

Okay, a funny story I have to tell about compiling the "Centuri Memories" stories. After I gathered 21 stories besides my own, the total word count came to something like 10,800 words (according to Word 2002) and the printout was 21 pages (with Courier 10pt., or 12cpi).

The gentlemen at WOOSH said, "Well, that's really good, but can you cut it in *half?*" So I hacked and slashed and burned, and got it down to less than 5000 words (or just over 10 pages).

*Then* one of the guys said, "You've got the right idea, but we still need to edit for CONTENT." (*Sheesh!*) So I did that, and unfortunately I had to drop a couple of stories so the article could still fit into the program book (without being printed in a tiny font visible only with an electron microscope).

While this has been a wonderfully growing experience for me ("Good heavens! An editor who gives actual FEEDBACK!"), I'm sorry that I couldn't include all of the full-length stories. I have a general idea for how to use them in their entirety in another way, but no official details are available just now.


Thanks again for sharing your incredible stories with me,

--Jay Goemmer
"Centuri Guy"
Twin Falls, Idaho

Originally posted by centuriguy
I'm sorry that I couldn't include all of the full-length stories. I have a general idea for how to use them in their entirety in another way, but no official details are available just now.

Click to expand...

This just in! One "Scott D. Hansen" has informed me that:

> Jay,
>
> We'll put the full story package on the CD-ROM, so all is not lost!

Well, *that* worked out even quicker than I thought it might!

"So BUY yer program books AND yer CD-ROMS!" ;-D


Cheers,

--Jay

Work in progresss... looking for a cool NC

Did you mean "thread"? I went back and looked for who threatened you in respect to Centuri cloning. I thought someone was lawsuit happy.
I built one of these several years ago. The thicker cardstock you use, the better because the "fins" seem to collapse as the airspeed increases and the rocket goes a little squirrelly. Check with Semroc or Moldin' Oldies for the correct cone.
BTW, your colors are a lot brighter than mine. What's the secret?

Originally posted by Fishhead
Did you mean "thread"? I went back and looked for who threatened you in respect to Centuri cloning. I thought someone was lawsuit happy.
I built one of these several years ago. The thicker cardstock you use, the better because the "fins" seem to collapse as the airspeed increases and the rocket goes a little squirrelly. Check with Semroc or Moldin' Oldies for the correct cone.
BTW, your colors are a lot brighter than mine. What's the secret?

Click to expand...

Yeap, I did mean "thread". Sorry for the mistake, I did not proof read.

I think I used a thin cardstock, one for greeting cards. Cannot verify the weight because I lost the label, that tells you it is cheap. This one is a practice construction and I intend to take it to work for display. I have heavier cardstock and will make another to add to my flying fleet of Sci-Fi rockets (work in progress).

I used a Canon i850 on high printing quality on plain paper, vivid photo and image optimizer were also selected.

Here is a business end view of it. I modified the lower portion of the body wrap and only printed about 1" of the end on paper and used white glue. If you do this, once it is glued, slide the bulk section in so that it dries with that shape.

This is mine.
https://www.rocketreviews.com/reviews/oop/cen_vulcan.html
You can see that my colors weren't as bright as yours. Mine was built using fairly thin stock, maybe a step up from resume paper. I think I might have been better off soaking the fins with thin CA before flying it.

Originally posted by Fishhead
....You can see that my colors weren't as bright as yours....

Click to expand...

Mine came out about as bright as rosko_racer's.

I printed mine on 110# cardstock so I don't think I had the same problem with the fins collapsing as you but it still has a distinct wobble in it. I may not have gotten all the fin edges exactly straight.

I'm thinking of making another using 65# paper for the fins and laminating them double thickness with white glue. That alway's seems to make my paper model fins much more rigid.

how good are centuri sure shot ignitors i bid on 12 on ROL by accident and it seems like im gonna win, but i dont really want them are they useful for anything

here is the Centuri Vulcan clone done with an Estes NC from the Estes 4-pack NC bag. Sorta experimenting. This one is going to be displayed at work to see what happens. It is a non-flying model: no engine hook or block and no parachute. I will be making another one soon with double-cardstock fins and a custom-made balsa nosecone made by me. I may even create a separate thread while making this one... I do not know, should I?

read subject line

Originally posted by centuriguy
[Crossposted to The Rocketry Forum (TRF), Ye Olde Rocket Forum (YORF), and Yahoo!Groups "OldRockets"]

Okay, a funny story I have to tell about compiling the "Centuri Memories" stories. After I gathered 21 stories besides my own, the total word count came to something like 10,800 words (according to Word 2002) and the printout was 21 pages (with Courier 10pt., or 12cpi).

The gentlemen at WOOSH said, "Well, that's really good, but can you cut it in *half?*" So I hacked and slashed and burned, and got it down to less than 5000 words (or just over 10 pages).

*Then* one of the guys said, "You've got the right idea, but we still need to edit for CONTENT." (*Sheesh!*) So I did that, and unfortunately I had to drop a couple of stories so the article could still fit into the program book (without being printed in a tiny font visible only with an electron microscope).

[snip] I'm sorry that I couldn't include all of the full-length stories.

Click to expand...

I got a "sneak peek" at the NARCON 2006 program book yesterday. <Big Evil Grin> *All* of the stories that you sent to me were included -- in all their FULL-LENGTH glory. And they take up a whopping 16 pages. WOW!

However, the boys/men at WOOSH managed to scrape up another Very Cool Story that I had *nothing* to do with... but it captures the "Centuri Memories" spirit *very* well. (IIRC, it's after your story, Bill. )

I'm VERY happy with the end product.


Cheers,

--Jay