Originally posted by astronboy
Please, take your time in telling about the visit.... we are all ears!!
It isn't that exciting, but, here's the story.
One of my family's trips, during the summer of 1974, found us stopping for the night in Phoeninx, AZ. As a die-hard model rocketeer then, I couldn't let the opportunity pass not to visit Centuri Engineering located in Phoenix. Centuri and Estes were the two biggest model rocket companies in the world and the chance to stop and visit either one of them was a chance not to be missed.
My brother and I 'convinced' our parents to take a little time to drive over to Centuri the next morning before we left Phoenix. That morning i called Centuri (Their phone number was in the yellow pages) and asked if we could stop by. I was told they did not offer tours of the plant but there was a range store we could visit.
We arrived at Centuri a little after 9 A.M. The building was non-discript and typical of south-western design. Finding the entrance was a bit of a game as it was a small door flanked by tall bushes.
We entered the building into a combination display/retail store counter area and were greeted by a woman working behind the counter. Behind her we could look into the facility but there wasn't anything going on in the area we could see.
I asked if we could take pictures of the models on display and was told that was okay. My brother and I each shot about 4-5 pictures. It was a small area so our picture taking pretty much covered everything there was to see. All of the then current Centuri models were built and on display. These were very nicely done models and may have even been the ones photographed for catalog use. There were also some prototype or R&D models on display.
We took our pictures and then decided we couldn't leave without each buying a rocket kit. I bought a Screaming Eagle while my brother purchased a Vector V. After that we thanked the woman at the counter and left to continue with our vacation.
My brother and I still have the rockets we bought that day at Centuri.
That's the story.