Enertek

[Initiator001]

Of, course, I'm not the only person with an Initiator in their rocket collection.

 

[ELBRAZ]

Heck of a thread! Thanks!

 

[rokitflite]

WOW BOB!
What a story!!! Now on the seventh day did you rest??? But gee, the initiator is such an easy kit to build! Who designed the INSIDE of the rocket??? You know, the baffle ejection system, the centering rings with the fin slots built in, the shock cord mount ??? I wonder... I'll bet that guy had to build a bunch of scratch built cut-away models of that system too that were a pain in the butt.

 

[Gus]

Bob,

I wanted to ask that too, but I had already used up my 21 questions.

 

[Chr$]

So... the fin-loc thing was Aerotech and not Enertek design.

I just built a Sumo, my first AT bird, which has that system. It seems like a good idea. Seems to hold everything together well, and it ensures that a beginner can build a rocket that will hold up under G-H power.

It takes a bit to get used to since you do things in a slightly different order than normal.

Maybe Ed Lacroix came up with it?

 

[rokitflite]

Hi Guys!
No, actually Scott Branche came up with the internals for the Enertek/Aerotech kits, and Steve Gram did most of the graphics and finishing on the prototypes. I was just giving my friend Bob some grief for not mentioning this in his Initiator origins posts!

 

[Initiator001]

While the Enertek and AeroTech kits were similar in the concept of their internal components, they were different in the final execution.

All this came about because of the fin material. As I stated, getting wooden fins made in quantity 15 years ago was a major problem.

Enertek probably would have gone with Kyosho making the lite-ply material fins. I have no idea what the lead times would have been. I'll have to ask Bill Stine next time I see him if he remembers.

AeroTech needed fins much sooner and there was a concern with dealing with a company so far away. The use of plastic did add weight to the kits but we could make the fins domestically.

Palstic fins allowed new paths for component design and integration. Plastic fins and rings allowed creation of a product where the parts snap together. The result was the AeroTech Fin-Lok system.

The fin rings in the Enertek design would have aligned the fins but it required the adhesive to hold things in place.

It's funny, but not unheard of, how adversity inspires a solution to a problem.

There were some comments initially, that plastic fins were too heavy and strayed too far away from 'tradional' rocketry. Plastic was fine for parts on small rockets but fins on larger rockets had always been made of plywood. Now, the plastic fins and other components on the AeroTech kits hardly cause any comments. A subtle take-over by the plastic fanatics! It must be a conspiracy!

Scott, I apologize if I have not given you all the credit you deserve for the design of the internal components of the Enertek kits. I was not nearly as involved in this part of Enertek kit development as you were.

So, how about you post your story about development of the Enertek internal kit components? I know I'd like to hear about it. I know you must have great stories about this. Heck, maybe you could even work in the "Rappin' Leroy" story.

 

[rokitflite]

Bob! ROFLMAO!!! I forgot about the rappin' Leroy thing! I will try to come up with some story more exciting then me sitting at my desk swearing a whole lot in regards to the kit's inner design process. I was going to scan in every page of the catalog to post here, but I can't figure out where I put all of them during my rocket collection re-organization that I completed last month! Hope its warmer where you are than where I am...

-Scott

 

[Initiator001]

Scott,

Yes! Some stories from your area of Enertek product development would be great. It's time to get typing!

As for the temperature out here in SUNNY San Diego, I believe it got up around 80 degrees, today.

 

[Initiator001]

Originally posted by Chr$
So... the fin-loc thing was Aerotech and not Enertek design.

Maybe Ed Lacroix came up with it?

The AeroTech FIN-LOK system was designed and developed by Paul Hans, Dan Meyer, Alan Schenk and Scott Pearce. Myself and Gary Rosenfield had some input, also.

Ed LaCroix came to AeroTech many years later, in 1993, after I was gone.

 

[Initiator001]

Originally posted by rokitflite
OK Bob, heres one... The Enertek booth at its first (and I think last) showing at the National Hobby Show in Chicago.

I was thinking about this and recalled that the Enertek booth made it's one and only appearence at the HIAA Show in St. Louis, 1988.

We sure spent many hours building that thing. Too bad it was only used once.

 

[Initiator001]

I have a prototype, pad-printed, Enertek 24mm 'E' motor case.

It is a one-piece, molded case that would have been used for Enertek 24mm diameter E15 & E30 motors.

Gary Rosenfield had this compression mold made while Lee Piester or Bill Stine had a few of them printed up to look like actual motors.

When Enertek folded, AeroTech took the mold and used it for their E15s.

Side one:

 

[Initiator001]

Second view:

 

[Initiator001]

Final side:

 

[n3tjm]

Look at the second picture, it says the total impulse is 20 n/s... That is a D motor, not an E . I guess you guys were in a hurry to get things ready for the show

 

[Initiator001]

Originally posted by n3tjm
Look at the second picture, it says the total impulse is 20 n/s... That is a D motor, not an E . I guess you guys were in a hurry to get things ready for the show

Yup, I guess we were.

According to the markings on the casing, the motors would have been a D7.

 

[Initiator001]

Sorry about the pictures folks.

Some posts have mixed up pictures.

If there is no picture then I can add a picture but I cannot remove/change pictures.

 

[samb]

Sorry about the pictures folks.

Some posts have mixed up pictures.

If there is no picture then I can add a picture but I cannot remove/change pictures.

A small price to pay for the resurrection of a great thread. Tell us another story, Bob !

 

[Initiator001]

There is a thread over on Ye Olde Rocketry Forum (YORF) where I have posted some of the missing pictures and some new information about Enertek:

https://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showthread.php?t=18613&page=1&pp=10