John Pursley injured in an accident

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Scott_650 said:
Here’s the build thread by our own neil_w https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...arok-orbital-interceptor-build-thread.144054/
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...and I answered that exact question there, which is good because I can't remember. :)

goose_in_co said:
Just curious, What parts of the Estes Cosmic Interceptor kit are used for this kitbash?
I can see the nose cone, main body tube, and motor mount, but what else?
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It's 27" of 2" BT (Cosmic Interceptor does this with 2 pieces coupled together), one additional piece of BT (about 7" long) for the scoop, the nose cone and the motor mount. And the launch lug and parachute etc.

I *think* that's it.

[edit] Nope, two more things: the cardstock vanes that go at the back of the motor mount, and the yellow spacer tube used in building the motor mount. Both could probably be improvised with other stuff.
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As we can all see by the posts made over the last 3 hours there is a need to find a place to put John's stuff and PDFs so his works can live on.
 
If I was doing it, I would list them as John Pursley Accur8 Rocket Parts.
Anyone who was a rocket fan of John would know who that was.
 
Buzz McDermott said:
I am so sorry about that. I was totally new to how Ebay selling worked. I will PM you and I can get whatever you ordered or get you a full refund.
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Buzz has PM'd me and I'm sure we'll work something out. I appreciate him stepping in after the loss of his friend and I understand getting lost in shuffle during that time.

I still hope to get an interceptor skin or two to fly in John's honor. I never met him, but I feel the loss of the community and was impressed with his skills and how much he shared on his website.
 
Buzz McDermott said:
Accur8 was never sold. At this point the 3D files are all going to be uploaded to ThingVerse unless someone here has a better suggestion.
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FYI, I sent a private message to Buzz on this issue, as some of the 3D-printed models John had for sale on ebay are directly derived from my CAD work (John and I had an ongoing business arrangement on the Saturn engine models specifically-- he had a number H-1 engine sets that he sold, but I'm not sure if he ever did much with the J-2 engines, though he had planned to sell them, also). These represent hundreds of hours of work on my part, and I would not be comfortable with them getting uploaded to the public domain.

Josh T.
 
Meatball 1 said:
FYI, I sent a private message to Buzz on this issue, as some of the 3D-printed models John had for sale on ebay are directly derived from my CAD work (John and I had an ongoing business arrangement on the Saturn engine models specifically-- he had a number H-1 engine sets that he sold, but I'm not sure if he ever did much with the J-2 engines, though he had planned to sell them, also). These represent hundreds of hours of work on my part, and I would not be comfortable with them getting uploaded to the public domain.

Josh T.
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Josh -

Other than buying random 3D printed parts I have little firsthand experience with the process but are there print on demand services where we can compensate you for your work?
 
Meatball 1 said:
FYI, I sent a private message to Buzz on this issue, as some of the 3D-printed models John had for sale on ebay are directly derived from my CAD work (John and I had an ongoing business arrangement on the Saturn engine models specifically-- he had a number H-1 engine sets that he sold, but I'm not sure if he ever did much with the J-2 engines, though he had planned to sell them, also). These represent hundreds of hours of work on my part, and I would not be comfortable with them getting uploaded to the public domain.

Josh T.
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Josh,

So, do you intend to start making these yourself in the near future or do you intend to just make them unavailable ?

Dave F.
 
I know Shapeways sells people's stuff that way, but it strikes me that they are likely the ones making most of the money. That may not be fair. I've bought a few things from them for my 1:100 static Saturn V. They were very good, designed by a great guy, but they were quite expensive; more that I think it should be for an enterprise that must have printers going round the clock. i.e. if you buy a $500 printer and you're printing every once in a while, your cost per part is high. If you're printing around the clock, high volume, that's got to be somewhat different. But again, I'v never investigated the whole field like I'd like to.
 
Scott_650 said:
Other than buying random 3D printed parts I have little firsthand experience with the process but are there print on demand services where we can compensate you for your work?
Click to expand...

My H-1 and J-2 models have been on Shapeways for years, but they keep the bulk of the money. My 'markup' on those items is not much, as I feel they're too expensive as it is. I do not have the space, time, or equipment to do resin 3D printing, myself. Eventually I want to do other sizes for those items (I have had several requests), but I can tell you that I usually find it very difficult to spend any of my free time on CAD work now (it's my day job).
 
Am I the only one who thinks that this thread has gone way off track? Perhaps the conversations about topics that don't deal with the injury and passing of John should be moved to another/other thread(s)?
 
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I've said previously that perhaps we should have a memorial thread or even a memorial area for well-known rocketeers who are watching the rockets coming UP at them now... those, who, like John, have made a considerable contribution to the hobby. I hope it would be a nice place.
 
OK, I'll ask the hard question. How do we start a new thread dealing with the Accur8 skins or wraps?

I had emailed John many times and was one of the ones who asked him to do the blue Angels skins and others. He realized the more skins he made available the more he was helping ESTES sell more of the Interceptor. We laughed because ESTES wasn't paying him for his service. The Interceptor was one of his favorites.

So, are we honoring him by trying to carry on his skins PDF files the best way by making them available free, or are we dishonoring him by giving them away? Who has the power to make this decision? My personal feeling is John would rather share them. If a young person saw an Interceptor with one of Johns's skins on it and they wanted to build one, then his honor lives on.

So, let's either get a new thread started and deal with Johns's great PDF, or let's end this thread once and for all. I believe this is what John would want.

Hate me or not, but all I can see is we are all running around in a circle with this thread.
 
Saluki said:
OK, I'll ask the hard question. How do we start a new thread dealing with the Accur8 skins or wraps?
[...]
So, let's either get a new thread started and deal with Johns's great PDF, or let's end this thread once and for all. I believe this is what John would want.
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At this time, we really don't have anything to act on w.r.t. to the future of Accur8 skins.
I've PM-ed Buzz with an offer to host them, which may, or may not, come to pass.

Evidently, there are others contesting the ownership of some of John Pursley's assets who might be getting in the way (see post 127 above).
It's getting messy.

What John might have wanted and what would benefit this community vs. what will come to pass, may be two entirely divergent outcomes.

a
 
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Saluki said:
So, are we honoring him by trying to carry on his skins PDF files the best way by making them available free, or are we dishonoring him by giving them away? Who has the power to make this decision? My personal feeling is John would rather share them. If a young person saw an Interceptor with one of Johns's skins on it and they wanted to build one, then his honor lives on.
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Things to consider . . .

(1) John will neither benefit, nor be harmed by the eventual fate of his intellectual property.
(2) Who would be making the money by selling John's work ?
(3) Should John's work be allowed to die with him ?
(4) Do we want to honor John and his legacy, or not ?
(5) What are our motivations for our positions ?

Personally, I think the ALL of John's rocketry-related contributions ( including ALL of his scale data ) should be available to everyone and no one should "make a buck off of it", as that amounts to "blood money".

Dave F.
 
Ez2cDave said:
Things to consider . . .

(1) John will neither benefit, nor be harmed by the eventual fate of his intellectual property.
(2) Who would be making the money by selling John's work ?
(3) Should John's work be allowed to die with him ?
(4) Do we want to honor John and his legacy, or not ?
(5) What are our motivations for our positions ?

Personally, I think the ALL of John's rocketry-related contributions ( including ALL of his scale data ) should be available to everyone and no one should "make a buck off of it", as that amounts to "blood money".

Dave F.
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I'd agree if John had no wife or children or other heirs - his will should have made that clear, hopefully he didn't die without one. I don't know his personal situation, I'm sure Buzz and other collaborators do... If he has a widow/children, it is a moral imperative of this community that we insure that they are compensated in some fashion for the value of John's business assets.

It gets gnarly when it comes to collaborators; I understand wanting compensation for good work that is helpful, valuable and took a large effort on their part - there is where well-defined agreements or contracts are helpful - so I hope that we can all be reasonable in that regard. Nobody expected this tragedy. So I think we have to ascertain, as best as is possible, what would John want?
 
Ez2cDave said:
Is there a link to John's obituary ?

I have been unable to find one.

Dave F.
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It was in a Houston, TX, newspaper. John was living in Dallas at the time of his death but he grew up in and always considered Houston his home. I'll see if I can find the link for you.
 
I was wrong about the Houston obit. His ex was going to write one but didn't . She posted to his high school Facebook page, instead....

"It is with great sadness that I’m posting the death of a friend and fellow rocket enthusiast, John Lee Pursley.

Last November, John was in a horrific motorcycle accident in the Dallas area where he has lived for the last five years. He has been in the hospital since the accident and was never able to fully recover from his injuries.

John was an IT guru and had a passion for all things space related and rocketry. John was involved in restoring the Saturn V rocket housed at NASA’s Johnsons Space Center, the Space Shuttle Atlantis at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and several other rockets at the Huntsville Space Center in Alabama. In 2005 The History Channel did a special on the restoration of the Saturn V rocket in Houston and John was consulted and interviewed for the program. The special is “Apollo: The Race Against Time” and the video is available on Vimeo. John said working on these rockets and spacecrafts was the highlight of his life.
John competed in scale modeling on a former Internats team. He was also a past editor for “Sport Rocketry.”

John was recognized worldwide for his spacecraft models. His ex-wife Connie Bear Sipp was able to visit John just a few days before his death.
God Bless you, John. You will be missed."
 
FYI.

Buzz reached out to me and delivered the Accur8 products I paid for thru an ebay auction for right about the time of John's accident.

Thanks Buzz.
 

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