MMI Launch Tower

[John Dyer]

Try this: http://www.questaerospace.com/q-stineletters.htm

I just did a search "the stine letters quest" and got there.....


I do have a question....

In the film and on the Quest website (on the museum pages), they show a tower launch pad.

Does anyone have plans for this tower somewhere? or at least dimensions and possibly a parts list?

It might be interesting to see how they were constructed - they look pretty sturdy...


John

[jdbectec]

Yes I have seen that same time and I do know that Brian Thompson who owns Slot & Wing Hobbies in my youth had at least two of them they are on display in the store until recently the last move. Although I can't promise you when I will be by there again and I'll ask Mark his son who works there on Sundays if he knows of any information about them those Towers were built buy model missiles and I if I recall correctly you had to assemble them

[John Dyer]

Yes I have seen that same time and I do know that Brian Thompson who owns Slot & Wing Hobbies in my youth had at least two of them they are on display in the store until recently the last move. Although I can't promise you when I will be by there again and I'll ask Mark his son who works there on Sundays if he knows of any information about them those Towers were built buy model missiles and I if I recall correctly you had to assemble them


Thanks... Wow - I didn't expect any of them to still be around.

It would be kind of an interesting project to build one if we can get info on one of them.

Could you imagine flying a Mrk I or II from one at a club launch? Or NARAM? :)

John

[Gus]

I do have a question....

In the film and on the Quest website (on the museum pages), they show a tower launch pad.

Does anyone have plans for this tower somewhere? or at least dimensions and possibly a parts list?

It might be interesting to see how they were constructed - they look pretty sturdy...


John


Partial MMI Launch Tower on eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MMI-MODEL-MISSILES-Launch-Tower-Model-Rocket-Rare-Estes-Astron-Centuri-/152248383475?hash=item2372b5f7f3:g:EKUAAOSwzaJX4Kar)

[jetlag]

Partial MMI Launch Tower on eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MMI-MODEL-MISSILES-Launch-Tower-Model-Rocket-Rare-Estes-Astron-Centuri-/152248383475?hash=item2372b5f7f3:g:EKUAAOSwzaJX4Kar)


$1500 ! Really?

[John Dyer]

Partial MMI Launch Tower on eBay (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MMI-MODEL-MISSILES-Launch-Tower-Model-Rocket-Rare-Estes-Astron-Centuri-/152248383475?hash=item2372b5f7f3:g:EKUAAOSwzaJX4Kar)


Thanks, but I was hoping that someone would have a parts list, etc. the pictures do help.

$1,500.00 is waaaaay over what I'm willing to pay for a tower - especially one missing parts.

John

[John Dyer]

$1500 ! Really?


Looks like the cross members are missing, and the center pieces to hold the model.
Plus the blast deflector, etc.

the pictures do help get an idea of how the tower is put together, but I need the overall dimensions, total height and width of the tower, length of the parts, parts list, etc.

Like I said - it would be fun to replicate one, but it's not critical. I thought it would be nice to display with the 2 MMI Rock-a-chute motors I have.


John

[sandman]

Looks like the cross members are missing, and the center pieces to hold the model.
Plus the blast deflector, etc.

the pictures do help get an idea of how the tower is put together, but I need the overall dimensions, total height and width of the tower, length of the parts, parts list, etc.

Like I said - it would be fun to replicate one, but it's not critical. I thought it would be nice to display with the 2 MMI Rock-a-chute motors I have.


John

If it's just for display, it could be duplicated in wood or polycarbonate.

But again, you would need dimensions.

[ghrocketman]

I wouldn't pay 1/10 of the asking price for that thing on ebay.
Wouldn't pay the asked $1500 if it was made of Unobtainium....
That seller must have climbed the STUPID tree, fell out, and BUMPED THEIR HEAD several times on the way down.
STINKONIUM though, maybe....

[Doug Sams]

$1,500.00 is waaaaay over what I'm willing to pay for a tower - especially one missing parts.I wonder if the seller is connected to the hobby, or is simply trying to make a quick buck off something he/she is only vaguely familiar with. That is, would they be aware of this thread? Would they know that some folks here are their best target customers? Would they be willing to come down to a reasonable price level with real, genuine rocket-knowledgeable customers?

Doug

.

[ghrocketman]

The ONLY person that would pay anywhere near the asked $1500 would not only have to be a dedicated rocketry hobbyist, but also one that this particular item holds particular sentimental value as well. Rarity often does not determine VALUE.
Being rare often does increase value, but there also needs to be an actual want for the item in question for it to have marketable value, rare or not.

While the audience on ebay is HUGE, the correct audience for specialized items such as this is actually lousy.

[Royatl]

In doing some research I was looking at picutures and descriptions on the Smithsonian site. I noticed that the original Rock-A-Chute motors, made by Orville Carlisle himself were actually 13 mm motors ("Dimensions: Overall: 1/2in. x 3 3/8in. (1.3 x 8.57cm)"). The motors in the pictures below (from NASM) have printed labels so they were actual "production run" motors meant for sale, made by Orville himself, before G. Harry and before the motors made by Brown Manufacturing.

So a few questions:

Does anyone know why the switch was made from 13mm to 18mm?

Does anyone have any pictures of either these motors being used or the motor mounts of the earliest Carlisle rockets.

Does anyone know if the test models G. Harry initially got from Orville used these same 13 mm motors (I presume so since these were given to NASM by G. Harry).

Finally, does anyone have any idea what Orville Carlisles designations of "4-4" and "4-4-2" on the motors stood for?

Thanks,

Steve

This is probably already answered, but Brown said they could make motors for MMI cheaper if they used their existing tooling for the Zenith BuzzBomb! Harry first related this story in Model Rocketry Magazine when MPC introduced the MiniMotors in '71.

Specifically, look in the July 71 issue "The Old Rocketeer: Engines Full Circle". Page 27
http://www.ninfinger.org/rockets/ModelRocketry/Model_Rocketry_v03n09_07-71.pdf

The motors Carlisle sent to Harry in '57 were the 13mm motors. There was another manufacturer around 1965 that introduced 13 mm motors but was unsuccessful ("Uni-Jet").


Of course, things in Harry's articles were sometimes tinged with literary licence. Note the paragraph where Harry indicates that Vern walked in off the street unannounced, where it is now well established that Harry went looking for Vern. Though if you think about it, maybe it happened just as he said, he was just expecting Vern to show up after giving him the challenge.

As for the numbers:

According to Carlisle's letter to Stine of Feb 13, 1957,
The first number tells "how much booster is in the unit." Probably how many scoops of powder.
The second number tells "the kind of powder".
The third number tells "what the delay charge is made up of." where 2 is slower than 1.

[John Dyer]

If it's just for display, it could be duplicated in wood or polycarbonate.

But again, you would need dimensions.

I was looking at the MMI Arcon kit instructions, and they reference the "42 inch tall deluxe tower" so there's 1 dimension.

And I would prefer to build it as a functional tower - you never know what you would want to do once built.

John

[sandman]

I was looking at the MMI Arcon kit instructions, and they reference the "42 inch tall deluxe tower" so there's 1 dimension.

And I would prefer to build it as a functional tower - you never know what you would want to do once built.

John

Oh, I can make it functional ;)

But I will need more than one dimension.

If someone can go to the museum and get some good close up pics and close dimensions that would be enough for me

[Gus]

The MMI launch tower is back on ebay at a reduced price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MMI-MODEL-MISSILES-Launch-Tower-Model-Rocket-Rare-Estes-Astron-Centuri-/152258608024?hash=item237351fb98:g:EKUAAOSwzaJX4Kar

If the ebay poster listed this in an auction starting at 99 cents, what do you think it would end up selling for?

My impression is that rusted as it is, missing half the parts, and no box, I doubt it would reach $200.

[John Dyer]

The MMI launch tower is back on ebay at a reduced price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MMI-MODEL-MISSILES-Launch-Tower-Model-Rocket-Rare-Estes-Astron-Centuri-/152258608024?hash=item237351fb98:g:EKUAAOSwzaJX4Kar

If the ebay poster listed this in an auction starting at 99 cents, what do you think it would end up selling for?

My impression is that rusted as it is, missing half the parts, and no box, I doubt it would reach $200.


I wouldn't pay more than $10.00...

I guess I better not say that too loud - he might hear me :chuckle:

John

[mojo1986]

The MMI launch tower is back on ebay at a reduced price.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-MMI-MODEL-MISSILES-Launch-Tower-Model-Rocket-Rare-Estes-Astron-Centuri-/152258608024?hash=item237351fb98:g:EKUAAOSwzaJX4Kar

If the ebay poster listed this in an auction starting at 99 cents, what do you think it would end up selling for?

My impression is that rusted as it is, missing half the parts, and no box, I doubt it would reach $200.

Agreed. You would just have an incomplete kit, and how the heck are you ever going to complete it??

[John Dyer]

Agreed. You would just have an incomplete kit, and how the heck are you ever going to complete it??


A good machinist could probably replace the missing parts...

But then it wouldn't be an original, and whatever value you assigned to it would really not be valid.

Cloning one (if we can get some of the measurements) would be cheaper, and you wouldn't be afraid to use it.


Question for the group - should this discussion be moved to another thread? we kind of got off-topic, which is talking about Carlisle's Motors.

Completely my fault...


John