George: I had a similar idea where I was going to use a thermoplastic that you heat up in boiling water, put an Igniter in place then form a plug around the Igniter so the wires would be inside the formed plastic plug.

It seems that idea was already patented.

The blob problems you discussed were probably due to the Cox motors having slightly different nozzle dimensions than the Centuri and Estes engines of that time frame.
I've always wondered who actually designed the Igniter. I think it was Doug Malewicki as he was head of Rocketry at Cox.

There's a post about that here about 8 months ago

https://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showthread.php?t=19152

https://www.rocketryforum.com/threa...50/post-2090337

instead of having the igniter stick out of the top of the plastic plug, my idea would only have the shaped pyrogen bead protruding.

see the attached image

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__________________
"Old Rocketeer's don't die; they just go OOP".....unless you 3D print them.

According to an L.M. Cox Catalog circa 1971, Cox Safety Igniters were provided with each pack of Cox model rocket engines and they were available separately in packs of six. The Cox part number for the blister pack of six Cox Safety Igniters was #5022. See photos attached. The blister pack photo shows that the Cox Safety Igniters were made at the Cox Center in Santa Ana, California, where public tours could be scheduled once upon a time.

I do have a few 6 packs of the Cox Safety Igniters that were sold in Michigan Model Distributing Co. packaging out of Grand Rapids, Michigan, but I have no idea when these were sold. See photo attached.

There is some important Cox Rocket Motor History at the following link, https://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showthread.php?t=19421, that has bearing, I believe, on the limited availability of the Cox Safety Igniters.

It appears from all the information available so far, that Cox Model Rocket Engine and Cox Safety Igniter production began sometime in the first half of 1970. As documented in the referenced Cox Rocket Motor History thread, https://forums.rocketshoppe.com/showthread.php?t=19421, there was an explosion at the L.M. Cox Manufacturing Plant in Santa Ana, California on June 11, 1971, which killed two employees and injured six others in the engine making area where black powder was used in the production of the Cox model rocket engines. From all available photos of Cox model rocket engines that I have found so far, there does not appear to be any Cox Model Rocket Engines produced after the June 11, 1971 date at the L.M. Cox facility in Santa Ana, California. There have been some references to the possibility of MPC (or others) manufacturing model rocket engines for L.M. Cox Company after the June 11, 1971 date, but there has been no definite evidence produced so far whether this occurred or not. It appears there is evidence that the L.M. Cox Company did continue selling their line of ABS plastic model rockets and their existing stock of model rocket engines until, at least, the end of 1973, or until stocks were depleted before they stopped marketing model rocket products in the early 1970's. Therefore, the Cox Safety Igniters were available, at least, until supplies of the Cox model rocket engines lasted or until hobby shops sold out of the packs of igniters.

A portion of the original L.M. Cox model rocket line was revived in the early 1990's, but Cox never again produced model rocket engines until Cox was purchased/absorbed by Estes/Centuri Corp. in 1996. All Estes-Cox model rocket engine production continued at Estes Industries in Penrose, Colorado, using the Estes model rocket engine design and production equipment and the engines were packed with the Estes igniters.

If anyone has any evidence of L.M. Cox Model Rocket Engine or Safety Igniter production after June 11, 1971, or has original Cox model rocket engines dated after that date, please let us know about it and please share photos if possible. Thanks.

Kind regards,
Jeff Jenkins
aka: Faithwalker
NAR #46879 SR

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Oh, I get a kick out of the description saying "For all Cox engines"



So THAT is what I needed to do to get that CL plastic Stuka plane's Cox .049 engine to run! Well, it did say "ALL Cox engines".

Never did get the engine to run more than a few seconds.

Finally learned enough to get an .049 to run when I learned to fly RC for real in 1977.

__________________
Contest flying, Sport flying, it's all good.....
NAR# 18723 NAR.org
GeorgesRockets.com
Georges'CancerGoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-geo...ay-fight-cancer

Yeah, that was probably a bit confusing for some folks, but the Michigan Model Distributing Co. packaging changed the wording to, "For All Rocket Engines", which was more in line with the intended purpose.

Kind regards,
Jeff Jenkins
aka: Faithwalker
NAR #46879 SR

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I remember getting a few spare parts for .049 Cox engines in that same red blister pack, from the local hobby shop.

Do not recall ever seeing the Cox ignitors for sale. Only saw the Cox rockets and engines at K-Mart, and the two big hobby shops on town did not carry them.

__________________
Contest flying, Sport flying, it's all good.....
NAR# 18723 NAR.org
GeorgesRockets.com
Georges'CancerGoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-geo...ay-fight-cancer

Even well after the accident at the L.M. Cox Manufacturing Plant on June 11, 1971, the Cox Model Rocket ads continued to promote the Cox line of model rockets including the X-15 and Space Shuttle America models, stating that they were available at hobby, toy and department stores. Cox continued to run large ads fairly consistently in the Model Rocketry and Model Rocketeer magazines throughout 1971-1973 and even into January 1974.

I don't know for sure how long the Cox Model Rocketry products were available in stores. I can remember seeing bunches of the Cox model rockets and engines sold in the Treasury Department store with the squiggly corrugated roof on the corner of Highway 51 (Elvis Presley Blvd.) and Holmes Road in Memphis, TN, in 1972-1973. Whenever we shopped in that store back then, I would always head straight for that section of the store to study all the Cox model rocketry offerings. I still have a mint in package Cox Little Joe II that I managed to purchase. I thought the Cox model rockets were very neatly and attractively packaged back then.


Yes, they could, although, as George already mentioned, the Cox pyrogen tips could sometimes not fit well into the engine nozzles and could break off.

Kind regards,
Jeff Jenkins
aka: Faithwalker
NAR #46879 SR

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Here is an image of the typical Cox Model Rocket ad that they ran throughout 1973 and in the January 1974 issue of Model Rocketeer magazine.

Kind regards,
Jeff Jenkins
aka: Faithwalker
NAR #46879 SR

Attached Thumbnails

 

By that time, Cox rockets were gone from any stores I ever saw them in. I only recall them in the local K-Mart from 1970 to maybe 1972. Even got the Cox pad/control (and MPC Pad/Control), and a few models including the Saturn-IB nad nike-Zeus.

From about 1972 on, I didn't see them in stores anymore. Same for MPC in stores. Though a local hobby shop did have the MPC Mini-Jets and MiniRocs in mid 1971 and into 1972, maybe into 73.

__________________
Contest flying, Sport flying, it's all good.....
NAR# 18723 NAR.org
GeorgesRockets.com
Georges'CancerGoFundMe:
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-geo...ay-fight-cancer

Cox rockets and motors were available for a short time, 1970 / 1971, at a hobby shop ("The Artisan Mart") the next town over. They also carried MPC models and parts, and I *think* motors at the same time.

I recall that some of their MPC models were *bagged*. Specifically, the Martian Patrol. They also had the MPC ready-to-fly models.

I bought the MPC edition (black cover) of the Harry Stine guide to model rocketry book. Not the classic handbook, but a smaller book that was more introductory.

Down the street, a hardware store that had an extensive toy and hobby section, Eisenstadt's, carried MPC motors and Centuri kits. Eventually they carried Centuri motors. I imagine that there were strange distribution issues back then.

__________________
NAR #27085 - Oregon Rocketry - SAM

J.C. Penney had both Cox and MPC, and even Vashon, model rockets in their 1970 Christmas Wishbook Catalog. Again, Cox model rockets were available in J.C. Penney's 1971 and 1972 Christmas Wishbook Catalogs. The Cox Honest John model rocket set could be ordered up until August 25, 1973 from the J.C. Penney 1972 Christmas Wishbook Catalog.

The Treasury Department Stores in Memphis, TN, where I saw stacks of the Cox model rockets back then, were owned by J.C. Penney.

Kind regards,
Jeff Jenkins
aka: Faithwalker
NAR #46879 SR

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