Returning after 20 years

My father and I had a lot of fun back in the eighties building and flying Estes rockets. I now want to get back into the hobby with my son. I'd like to stay with Estes as that is the brand I am the most familiar with. The one thing that nearly knocked me over was the difference in the cost of the motors from then until now. Wow! I nearly placed a sizeable order with Amazon as I assumed they would be the lowest, and decided to look around a little. I found a company out of Georgia that is 36% cheaper on the motors than Estes retail prices. They are hobbylinc.com. Does anyone know a vendor who would be even lower on Estes products, primarily motors? This hobby just doesn't look to be as cheap as it once was!

Thanks in advance,

stratos283

Hobbylinc is one of the cheapest around, I use them all the time.

Wait til you see the prices now for what was a $2 rocket back then. :y:

Heh, the welcoming statement whenever anybody earns their L1 certfication
is, "Congratulations, now get your wallet out."

Hobbylinc is the lowest cost, and only gets lower as you order gets larger because you can qualify for free shipping (and with motors, that is vital) and an extra 5% discount for LARGE orders.

Commonwealth displays has good prices, and they are great people, Apogee Components is not a "Discount vendor" but they really love helping you out with your next project. Oh and I almost forgot, If you wanna get into Composite motors, Valuerockets is the place to buy, 18mm loads for 7.90 (cheaper than stock estes motors) and great prices on the rest of the hobbieline. Also, check walmart or a hobby store , I buy my Estes motors their for about $6. Also, estes engines make great steals whenever Someone offers the "everything you can fit in this bag" offer



Best of Wishes, SD

stratos283 said:

I'd like to stay with Estes as that is the brand I am the most familiar with.

Click to expand...

[yoda voice]

He, he, he! Much to learn, you have!

[/yoda voice]

FlisKits
Squirrel Works
Mad Cow
The Launch Pad
Art Applewhite
Starlight
Semroc
Heavenly Hobbies
ad almost invinitum

Estes is actually going through a renaissance. They are selling many of their classic kits at new, higher prices.

Welcome to the forum.

Welcome! Yes this hobby has changed a lot. But, do not limit yourself to only Estes, in addition to those mentioned, I would suggest Quest and Custom. In the Watering Hole section here at TRF there are a number of links to manufacturers and vendors.(Check out Rocketry Resources) I think you'll be surprised at just how many there are. Shop around. Many vendors post upcoming sales here. If you find a rocket of interest from another company, check out https://www.rocketreviews.com/, here they review just about every kit out there. Have Fun!!

Welcome back to the hobby. I'm in my 2nd round as a BAR after starting back in the '70s. I hear you about the cost of motors. I got back into rockets after finding a box of my old motors last summer while cleaning out a storage area at my parents. One of the things I found was a big box of an assortment of old motors. Many of the packages still had price tags on them. Some were from the '70s while most were from the late '80s and early '90s. There's been some big changes over the years in the cost.

Hobbylinc is a good source but you don't always have the amount of material needed to make a free shipping order. I've relied heavily on Hobby Lobby in my area. If you have one in your area they have 40% off coupons (off a single regularly priced item) on their website about once a month and usually have Estes stuff at 30% off at least once a month during the warmer months of the year. Those are great when you just need a pack of motors or an Estes rocket or two.

Couple of other things of note that I wish I had known right away when I got back in. The link in the above post to the EMRR review site is a great place to visit. Fliskits makes some really great beginner rockets as well as some of the neatest low power rockets when you want something a little more unusual to look at. Semroc has lots of parts for many of the older rockets if you had a favorite from back when you started. They also have a nice selection of their own designs. The ninfinger catalog archive is neat for a trip down memory lane and if you want to build any of those old kits most of the instructions and templates for them can be found at the spacemodeling.org website. The Apogee Components website is a great source of info and rockets, engines, parts etc. Be sure to check out their newsletter and their excellent instructional videos.

https://www.fliskits.com/
https://www.semroc.com/Store/Scripts/default.asp
https://ninfinger.org/rockets/rockets.html
https://www.spacemodeling.org/JimZ/estes.htm
https://www.apogeerockets.com/

In general, yes there are higher costs but along with that there are a lot more manufacturers of rocket kits and many more motors to fly them on now days that there ever were back in the day.

Welcome back to rocketry!

If you don't mind sharing, how old is your son that you'll be building/flying with?

I find Hobbylinc.com has good prices, reasonable shipping costs, and motors (which have to be shipped via ground) get from Georgia to Wisconsin in about 4-5 days.

In Wisconsin we have Michale's Crafts stores. They have a coupon for 50% off any one item. I have used that coupon on Estes Kits and Motors.

Welcome back! I am a BAR too. Warning: rocketry might be addictive and lead to bigger rockets! BTW I use hobbylinc for my hobby class motors and supplies.

Welcome back to rocketry. It's fun and addictive, the way a hobby should be. I have had good luck with A2ZHobbies.com. They may cost just a bit more, but have the entire range of Estes motors, and have always shipped fast.

Hi and welcome back to the hobby. You've already been given the best advise on motors. As for kits, you may want to check out:
Semroc
Aerospace Specialty Products
Launch Pad

Nice to be back, YA? I just got (really)back into it myself. I love the fact that there is an endless supply of STUFF out there now. I remember, what was in the catalog I had at the time (early 70s) was my choices. Have fun. Scotty Dog

Don't forget Dr. Zooch Rockets... WAY cool stuff and builder's kits "like they used to be" and way cheaper than comparable Estes products...

Later! OL JR

I'd like to thank everyone for the great responses. I was trying to look through my old stuff at my parents the other day. I was primarily looking for the Estes Big Foot launch pad. I thought I had saved it but can't seem to find it. It seemed to be built much sturdier than their pads are now.

Lisa, I'm a bit embarassed to say this, but my son is only 18 months old. Okay, okay, I'm doing this right now as much for my entertainment as his!! However, I feel like I can launch the rockets on low power motors for now so he can keep an eye on them! He loves to watch me fly his Air Hogs helicopter and a couple of balsa rubber band planes so what the heck, he's ready!

I'm a bit overwhelmed at the options available now. It's mind boggling. And looking around at some of the owner's websites, I can't believe the size and power of some of these rockets!! Not to mention the height they are obtaining. Unreal!

Kelly

If you have a Hobby Lobby store near you, this week they are running their 40% off coupon again. You can find it at their web site and print as many as you want. (They run these coupons every few weeks)

HobLob carries mostly Estes stuff, but hey, with 40% off you can find some DEALS! They sell starter specials (a combo kit with launcher, electrical ignition system, a model rocket or two, and some starter specials include a couple motors) for around $20-25 normal price, and if you grab one at 40% off, that is about as cheap as you're going to find the gear to get re-started.

HobLob stores usually have a decent selection of motors but they have become high priced in the past year. Even with the discount coupon, they are still a bit on the high side. Some WalMart stores sell motors, and some still sell the 3-packs of 18mm motors (A, B, and C) for $5, but the selection at WalMart is usually pretty poor.

Better to use an "expensive" A motor and get your rocket back than use a "cheap" C motor and watch the rocket float away...

stratos,

Welcome to TRF and welcome back to rocketry Good to see more and more new folks coming in and participating in the forum (and rocketry too!).

As you can see, this is a great place to ask questions, get answers and just talk rockets!

jim

Hey stratos283! I'm in Abingdon! I got back into this for my son too. He's almost 5.

I've got a collegue of my wife's interested too. He's a tabletop gaming type modeler so can help with stuff like that. Maybe we can get a local club going and get access to one of the big grazing fields around here. If we have a few people willing to put up some dues money to lease a place we might stand a better chance.