Aero Pack lowers some prices by 15%

Just read in the Jan/Feb 2015 issue of Sport Rocketry that Aero Pack has lowered pricing on thir retainers by as much as 15% starting Jan. 1, 2015. In the article they attribute it to new tooling with dual spindles and live tooling. They give some examples of the 15% drop items like RA29L, L2 and P assemblies drop for $27.00 to $23.00. The RA38L and P assemblies drop from $29.00 to $25.00. The RA54L and P assemblies drop from $34.00 to $29.00. Good one Aero Pack!

I see that their website is already showing the new prices.

Tailcones! Tailcones!

watermelonman said:

Tailcones! Tailcones!

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Yup, there down in price too just not 15% down.

Nice. Not something you see happen all that often - manufacturers lowering prices when they can.

I gotta say, this is a good thing. I really like Aeropack retainers and use them on a LOT of my rockets. But they are pretty dang expensive quite honestly - every time I buy a new one (or just the body), I always choke a bit at the price. But I pay anyway because they are the good stuff and like I say, I like using them. So this is good news.

I can't help but think that now that the Aerotech ones have come out, and that they are a LOT cheaper for something almost as nice, that this had something to do with it. But that's the essence of American capitalism, is it not? - competition is good!

Either way, I'm glad the pricing has come down a bit - thanks Aeropack!
s6

I wonder if this price drop is to compete with the Aerotech retainers that are out now. 29mm has been released and rumor is there is a 38mm on the way.

The Aerotech 29mm retainer is made in China! The Aero Pack is still made in USA. Sorry but I'll never buy the Chinese product if I can get an American or Canadian item of similar or better quality. I don't care if it costs more. If Aero Pack goes out of business or has to terminate American jobs and produce offshore to compete, we all lose in the end.

DavieRockets said:

The Aerotech 29mm retainer is made in China! The Aero Pack is still made in USA. Sorry but I'll never buy the Chinese product if I can get an American or Canadian item of similar or better quality. I don't care if it costs more. If Aero Pack goes out of business or has to terminate American jobs and produce offshore to compete, we all lose in the end.

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+1...

Last I heard the Aerotech retainers are going to stay in 29mm only and are primarily intended for inclusion in their own kits, though individual sales will remain. In other words, no 38-54mm and no big distribution push.

They are definitely not as nice as Aeropack retainers but I think they are a nice middle ground for 29mm users who do not want to have a giant blob of grey plastic hanging off the rear of an otherwise nice looking rocket.

Can you order directly off Aeropack?

Yes you can. I'm not sure of their shipping policies but here is their webstore.
Just checked. They do seem to allow for international orders. They just require shipping to include tracking.
https://aeropack.net/webstore/

I have routinely ordered from the Aeropack webstore. Quick shipping, too.

Sweet thanks all

Thank you everyone for the nice comments! They are what keep us working hard.

Yes, we have lowered pricing. Only a little on most items but a lot on our 3 most popular motor retainers.

No, we are not trying to compete with AeroTech's Chinese motor retainer. To compete with that retainer we would have to go offshore, which is something we are not willing to do. We are a small company and have dedicated employees, associates and suppliers. They depend on us as much as we depend on them.

I think the AeroTech 29mm retainer is a good retainer for those getting into the hobby and want to keep cost to an absolute minimum. When they decide that High Power Rocketry is the hobby for them, hopefully they will consider Aero Pack motor retainers as excellent insurance to help protect their investment in motors and rockets.

Best Regards,

Bob Mosley
Aero Pack

I really like the fact that you can add an engraving to my retainers. What size limits are there on this process?

cwbullet said:

I really like the fact that you can add an engraving to my retainers. What size limits are there on this process?

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Hi Chuck,

We try to make the text height almost as high as the width of the lip on the cap or cone. If the text is really long we reduce the font size (overall text height and width) to make it fit.

Bob

Hey Bob

For years I have wanted a bell type retainer (like the ones by Rowe's Retainers). I would buy a Rowe's however the pricing is a bit steeper than I like (shipping is also quite steep). Have you ever considered adding something like that to your lineup?

H_Rocket said:

Hey Bob

For years I have wanted a bell type retainer (like the ones by Rowe's Retainers). I would buy a Rowe's however the pricing is a bit steeper than I like (shipping is also quite steep). Have you ever considered adding something like that to your lineup?

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Hi Al,

Yes we have considered them, but held off for 2 reasons. One is that they take a lot of bar stock, like the tailcones do and thus the cost would be high. The other reason is that when we first introduced our tailcones, we offered them both in straight taper and in Ogive. The straight taper versions out sold the Ogive shaped tailcones by over 50 to 1. We have to run a lot of retainers at one time to keep them cost effective and it just wasn't cost effective to keep running the Ogive versions.

That doesn't mean we won't ever make them, but we would need a lot of interest before investing the time and material. I will re-investigate the bell shaped (nozzle shaped) retainers and see if I can come up with a way to test market them. If I do I will announce it here on TRF. Thank you for the suggestion.

Regards,

Bob
Aero Pack

I would love to see flanged versions of the 29mm and 38mm retainers... As it would mean the entire retainer could be easily reused on a new rocket should a rocket be damaged beyond repair.

Its no problem to reuse the standard retainer if rocket gets trashed. might be faster the flanged type to change out.