How much do you spend a year for motors?

prophecy said:

Outside on a picnic table = the best kind of ventilation!

Click to expand...

It's how i made my first batch!

Not having the option of EX here.. Two, 2 M's this year will cost $400+ each, some K's at $150 each, and some smaller motors $20-100 each. Gets expensive fast.

I usually do one large order a year from F-J motors. Sometimes, I will do a smaller order in the fall to replenish what has been flown.

Issus said:

Not having the option of EX here.. Two, 2 M's this year will cost $400+ each, some K's at $150 each, and some smaller motors $20-100 each. Gets expensive fast.

Click to expand...

Yes. A very interesting question would be rough cost per flight. The top vote right now is 1000-1999 dollars. But in my case that represents what I hope will be 60 to 90 flights total. From 1/8A to K.
Whereas in othe'rs case it might be four Ms and few Ls

Maybe $100=150? Mostly black powder. I bought a couple of 24mm composites motors, but I only fly 3-4x a year.

gdjsky01 said:

Yes. A very interesting question would be rough cost per flight. The top vote right now is 1000-1999 dollars. But in my case that represents what I hope will be 60 to 90 flights total. From 1/8A to K.
Whereas in othe'rs case it might be four Ms and few Ls

Click to expand...

dont forget that cti O motor.... 5,000.000

There's a caveat with my response, I purchase for my rocketry groups so with them and my personal usage I run about 800-900 dollars a year.

Last year probably around $300. This year nothing so far. Just not feeling the whole rocketry thing this year.

about 100$.

Zoooooombie thread.....

My estimate is between $750-$1000 per year. It started a lot lower and has been steadily increasing lately as my comfort level has increased dramatically. One thing I find interesting in reading these old comments is seeing just how far some people have come in four years. From "Hoping to get my L1 this year" back then to now being L2 or L3 and seeing pictures of the small fortunes spent during the Black Friday/Saturday sales. Glad this thread was brought back to life!

Yeah, it's still an interesting question.
I used to budget $4,000 at the beginning of the year. Now I spend less than that, but that covers everything: trips, rocket parts, motors, electronics, and etc.
Of that, probably $1-2k will be motors this year.


Steve Shannon

Thread Paladin says No to Thread Necromancy!


Mainly flying lo/mid power this year, so only ~$200 in the first quarter.
Most of my rocket investment has been in construction supplies/tools since I moved away from the university machine shop.

Around $400

Commercial - near zero.
Research - I expect to burn though $2-3k in chemicals this year.

Picked up a Loki 75/8000 and a M3464 last year. Picked up a batch of motors from another flyer who was purging to the tune of about $700. Black Saturday wasn't too bad for me this year. So you could say I spent approx. $2k+ last year.

My problem is our local field(s) are often thwarted by weather. I always think "Yeah! I can fly this, this this...." but mother nature often has other plans for us. And I don't have much time to get out to a big launch (MWP, AIRFEST, etc) with my other hobby (steam railroading).

Such is life.

I don't know how much I have spent. I enjoy it and that's what really matters to me.

Zeus-cat said:

I don't know how much I have spent. I enjoy it and that's what really matters to me.

Click to expand...

I keep all my rocketry receipts in a black binder. I added it up once. once.

I've got around 6 Loki G motors, a pair of H250G's, and an assortment of E reloads still in the motor box.

For this year, I'm planning on buying one M reload for about $315, and $120 worth of AP200, maybe another 100 on casting tube sets, rings, and other assorted stuff.

500/year seems average for me, but that's been with a good bit of hold over from the previous year, each year there seems to be less and less left over at the end of the year. On one hand, that means I'm planning better each year. On the other it leaves me with less random small motors for windy days. when I run out, I may just order a bunch of 29/180/240/360 loads for 'rainy days'

what an awesome thread!

im just a little addicted. im about $200 or so a year. lpr and mpr.

Sorry I missed this thread.

I don't spend anything. Zero. Zilch. Not dime one.

So far this year, I've burned a pair of J415's at a student launch, for total impulse just under a K motor. September's ARLISS launch will see that increase substantially.