Estes Pro Series II kits on sale at Fry's

[Fred Garvin]

When is the next club launch Sam? The website hasn't been updated....I'm guessing it's the 15th.....

 

[Cl(VII)]

I'm willing to put a bottle of Crown on the prize table.....I'm thinking, after the kids go home, the Scouts are done and the TARC teams leave....it's just us farting around.....

I think the scouts would get a kick out of it. Maybe keep the adult beverage in a paper bag you crazy male escort !

As I travel with two of the kiddos, and the Fry's sale has accounted for my monthly discretionary spending, let's just make it a gentlemen's bet. Let's call it a service to rocketry in general, if a three way mid power drag race does't set the rocketry hook on some of the kids in attendance (and their parents), nothing will.

Now do I have any first fires left? Want to ensure a good light, don't want to be left sitting on the pad.

 

[samb]

As I travel with two of the kiddos, and the Fry's sale has accounted for my monthly discretionary spending, let's just make it a gentlemen's bet. Let's call it a service to rocketry in general, if a three way mid power drag race does't set the rocketry hook on some of the kids in attendance (and their parents), nothing will.

Now do I have any first fires left? Want to ensure a good light, don't want to be left sitting on the pad.

That'll work. I have an extra first fire.

 

[ChrisAttebery]

I stopped by the Fry's in San Jose today. They had a couple Ventris, Argent and Partizons. They didn't have any Nike Smokes. There were still some G-40, F50, and F26 motors available too.

I walked out empty handed since I've got a Leviathan on the bench right now and my kids have an Argent and Ventris we need to start soon.

 

[XJChris]

I was quite surprised also, I just checked the order and it is still processing. I'll let you all know if they actually ship with the free shipping.

Well I got a tracking number and the Frys site says my order was fulfilled. Looks like they still have some G40-4 and F50-4 motors that have "same buisness day" shipping available.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

Well I got a tracking number and the Frys site says my order was fulfilled. Looks like they still have some G40-4 and F50-4 motors that have "same buisness day" shipping available.

It's really weird and inconsistent. Everything rocket related I see on the website, says it is for In-Store Pickup only. But I know people have had rockets shipped to them, which ins't too surprising, except for the fact I don't see that option. And now you've had motors shipped, which actually is kind of surprising, considering the legal requirements.

 

[XJChris]

It's really weird and inconsistent. Everything rocket related I see on the website, says it is for In-Store Pickup only. But I know people have had rockets shipped to them, which ins't too surprising, except for the fact I don't see that option. And now you've had motors shipped, which actually is kind of surprising, considering the legal requirements.

Here is the link to the G40-4. On the right, under "Shipping Info" it says " In stock, ships same Business Day" when I go to the page. If it doesn't show that for every visitor then maybe they are filtering based on geographical location or something?

Too bad it isn't more consistent, I would sure love to get an MDRM; but that shows as an in store item only.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

Here is the link to the G40-4. On the right, under "Shipping Info" it says " In stock, ships same Business Day" when I go to the page. If it doesn't show that for every visitor then maybe they are filtering based on geographical location or something?

Too bad it isn't more consistent, I would sure love to get an MDRM; but that shows as an in store item only.

You know, you are right, I see from you link that those can be shipped same business day. I'm not sure if I just overlooked the G40-4 and F50-4 because I can't use those delays, or maybe the warehouse they ship from found a box today that they didn't have yesterday. Unfortunately, the G40-7 is only available is stores, and the number of stores with them is dwindling. Now, today it looks like maybe MORE stores have the F26-6 than yesterday. Maybe I'm misremembering that, but it doesn't really matter to me ---- I've got enough of those.

 

[Zebedee]

It is weird that the short delay motors are ship-able while the longer ones are in-store only.

 

[chadrog]

I am so glad there is not one near me.

I had been thinking the opposite, but you are most definitely right on this one.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

It is weird that the short delay motors are ship-able while the longer ones are in-store only.

It doesn't make sense to me that this has to do with the motor delays. My guess is that maybe this has to do with whether an item is at some kind of central warehouse/shipping center, or if it is already on store shelves. If they have them in the warehouse, they'll ship them. If all the stock is already at stores, it is for store pick up only. But that is just a guess.

 

[Buzzard]

Zebedee noted: "It is weird that the short delay motors are ship-able while the longer ones are in-store only. "

I thought that was odd too in the stores. But if you look at the Estes catalog and the kit headers in the stores, all of the "recommended" motors are of the longer delays. I thought to myself, "wouldn't the Mega Der Red Max at a quoted 31 ounces need a G40-4 or a G80-4?", but they recommend a -7 delay. So that might partially explain why everyone is finding short delays. The Fry's website often denotes something is available on-line, but is only in the stores and vise-versa.
Or it could be my sleep-deprived little brain and a couple of a adult beverages.

Chas

 

[Buzzard]

Drag Race of Estes Nike Smokes at the next Dallas Area Rocketry Society launch in March? Does that include the NS I have had in work since December? All I have to do is to finish mods to nose cone to make it more "scale", finish fins that had spitting paint cans, and finish the main body with proper markings that are, oh, sort of scale?
The scary part is that I have the original pages from American Modeling 1968 issue for G. Harry Stine's Nike Smoke article. Harry always would put an error in the scale data so he knew who was copying it. That was from Harry himself. We served together on the NAR Board of Trustees for a few years. Now that I have a NS or two in reserve, maybe I can actually finish this one.
Ten days to go, what are the odds...?

Chas
Been doing this too long...

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

I was out grocery shopping today and stopped at a UPS store to get a rough estimate of what it would cost to ship one of the PSII kits. I guessed the box to be about 25" x 8" x 5". And I figured the weight to be less than 2 pounds for the kit, plus the weight of the box --- maybe 3 pounds total. He told me it would run about $18 to $25 for shipping, plus the box would be about $5 if I needed that, which I would. So that is around $23 to $30 to ship a kit that cost $20 plus tax.

Does that seem out of line? It seems kind of steep to me, but I don't ship very much stuff, so I don't know. Has anyone ever shipped one of these kits? How much was it, and what shipper did you use?

 

[Cl(VII)]

Drag Race of Estes Nike Smokes at the next Dallas Area Rocketry Society launch in March? Does that include the NS I have had in work since December? All I have to do is to finish mods to nose cone to make it more "scale", finish fins that had spitting paint cans, and finish the main body with proper markings that are, oh, sort of scale?
The scary part is that I have the original pages from American Modeling 1968 issue for G. Harry Stine's Nike Smoke article. Harry always would put an error in the scale data so he knew who was copying it. That was from Harry himself. We served together on the NAR Board of Trustees for a few years. Now that I have a NS or two in reserve, maybe I can actually finish this one.
Ten days to go, what are the odds...?

Chas
Been doing this too long...

Do we have the capability to launch 4 at a time?

 

[shreadvector]

As Gary R. explained many years ago when the new 137 N-s G80 was introduced: A maximum weight Model Rocket (3.3 pounds) would need a delay time of 7 seconds - even the 4 inch diameter models. With the G40, you might need something a bit shorter.

Look at the actual test data.
G80-7 has an average measured delay time of 5.88 seconds.
https://www.nar.org/SandT/pdf/Aerotech/G80-20071207.pdf
G40-4 has an average measured delay time of 4.26 seconds. And the G40-7 has an average measured delay time of 7.07 seconds.
https://www.nar.org/SandT/pdf/Aerotech/G40.pdf

For a maximum weight or draggy Model Rocket I would use the G80-7 or the G40-4.

Zebedee noted: "It is weird that the short delay motors are ship-able while the longer ones are in-store only. "

I thought that was odd too in the stores. But if you look at the Estes catalog and the kit headers in the stores, all of the "recommended" motors are of the longer delays. I thought to myself, "wouldn't the Mega Der Red Max at a quoted 31 ounces need a G40-4 or a G80-4?", but they recommend a -7 delay. So that might partially explain why everyone is finding short delays. The Fry's website often denotes something is available on-line, but is only in the stores and vise-versa.
Or it could be my sleep-deprived little brain and a couple of a adult beverages.

Chas

 

[Tramper Al]

It's really weird and inconsistent. Everything rocket related I see on the website, says it is for In-Store Pickup only. But I know people have had rockets shipped to them, which ins't too surprising, except for the fact I don't see that option. And now you've had motors shipped, which actually is kind of surprising, considering the legal requirements.

I can speak to this, perhaps. Not too long ago, I did have Frys ship me a couple of G motors. I too was surprised it was so easy, without added fee, etc.

This time around in the sale, several days ago, I identified those PSII items that were marked as ready to ship (rather than in store only), since I live in the Northeast. These items included the F, G engines, igniters, the PSII launch pad, and Partizon. However, the system would not let me pay/check out, and I tried over and over again for hours, with various credit cards. It would just take me back to my cart or login, without explanation. Ultimately, I removed the engines, and my order went through just fine. Except that yesterday, several days after the purchase, the email came that said Frys does not in fact have any of these items (pad, ignitors, Partizon) in the "warehouse" to send me, so I may be out of luck anyway.

 

[Tramper Al]

A kit of that size and weight, I think you will do much better looking at USPS Priority Mail - likely quite reasonable. And they provide the box (Toblerone style). Just look at what vendors use to send us packages like this - especially when shipping is included in the price.

Are you thinking of shipping me a Frys MDRM at cost? Because that would be awesome.

I was out grocery shopping today and stopped at a UPS store to get a rough estimate of what it would cost to ship one of the PSII kits. I guessed the box to be about 25" x 8" x 5". And I figured the weight to be less than 2 pounds for the kit, plus the weight of the box --- maybe 3 pounds total. He told me it would run about $18 to $25 for shipping, plus the box would be about $5 if I needed that, which I would. So that is around $23 to $30 to ship a kit that cost $20 plus tax.

Does that seem out of line? It seems kind of steep to me, but I don't ship very much stuff, so I don't know. Has anyone ever shipped one of these kits? How much was it, and what shipper did you use?

 

[GregGleason]

Drag Race of Estes Nike Smokes at the next Dallas Area Rocketry Society launch in March? Does that include the NS I have had in work since December? All I have to do is to finish mods to nose cone to make it more "scale", finish fins that had spitting paint cans, and finish the main body with proper markings that are, oh, sort of scale?
The scary part is that I have the original pages from American Modeling 1968 issue for G. Harry Stine's Nike Smoke article. Harry always would put an error in the scale data so he knew who was copying it. That was from Harry himself. We served together on the NAR Board of Trustees for a few years. Now that I have a NS or two in reserve, maybe I can actually finish this one.
Ten days to go, what are the odds...?

Chas
Been doing this too long...

It's funny that you mentioned the intentional errors. "Wild Bill" Donovan, who ran the OSS in WWII (the forunner of sorts of the CIA) would put markers in text to help detect the "leak path" if documents were compromised.

I am doing work on the IQSY Tomahawk and I found at least one error on the fins WRT his drawing, but I cannot tell if it was intentional or not.

Also, I am drawing the correct conclusion that the markings in the NS kit are not scale. Other than the "UNITED STATES" on the side, I was not aware of any other markings. Unless the font and size are not correct. Regardless. please post pics of your NS.

Greg

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

I went back to Frys in Concord, CA, today and cleaned them out of PSII kits (all except for the one Partizon that looked like it is missing a coupler). I picked up a few G40-4 motors that I understand MAY work in the MDRM, even if the 7 second delay is recommended.

 

[samb]

<continuing thread hijack>

... All I have to do is to finish mods to nose cone to make it more "scale", ...

Like this ?:



:grin:

Do we have the capability to launch 4 at a time?

I think so. Re-orient and re-configure a model pad ... hmm.

</continuing thread hijack>

 

[Cl(VII)]

All I have to do is to finish mods to nose cone to make it more "scale", ....

How scale you wanna be? I got a 100 mL bottle of TiCl4 in the reagents fridge. Could be very educational.

 

[Fred Garvin]

....I think so. Re-orient and re-configure a model pad ... hmm......

The mid-power pad has what, 3 rods and 1 rail?

I think the real issue will be power...will we have enough juice later in the day to get a fair launch of 4 MP rockets?

 

[Buzzard]

samb asked: "Like this ?::

Yup.



Haven't work on it much. My daughter, son-in-law, and 20 month-old grandaughter are flying in tonight. Been cleaning floors and child-proofing where I can. It is the little one's first visit to Texas and she hasn't even met my wife Cindy yet. Priorities!

GrandDad Chas

 

[o1d_dude]

Tuesday I visited one of the two local/semi-local Fry's stores and browsed the Estes aisle. Found most of the lower rated MPR SU motors and none of the G series. At $9.99 per unit I can understand why they were gone.

I'd hoped to find a Nike Smoke but all that was left was a selection of Partizan and Ventris kits and ONE Mega Red Max which I bought. I'm thinking a 54mm motor mount conversion, some fiberglass, etc.

You can't have too many Red Max rockets. (Der Goony Max, Der Red Max, Der Big Red Max, Der Grosser Vati, and now Der Mega Red Max).

I still need a Mini Max...speaking of which...one of the club members built a Mini with two the fins reversed and it strongly resembled a BSG Viper.

 

[Dean B]

I cruised through the Indy Frys yesterday and also found all the composite motors gone. I did buy a Partizon for $20 and a Mega Mosquito for $15. The Partizon seems pretty generic, but for 20 bucks I figured what-the-hey. No Nikes, MDRMs, or Leviathans in sight. There was a huge pile of Big Berthas and Long Toms for $10, but I had to pass. My rocket budget has been running in the red for some time now!

 

[shreadvector]

As I mentioned somewhere, if you see no motors be sure to check on the web to see if it thinks they are available at that location which might indicate they are in a box or bin hidden away.

I cleaned out the hidden box in Fountain Valley on Monday an hour after someone else got the last MDRM.

Plenty of Sonic Igniter packs on the peg in Industry and Anaheim.

 

[Fishhead]

I cruised through the Indy Frys yesterday and also found all the composite motors gone. I did buy a Partizon for $20 and a Mega Mosquito for $15. The Partizon seems pretty generic, but for 20 bucks I figured what-the-hey. No Nikes, MDRMs, or Leviathans in sight. There was a huge pile of Big Berthas and Long Toms for $10, but I had to pass. My rocket budget has been running in the red for some time now!

Glad I didn't make the trip. I was tempted, but I decided to fly some small field birds instead.:wink:

 

[o1d_dude]

I visited the other Fry's today (Roseville) and found a pretty good selection of rocketry gear but no Nike Smoke and no discount prices. Everything was pretty much MSRP. Disappointing. The odd part is that the store is a dead man walking and I won't be surprised at all to see it closing soon.

The Fry's closer to home seems to have returned from Zombieland and has new merchandise and a lot of shoppers.

Fry's in general seem to be struggling of late.

 

[iqsy59]

Anybody close to Milton Ga who happens to be going to Orangeburg soon? They're showing Smokes in stock there and I would gladly pay someone to pick up a couple for me. That's about 150 miles out of my way, which defeats the bargain...

Cheers,
Michael