Aldi has a BIG sturdy Model and HPR capable Launch Pad for $30!

the rocketry show
Wildman Rocketry
Advertise with us
the model rocket show
The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Yeah, Lee's exhaust deflector caused some amusement.....

It looks like where I am (Las Cruces right now) the nearest Aldis are in Wichita or several southern CA cities. When we get back home (south of Seattle) it will be pretty much the same story. Oh well.....

I was thinking along the same time as Fred - TARC teams and launch rails, especially since the 2018 challenge rules pretty much dictate their use.
 
I dropped by my local Aldi's last evening and they had 6 left so I snagged one. Cheapest price I've seen yet at $14.67!

The box was MUCH larger than I was expected based on George's original pics. After I got it set up, I was just amazed!

This thing is a BEAST. It has a 55" leg spread and, at it's lowest setting was about 45" high. And it's QUITE sturdy. I leaned a good portion of my 275 pound bulk on the clamp and it held rock steady!

I'm a little concerned about the plastic clamp holding up over heavy usage for bi-monthly launches, but that is the only nit I can find to pick with this thing. I may go buy the rest and make our club president buy them from me. :)
 
PropellantHead said:
I dropped by my local Aldi's last evening and they had 6 left so I snagged one. Cheapest price I've seen yet at $14.67!

The box was MUCH larger than I was expected based on George's original pics. After I got it set up, I was just amazed!

This thing is a BEAST. It has a 55" leg spread and, at it's lowest setting was about 45" high. And it's QUITE sturdy. I leaned a good portion of my 275 pound bulk on the clamp and it held rock steady!

I'm a little concerned about the plastic clamp holding up over heavy usage for bi-monthly launches, but that is the only nit I can find to pick with this thing. I may go buy the rest and make our club president buy them from me. :)
Click to expand...

Glenn,

If you do go back to Aldi, would you pick up one for me? The only Aldi in Macon does not carry them.
 
These went on salve April 26th, as a limited buy kind of thing. So not surprising so man places are sold out. From google searches that found bike forum posts, Aldi sells these 2-3 times a year. So, probably more by Fall. Of course that does no good for summer flying.

I used the new pad a lot on Saturday. Worked out great! Most of the day I used it with a 1/8” rod for small models. It was VERY convenient to raise it up so the clips could be hooked up at about eye level.

I did not get any launch photos. I took a pre-launch photo with a G powered Tri-F-O Pyramid, before I raised the clamp higher up. It was the first model flown off the pad, using a 1/4” rod.

The launch photos are screenshots from video. And I compiled a video from using three cameras (I was testing the model to be sure it flew well and held together, so shot the video to study if it had gone badly).

One comment I got about the pad at the launch was it was bigger than people thought from the photos they’d seen. Do not let the photo with the pyramid fool you, it is a BIG pyramid, and IIRC the deflector is about 9-10” wide. The leg span is 28" per leg, would be 56" span if it was a 4-legged pad (but being 5 legs it is even more stable at that span)

FoqM0Ua.jpg


HuS7vlT.jpg


hYrc9vC.jpg



[video=youtube;7n-rOlxyy6c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7n-rOlxyy6c[/video]
 
Last edited:
It's BACK!

Aldi has the Bikemate Bike Repair Stand for sale again, for $29.99.

This is an "Aldi Find", available for a limited time. So get one soon or wait another year.


3sPzS9S.jpg
 
That bike stand looks like it makes a pretty nice MPR pad base. Alas the nearest Aldi store to me is 18 miles away in a direction I rarely go. I am a bit leery of the stiffness (or lack of it) for HPR; I've actually even been looking for mods that will improve jawstand rigidity. With 3-5 lb rockets there is definitely a tendency to whip, and a bit of leaning on it showed that it's actually somewhat bendy, though it will support a lot of weight. The bike stand has a wider footprint though.
 
caveduck said:
That bike stand looks like it makes a pretty nice MPR pad base. Alas the nearest Aldi store to me is 18 miles away in a direction I rarely go. I am a bit leery of the stiffness (or lack of it) for HPR; I've actually even been looking for mods that will improve jawstand rigidity. With 3-5 lb rockets there is definitely a tendency to whip, and a bit of leaning on it showed that it's actually somewhat bendy, though it will support a lot of weight. The bike stand has a wider footprint though.
Click to expand...
Do you stake the Jawstand down?
 
This is a great idea for a launch pad! I like it so much that I bought one and am taking back the Rockler Jawstand I bought and have yet to use.
 
I bought one a year or two ago at Aldi, based on recommendation here. Haven't used it yet though; haven't flown much aside from club launches lately. Stood in line 10 minutes to check out; typical Aldi.
 
RFMan said:
These sure are elusive. I've checked a few Aldis in two different states multiple times, and I've never seen one.
Click to expand...

They were behind some smaller items at my local Aldi. Shelf space is lacking in those stores so they cram a lot of stuff on them. I almost didnt see them. The box is about 3' long and about 5" square. You can always ask an employee or two. Sometimes you get lucky and get one that is helpful.
 
bibbster said:
They were behind some smaller items at my local Aldi. Shelf space is lacking in those stores so they cram a lot of stuff on them. I almost didnt see them. The box is about 3' long and about 5" square. You can always ask an employee or two. Sometimes you get lucky and get one that is helpful.
Click to expand...
Maybe someone at one of our stores will be able to help me...but I've looked behind everything. Leave no stone unturned...at least in the store :)

Honestly, it may be geographic. NC/SC might not be the best place to find an Aldi stocking them.
 
AFAIK, Aldi only receives one shipment of seasonal items like this per year. They stock up sell out and then you have to wait until they come around next year... best way to not miss out on good deals is to make a habit of looking at the weekly ads they put out.
 
RFMan said:
Maybe someone at one of our stores will be able to help me...but I've looked behind everything. Leave no stone unturned...at least in the store :)

Honestly, it may be geographic. NC/SC might not be the best place to find an Aldi stocking them.
Click to expand...

I found one in our store in Ohio this week. I actually saw it last week and couldn't pull the trigger, but got it this week when we went back for a special on strawberries. They weren't on the shelves in the store at all. They were under the counter on the way out where you can box/bag your groceries AFTER the checkout. that's the other reason I didn't get one last week, simply because I didn't want to get back in line for it after we were pretty much done otherwise.
 

Similar threads

SammyD
For Sale Custom-built launch pad for small high-power down to low-power
Replies
5
Views
503
lucanica
lucanica
Curtis Enlow
Finished my new pad; speaker-style but with some mods
Replies
5
Views
777
Hobie1dog
Hobie1dog
pathtouch
HPR Launch Pad for 1010 Rail
Replies
6
Views
1K
Sparky
Sparky
n3tjm
3D Printing Micro Rail Joiners and Adapters
Replies
0
Views
356
n3tjm
n3tjm
CurlyFat
My first rail launch rig
2 3
Replies
70
Views
3K
Glasspack
Glasspack

Latest posts

Back
Top