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Another question about the Altitude Challenge (sounds fun), is the leader board wiped clean after each month? Or does the current high altitude record stay on until replaced by someone else's higher altitude?

I MUST clean up the explanation on that page, but to clarify, the idea was to keep the records there until beaten. 1 record, one motor (not a motor-a-month when you hold the record) Is that fair? (I already have submissions)
 
Here's my feedback on the site, after lots of other very good feedback has been provided:
  1. I second all of the feedback about formatting, font colors, etc. Motor sorting by diameter, impulse, propellant, case size, etc is also fantastic. Give extra consideration how you should handle sorting by propellant type, as there are analogues between CTI (e.g. white thunder), AT (white lightning), and Loki (Loki White), but the specifics (and names) vary.
  2. when you put these sorting options in, I suggest that you maintain the ability to alter/update your filters from the current webpage being viewed. Some vendor sites require that you navigate from the home menu each time you want to switch categories, which is an annoyance. For example, if I'm viewing Aerotech reloads for a 29/180 case, and I want to look at the 29/240 reloads, I should be able to navigate there with minimal effort, rather than needing to navigate to that area from scratch every time. (e.g. Motors>Aerotech>reloads>29mm>29/180 case, then having to go through the selection tree again as Motors>Aerotech>reloads>29mm>29/240 case). Just keep me in the 29mm area until I navigate out of it (to, say, 38mm, etc). Others may disagree. Food for thought. Go explore how other motor vendors are set up, then pick and choose what makes things easy.
  3. I suggest including as many details about the motors as you can manage. Total impulse and burn time are some of my favorites. A thrust curve is probably the minimum, but you may be able to make do with a link to that particular motor on Thurstcurve.org. I'm not sure how the moderators of that site would feel about it, so best chat with them. Also, the risk there is that you're linking to outside information that may become outdated and over which you have no control.
  4. The Facebook, Twitter, and Skype (and one icon I don't recognize) icons at the bottom of the screen seem to link to the web page that they are on, and do not create a FB, Twitter, skype post/tweet/whatever.
Other question (rather than suggestions):
Kits: Any intention to stock/sell LOC, Madcow, Binder Design or other manufacturers' kits?
Parts: same question?
I'm sure you could put in as much effort as you can conceive on this website and it'll still have room for more improvement.

Good luck, and stay solvent!
 
I see lots of good input so far (I'd second point #2 above). If you ask us what we want, we want it all! I recognize that the best websites (like Apogee, in my opinion) must take a lot of $$ and time to design, build, and update. I wouldn't necessarily expect the vendor with the best prices to have the best webpage. If trying to put everything into the store drives the scope of this operation to the point that you're tempted to quit, I'd rather see a minimal website and maintain the good deals. I'd suggest shooting for a happy medium that is obtainable with the energy and time you have available for it. But I think a few simple things (formatting, transparencies, color) and some extra motor filters would go a long way.
 
Here's my feedback on the site, after lots of other very good feedback has been provided:
  1. I second all of the feedback about formatting, font colors, etc. Motor sorting by diameter, impulse, propellant, case size, etc is also fantastic. Give extra consideration how you should handle sorting by propellant type, as there are analogues between CTI (e.g. white thunder), AT (white lightning), and Loki (Loki White), but the specifics (and names) vary.
  2. when you put these sorting options in, I suggest that you maintain the ability to alter/update your filters from the current webpage being viewed. Some vendor sites require that you navigate from the home menu each time you want to switch categories, which is an annoyance. For example, if I'm viewing Aerotech reloads for a 29/180 case, and I want to look at the 29/240 reloads, I should be able to navigate there with minimal effort, rather than needing to navigate to that area from scratch every time. (e.g. Motors>Aerotech>reloads>29mm>29/180 case, then having to go through the selection tree again as Motors>Aerotech>reloads>29mm>29/240 case). Just keep me in the 29mm area until I navigate out of it (to, say, 38mm, etc). Others may disagree. Food for thought. Go explore how other motor vendors are set up, then pick and choose what makes things easy.
  3. I suggest including as many details about the motors as you can manage. Total impulse and burn time are some of my favorites. A thrust curve is probably the minimum, but you may be able to make do with a link to that particular motor on Thurstcurve.org. I'm not sure how the moderators of that site would feel about it, so best chat with them. Also, the risk there is that you're linking to outside information that may become outdated and over which you have no control.
  4. The Facebook, Twitter, and Skype (and one icon I don't recognize) icons at the bottom of the screen seem to link to the web page that they are on, and do not create a FB, Twitter, skype post/tweet/whatever.
Other question (rather than suggestions):
Kits: Any intention to stock/sell LOC, Madcow, Binder Design or other manufacturers' kits?
Parts: same question?
I'm sure you could put in as much effort as you can conceive on this website and it'll still have room for more improvement.

Good luck, and stay solvent!

Thank emckee for taking so much time to craft such a thorough posting!

1. Motor Sorting, as we all agree, is paramount. Sorry, no can do on the "by propellant type", not enough consistency between brands.
2. Update search criteria from current page always - good - consider it done.
3. Completely agree on motor details - currently just a placeholder logo, it will not be that way for long.
4. Social media links will be gone

Awesome suggestions - THANKS!
 
I see lots of good input so far (I'd second point #2 above). If you ask us what we want, we want it all! I recognize that the best websites (like Apogee, in my opinion) must take a lot of $$ and time to design, build, and update. I wouldn't necessarily expect the vendor with the best prices to have the best webpage. I'd suggest shooting for a happy medium that is obtainable with the energy and time you have available for it. But I think a few simple things (formatting, transparencies, color) and some extra motor filters would go a long way.

"...I wouldn't necessarily expect the vendor with the best prices to have the best webpage..." Truly, in this day and age, it takes just as much time & money to make a good website as a bad one. Might as well blow socks off with the website as well.

"... If trying to put everything into the store drives the scope of this operation to the point that you're tempted to quit, I'd rather see a minimal website and maintain the good deals..." My entire premise is based on pricing and service. (I'll get into that on the "About Us" page if I ever write it) The good prices will not go away.

Feedback=Awesome
 
At some point, someone asked if I will be selling building supplies, and the answer is a definite NO. Enough people doing it already, and I know nothing about it.

Someone also asked if I would be carrying other brands of rockets - I would be happy to if they wholesale to me - Please give me some names you'd like to see, and I will approach.

I do know for certain we are sticking with Rockets, Motors, Motor kits, and some minor support equipment. No electronics (Unless I happen to come up with a thing or two) No build materials.
 
LOC seems to be the brand that does the most dealer sales... but as a result a LOT of people carry them already so I'm not sure there's any real point.
 
Please add, subtract, comment - now is the time, functionality is for you-

Search options / filters – MOTOR SEARCH -
Motor Type - RMS, LDS, SINGLE, Misc
Impulse - 1/2A, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O
Diameter - 13, 18, 24, 29, 38, 54, 98

Search options / filters – ROCKET SEARCH -
Motor Diameter- 13, 18, 24, 29, 38, 54, 98
Skill Level- 1,2,3,4,5
Manufacturer- Aerotech, Quest, Estes, LOC
 
I'd like to bring up propellant type, or at least the sparky propellants as they can be hard to find the one you want aka Dark Matter versus Metalstorm.
 
I'd like to bring up propellant type, or at least the sparky propellants as they can be hard to find the one you want aka Dark Matter versus Metalstorm.
Please - Give me a rundown of them all as you see it? Thank you for your time (everyone does want this search option)
 
Overall, my general opinion is that for most applications, I'm happy to use thrust curve to help me find engines to test that suit my goals. Otherwise, I just bring up the casing sizes I have and look at the available loads. I care relatively little if my engines have a red or green flame, but I think there is a major difference between Dark Matter and Metalstorm. Dark Matter has titanium sparks and a lovely black smoke. It has trash ISP, but I adore it anyways.

Metalstorm, I just don't like it in comparison. It has sparks, decent isp, but white smoke and IMHO, the wow factor is just gone. I've looked at several sparky motors and been dissapointed to find out that they are Metalstorm, not Dark Matter, so I'd love to have an option to search for them in particular.

Video comparison: Metalstorm Dark Matter Big Dark Matter

I actually find even the smaller dark matter motors to be more impressive than the larger metalstorm sizes. It's just my personal taste. The other big issue is that the dark matter ones are often labeled metalstorm dark matter, which can lead to confusion. I like Buy Rocket Motors ability to search by prop type, but if that is too much work, just the sparkies would be nice.
 
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A question about the altitude challenge: How recent does the flight have to be? I tend to fly an altimeter in almost everything and could fill in the grid from A to E pretty quickly with flights over the last year or year and a half. I see Mr. Hamilton's I flight was last October, so at least 9 months back is acceptable, it appears....
 
A question about the altitude challenge: How recent does the flight have to be? I tend to fly an altimeter in almost everything and could fill in the grid from A to E pretty quickly with flights over the last year or year and a half. I see Mr. Hamilton's I flight was last October, so at least 9 months back is acceptable, it appears....
I screwed up in writing that page - I needed a time window and did not put one - Fair to make it "Within the last 12 months"?
 
Overall, my general opinion is that for most applications, I'm happy to use thrust curve to help me find engines to test that suit my goals. Otherwise, I just bring up the casing sizes I have and look at the available loads. I care relatively little if my engines have a red or green flame, but I think there is a major difference between Dark Matter and Metalstorm. Dark Matter has titanium sparks and a lovely black smoke. It has trash ISP, but I adore it anyways.

Metalstorm, I just don't like it in comparison. It has sparks, decent isp, but white smoke and IMHO, the wow factor is just gone. I've looked at several sparky motors and been dissapointed to find out that they are Metalstorm, not Dark Matter, so I'd love to have an option to search for them in particular.

Video comparison: Metalstorm Dark Matter Big Dark Matter

I actually find even the smaller dark matter motors to be more impressive than the larger metalstorm sizes. It's just my personal taste. The other big issue is that the dark matter ones are often labeled metalstorm dark matter, which can lead to confusion. I like Buy Rocket Motors ability to search by prop type, but if that is too much work, just the sparkies would be nice.

Propellant Type
  • White Lightning
  • Blue Thunder
  • Redline
  • Black Jack
  • Metalstorm Dark Matter
  • Mojave Green
  • Metalstorm
  • Classic
  • Warp-9
  • Propellant X
 
Aerotech also has Super Thunder (ST), Black Max (FJ) and New Blue Thunder (NT), but all are rare.

Would you like me write up a list of loki and cesaroni prop types?

One engine that will be in hot demand, but I'm not sure if it is currently being sold is the G8 and other long burning engines for TVC.
 
Loki:

Loki Red
Loki White
Loki Blue
Ice Blue (blue/white)
Cocktail (blue/red)
SpitFire (sparky)


Cesaroni:

Prop types:

Classic
Imax
Vmax
Skidmark (sparky)
Pink
Blue Streak
Red Lightning
Smoky Sam
C-Star
White Thunder

Modifiers:
Dual Thrust
Longburn

I fly more aerotech reloads than anything else, so if I've missed any, please post them.

This page has some details on the cesaroni propellant types if you scroll down. This page has the same for aerotech. Both are part of apogee, but if you contact the companies, I'm sure they'll be happy to provide the official descriptions.

Another often overlooked feature is being able to sort motors by burn time, but I'd imagine that might be a pain to include. However, putting aside a tab application for particular uses (aka long-burn (or sustainer), short burn (or booster), effects) would be appreciated.
 
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Cesaroni:

Prop types:

Classic
Imax
Vmax
Skidmark (sparky)
Pink
Blue Streak
Red Lightning
Smoky Sam
C-Star
White Thunder

Modifiers:
Dual Thrust
Longburn

I fly more aerotech reloads than anything else, so if I've missed any, please post them.

This page has some details on the cesaroni propellant types if you scroll down. This page has the same for aerotech. Both are part of apogee, but if you contact the companies, I'm sure they'll be happy to provide the official descriptions.

Another often overlooked feature is being able to sort motors by burn time, but I'd imagine that might be a pain to include. However, putting aside a tab application for particular uses (aka long-burn (or sustainer), short burn (or booster), effects) would be appreciated.
Also Mellow or Mellow Yellow (which happen to be long burn motors) and Green. By the way, Vmax is OOP.
 
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I screwed up in writing that page - I needed a time window and did not put one - Fair to make it "Within the last 12 months"?
That's fine by me. It's your challenge and you are the provider of prizes, so your call. I was just curious.

I should send you my better E altitude flight from NARAM-61 and I'll have the record until Jonathan Rains or Chad Ring find you and submit their altitudes (I came in third in the event). Chad currently holds the official C Division NAR record for E impulse altitude only because Jonathan, who beat us both soundly, wasn't carrying a recording altimeter, and currently one can't set a NAR record without one.

And I can at least give you values for 1/2A through D as well, mostly from regular sport flying to populate the grid to start. But tomorrow, I think.
 
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No critiques from me. Best wishes for you. You picked a heck of a year to get into the business!

Your wishes are appreciated. If you notice the Trademark on the site, I have been advised "it is not funny". I was not necessarily trying to be funny, I was trying to be inspirational, starting a venture in the middle of a pandemic.. I'll remove if it upsets anyone.
 
Loki:

Loki Red
Loki White
Loki Blue
Ice Blue (blue/white)
Cocktail (blue/red)
SpitFire (sparky)


Cesaroni:

Prop types:

Classic
Imax
Vmax
Skidmark (sparky)
Pink
Blue Streak
Red Lightning
Smoky Sam
C-Star
White Thunder

Modifiers:
Dual Thrust
Longburn

I fly more aerotech reloads than anything else, so if I've missed any, please post them.

This page has some details on the cesaroni propellant types if you scroll down. This page has the same for aerotech. Both are part of apogee, but if you contact the companies, I'm sure they'll be happy to provide the official descriptions.

Another often overlooked feature is being able to sort motors by burn time, but I'd imagine that might be a pain to include. However, putting aside a tab application for particular uses (aka long-burn (or sustainer), short burn (or booster), effects) would be appreciated.

With there being no consistency between brands in propellant types, sort by propellant might be....tough. Will do if it can be done
 
Your wishes are appreciated. If you notice the Trademark on the site, I have been advised "it is not funny". I was not necessarily trying to be funny, I was trying to be inspirational, starting a venture in the middle of a pandemic.. I'll remove if it upsets anyone.
Saying you’ll remove it if it offends anyone is a forgone conclusion. No matter what you do someone will look for and find something that offends them. Just be true to yourself and let the chips fall. Just be honest and don’t let the naysayers grind you down.
 
Good morning! Website is looking better every day. Really impressed.

Here's today's nitpick. On the front page, you have the "Check out these new kits" section. Here's a snippet:
1593782154971.png

As currently implemented, the little dot navigators at the bottom (circled in red) each represent one item. So if I click on the next dot, the list scrolls one item. Normally (and to be useful), those would be expected to represent one full page each.*

*If you want to get a little bit fancier you could have that section accept scrolling events and allow me to horizontally scroll through the whole list with my trackpad... but that's just a bonus. :)
 
Saying you’ll remove it if it offends anyone is a forgone conclusion. No matter what you do someone will look for and find something that offends them. Just be true to yourself and let the chips fall. Just be honest and don’t let the naysayers grind you down.

I like that a lot. It stays
 
Good morning! Website is looking better every day. Really impressed.

Here's today's nitpick. On the front page, you have the "Check out these new kits" section. Here's a snippet:
View attachment 423047
As currently implemented, the little dot navigators at the bottom (circled in red) each represent one item. So if I click on the next dot, the list scrolls one item. Normally (and to be useful), those would be expected to represent one full page each.*

*If you want to get a little bit fancier you could have that section accept scrolling events and allow me to horizontally scroll through the whole list with my trackpad... but that's just a bonus. :)

It''s not nitpicking :rolleyes: it is constructive criticism. It is appreciated & will be addressed. FYI - Developer is all over this thread, working furiously. You've been a big help Neil.
 
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