Another one bites the dust.....

[cwbullet]

Road Runner is no more.

https://www.roadrunnerrocketry.com

 

[dhbarr]

RIP

 

[MClark]

How do you become a millionaire in the hobby rocket business?
Start with two million.

 

[shreadvector]

 

[Steve Shannon]

Road Runner is no more.

https://www.roadrunnerrocketry.com

They were nice motors at the time.

 

[samb]

I’m curious when anyone last purchased from Roadrunner? I thought they went oop at least 8 years ago.

 

[cwbullet]

I bought a bunch and still have a bunch. It was probably 10 years a go.

 

[manixFan]

I flew many Roadrunner motors, probably 100 of them or so. I was a beta tester during their development. They were important to the hobby - they forced AT to upgrade their 29mm motor product to compete. RR motors were injection molded, had built-in thrust rings, and came with real ignitors. I never had a single CATO in the dozens I flew. I only have one left and I hate to fly it but I eventually will.

So even though RR is gone, the benefits the motors brought to the hobby are still with us.


Tony

 

[JoeG]

Yep. If I ever hit the lottery I'm going to open a rocketry business and run it until I'm broke.

How do you become a millionaire in the hobby rocket business?
Start with two million.

 

[cwbullet]

Yep. If I ever hit the lottery I'm going to open a rocketry business and run it until I'm broke.

Would that take a couple months?

 

[cerving]

How do you become a millionaire in the hobby rocket business?
Start with two million.

Or you can start with nothing and be content with just paying for the hobby...

 

[thequick]

Related: "How do you make a small fortune in racing?"

Start with a large one...

 

[manixFan]

BTW, RR’s closing was unrelated to financial issues. The motors were selling very well from what I understand and were a favorite of TARC teams. (When appropriate.) It closed due to reasons beyond the owners control that did not involve money.


Tony

 

[Bdpeters]

After returning to the hobby and going through my supply of motors I found that I had a couple of roadrunner G80’s. I was disappointed to see they are listed as de certified for sport use. I found it interesting that it was only the G80 and not some of the others.

 

[afadeev]

Related: "How do you make a small fortune in racing?"

Start with a large one...

That's just car racing.
Boat racing takes it to a whole new level.

As someone once said:
- You want to know what sailboat racing feels like?
- Dress into your best cloths, step into the shower, turn on the cold water only, and start tearing $100-bills one every 5 seconds.
- Exit when you have had enough, or had run out of $ bills.

And that, gentlemen, is why these are called hobbies!

 

[Initiator001]

I flew many Roadrunner motors, probably 100 of them or so. I was a beta tester during their development. They were important to the hobby - they forced AT to upgrade their 29mm motor product to compete. RR motors were injection molded, had built-in thrust rings, and came with real ignitors. I never had a single CATO in the dozens I flew. I only have one left and I hate to fly it but I eventually will.

So even though RR is gone, the benefits the motors brought to the hobby are still with us.


Tony

From what I heard the person who started Roadrunner motors did so after he lost out in a bidding war to buy AeroTech.

 

[manixFan]

From what I heard the person who started Roadrunner motors did so after he lost out in a bidding war to buy AeroTech.

Is that the sale when Gary had to pay an extra $100,000 because the bankruptcy judge thought he misled the court? Or am I remembering it wrong?


Tony

 

[cwbullet]

I have a 20-30 left. I bought all the Rocketry Zone had when they closed down.

 

[boatgeek]

That's just car racing.
Boat racing takes it to a whole new level.

As someone once said:
- You want to know what sailboat racing feels like?
- Dress into your best cloths, step into the shower, turn on the cold water only, and start tearing $100-bills one every 5 seconds.
- Exit when you have had enough, or had run out of $ bills.

And that, gentlemen, is why these are called hobbies!

And to simulate windsurfing, you do the same as above except every 5 minutes you throw yourself against the shower wall as hard as you can.

/threadjack

 

[OverTheTop]

And to simulate windsurfing, you do the same as above except every 5 minutes you throw yourself against the shower wall as hard as you can.

Having done both I can agree that sailing is much more civilised.

 

[AeroTech]

Not quite accurate. The trustee figured out a way to extort more money out of the sale with false accusations. It then came down to us having to make a risk assessment of legal fees vs. settlement with the trustee. The stress of the episode eventually contributed to the death of my wife IMHO.

Is that the sale when Gary had to pay an extra $100,000 because the bankruptcy judge thought he misled the court? Or am I remembering it wrong?


Tony

 

[OverTheTop]

The stress of the episode eventually contributed to the death of my wife IMHO.

Wow. Sorry to hear that.

 

[Dave A]

How do you become a millionaire in the hobby rocket business?
Start with two million.

Same with drag racing!

 

[o1d_dude]

The car in the video frame is a ’61 Chevy Impala convertible...

Back in the days of rotary telephones and AM radio. I used to own a white ‘61 Chevy Impala “bubble top” with red trim/interior and it was only 5 years old.

55 years ago...

Thanks for the memory, Fred.

 

[manixFan]

Not quite accurate. The trustee figured out a way to extort more money out of the sale with false accusations. It then came down to us having to make a risk assessment of legal fees vs. settlement with the trustee. The stress of the episode eventually contributed to the death of my wife IMHO.

Wow, that is terrible to hear, I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't realize bankruptcy trustees got to keep the money they recovered, that's horrible he would do that.


Tony

 

[AeroTech]

They don’t keep it all, but they and their attorneys get a lot. Very little was distributed to claimants.

Wow, that is terrible to hear, I'm sorry for your loss. I didn't realize bankruptcy trustees got to keep the money they recovered, that's horrible he would do that.


Tony

 

[manixFan]

They don’t keep it all, but they and their attorneys get a lot. Very little was distributed to claimants.

That's what I remember, that the claimants got very little to nothing from when Gary bought the company back out of bankruptcy. I remember thinking how strange it was that the owner of a company can declare bankruptcy, discharge all those debts, and then buy it back for a fairly nominal amount. Didn't' the company that was building the replacement building also go bankrupt? It was a long time ago so my memory is a little fuzzy.

But it's clear that AT seems to be doing well now and is bringing out some interesting new motors, so that's been good for the hobby.

Tony

 

[Philip Tiberius D.]

That's just car racing.
Boat racing takes it to a whole new level.

As someone once said:
- You want to know what sailboat racing feels like?
- Dress into your best cloths, step into the shower, turn on the cold water only, and start tearing $100-bills one every 5 seconds.
- Exit when you have had enough, or had run out of $ bills.

And that, gentlemen, is why these are called hobbies!

When I was single I had a small house, 2 Ducati 900’s (Vintage racing) and Contessa 32. Got married (me 49 — her 33), had a child (at 50). Now I have boxes of old (racing) gear (motorcycle & sailing), a much bigger house with a mortgage, no ️ or 🏍. I rediscovered ... I keeps me (us?) sane.

 

[AeroTech]

The trustee determined that the estate would fetch more money when sold as an ongoing concern than if it was sold piecemeal. BTW the majority owner (85%) of the company at the time was RocketAdventure Partners, I was a minority stockholder. RAP decided not to participate in the BK process. RCS Rocket Motor Components, Inc. was formed to bid on the assets, which was a legal requirement.

I’m not aware that Built on Integrity went bankrupt.

That's what I remember, that the claimants got very little to nothing from when Gary bought the company back out of bankruptcy. I remember thinking how strange it was that the owner of a company can declare bankruptcy, discharge all those debts, and then buy it back for a fairly nominal amount. Didn't' the company that was building the replacement building also go bankrupt? It was a long time ago so my memory is a little fuzzy.

But it's clear that AT seems to be doing well now and is bringing out some interesting new motors, so that's been good for the hobby.

Tony

 

[Bowman]

That's just car racing.
Boat racing takes it to a whole new level.

As someone once said:
- You want to know what sailboat racing feels like?
- Dress into your best cloths, step into the shower, turn on the cold water only, and start tearing $100-bills one every 5 seconds.
- Exit when you have had enough, or had run out of $ bills.

And that, gentlemen, is why these are called hobbies!

Shall we elaborate on working the foredeck on a race boat ... Starts out very much the same except you probably don't have the $100 bills. But you add:
- Hitting your self in the head with a frying pan periodically while some clueless Bozo stands at the helm yelling unintelligibly instructions that you probably couldn't follow if you heard them. This while trying to stay alive by not going over the side.

Three main areas of a race (sail) boat: Frontier (bow), Reality (mast back to the pit) and Fantasy Land (where the aforementioned Bozo resides)

But back to rocketry; keeping-up with the Joneses and chasing the endless trend of bigger motors and rockets triggers the same addictive tendency that occurs with us boat owners.

Cole