Sometimes when I'm scratch building a rocket, I think "this is a cool design I should turn it into a kit and sell it"
Usually, the sensible part of my brain immediately thinks "that's way harder than you think it is, and besides you don't want to run a business" and I forget all about it.
I still don't want to start a business, but I'm really curious about the details. How hard would it really be? What kinds of problems does a kit design need to solve that a scratch build doesn't?
So I'm going to try working out a complete kit design to see what it's like.
Here's the rocket. It's a little mini engine design, with a 24mm main body tube, about 30cm total length. Recovery is glider and streamer.
The rough budget would be $15 cost, sell it for $20 plus shipping.
First topic: where the heck does a small kitmaker get nose cones?
This design uses the PNC-14A and PNC-24D plastic noses from Apogee Components. From a cost standpoint these are a pretty good deal, $2.40 each for the PNC-24D and line $0.60 each (!) for the PNC-14A if you get the 100 piece bulk pack.
I have no idea if it's reasonable to use a retail seller like Apogee or eRockets as a quantity component supplier. The whole thing seems tenuous and sketchy, but there isn't really another obvious option.
Usually, the sensible part of my brain immediately thinks "that's way harder than you think it is, and besides you don't want to run a business" and I forget all about it.
I still don't want to start a business, but I'm really curious about the details. How hard would it really be? What kinds of problems does a kit design need to solve that a scratch build doesn't?
So I'm going to try working out a complete kit design to see what it's like.
Here's the rocket. It's a little mini engine design, with a 24mm main body tube, about 30cm total length. Recovery is glider and streamer.
The rough budget would be $15 cost, sell it for $20 plus shipping.
First topic: where the heck does a small kitmaker get nose cones?
This design uses the PNC-14A and PNC-24D plastic noses from Apogee Components. From a cost standpoint these are a pretty good deal, $2.40 each for the PNC-24D and line $0.60 each (!) for the PNC-14A if you get the 100 piece bulk pack.
I have no idea if it's reasonable to use a retail seller like Apogee or eRockets as a quantity component supplier. The whole thing seems tenuous and sketchy, but there isn't really another obvious option.