hello from the shawnee hills of oklahoma. i used to fly rockets with my kids. now its grandkids and i see that the price of motors has skyrocketed.

[obrienmartin72]

yeah i went to buy some estes motors and i found what it was going to cost me so i'm going to learn to make some simple sugar motors myself. i build and fly fpv and rc aircraft so i figure i can learn this too. i live in an isolated area so i'm depending on the net for all of my information. anyway thanks for letting me in the club.

 

[MidOH]

Have you seen the bulk packs from AC Supply?

That's where I get my Estes.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

Unfortunately, you probably are not going to get advice on how to make sugar motors here. For safety reasons, you can’t discuss making propellant except within a specific sub forum, and you have to have a Level 2 high power certification to access that forum.

What you can get here is advice on getting a better deal on motors. As @MidOH mentioned, you can find motors for less than MSRP. AC Supply always has Estes motors for 40% off retail. All the Estes products are 40% off, so you can get great deals on rockets too. And if you order over $100, the shipping is free.

https://www.acsupplyco.com/estes-model-rockets/model-rocket-engines/estes-standard-engines

 

[MidOH]

It's basic science, he's likely already half way done.

My time is worth something. It takes longer to make our olde school sugar rockets, than the cost of just buying Estes motors.

 

[smstachwick]

Estes motors represent pre-packaged rocket power that you can buy at most hobby stores or have shipped to you in the mail. I think we sometimes forget how incredible that is.

13mm motors are perhaps the best cost per flight of anything except possibly Quest MicroMaxx, which are very niche and likely to be phased out sooner rather than later.

 

[Titan II]

These are a couple of the good sugar sites. Sugar and black powder are fun and safe to make.

https://www.nakka-rocketry.net/
https://www.jacobsrocketry.com/aer/propellant.htm
Have fun.

 

[cerving]

I used to pay $1.00 for a 3-pack of B motors... they're $8 now at Hobby Lobby. Chock it up to 50+ years of inflation... gas was 29.9 per gallon back then, too... and the minimum wage was just over a buck an hour.

Compared to many hobbies, model rocketry isn't all that expensive, especially if you like building from scratch. Those of us who indulge in the high-power aspect of hobby rocketry spend a lot of money, but it's a hobby... we'd be spending it on something else frivilous if it wasn't on rockets.

 

[Ez2cDave]

yeah i went to buy some estes motors and i found what it was going to cost me so i'm going to learn to make some simple sugar motors myself. i build and fly fpv and rc aircraft so i figure i can learn this too. i live in an isolated area so i'm depending on the net for all of my information. anyway thanks for letting me in the club.

Check out Belleville Wholesale Hobbies . . . https://bellevillehobby.com

Dave F.

 

[prfesser]

I used to pay $1.00 for a 3-pack of B motors... they're $8 now at Hobby Lobby. Chock it up to 50+ years of inflation... gas was 29.9 per gallon back then, too... and the minimum wage was just over a buck an hour.

Compared to many hobbies, model rocketry isn't all that expensive, especially if you like building from scratch. Those of us who indulge in the high-power aspect of hobby rocketry spend a lot of money, but it's a hobby... we'd be spending it on something else frivilous if it wasn't on rockets.

Read it somewhere, many years ago: A hobby is a way to spend time and money; the desired product is happiness.

When I see the number of $10k-$50k fishing boats on Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley every weekend...each one probably carrying a few grand in rods, reels, other tackle, locators, etc....all to catch a $10 fish...rocketry looks like an economical choice for happiness.

 

[obrienmartin72]

These are a couple of the good sugar sites. Sugar and black powder are fun and safe to make.

https://www.nakka-rocketry.net/
https://www.jacobsrocketry.com/aer/propellant.htm
Have fun.

thank you

 

[obrienmartin72]

It's basic science, he's likely already half way done.

My time is worth something. It takes longer to make our olde school sugar rockets, than the cost of just buying Estes motors.

i'm retired so i have plenty of time

 

[obrienmartin72]

Unfortunately, you probably are not going to get advice on how to make sugar motors here. For safety reasons, you can’t discuss making propellant except within a specific sub forum, and you have to have a Level 2 high power certification to access that forum.

What you can get here is advice on getting a better deal on motors. As @MidOH mentioned, you can find motors for less than MSRP. AC Supply always has Estes motors for 40% off retail. All the Estes products are 40% off, so you can get great deals on rockets too. And if you order over $100, the shipping is free.

https://www.acsupplyco.com/estes-model-rockets/model-rocket-engines/estes-standard-engines

i thank you for the info on buying motors at a more reasonable price. i think the idea of not discussing info on how to build motors is self defeating because the info is freely available on the net and it is NOT all safe. if it was openly discussed here it could prevent folks from getting hurt by showing the proper methods. you should know that pandoras box has been opened already. the only thing you might be protecting i fear is the way to do it safely because there is plenty of bad information floating around presently.

 

[Ez2cDave]

AC Supply always has Estes motors for 40% off retail. All the Estes products are 40% off, so you can get great deals on rockets too. And if you order over $100, the shipping is free.

Not anymore . . . They are only 33% off on Estes engines ( and most kits, with a few exceptions ), and have been for a while . . .

8.70 / 12.99 = .6697 ( So , they are 33% off, not 40% )

Dave F.

 

[neil_w]

i thank you for the info on buying motors at a more reasonable price. i think the idea of not discussing info on how to build motors is self defeating because the info is freely available on the net and it is NOT all safe. if it was openly discussed here it could prevent folks from getting hurt by showing the proper methods. you should know that pandoras box has been opened already. the only thing you might be protecting i fear is the way to do it safely because there is plenty of bad information floating around presently.

I believe it's a legal liability issue for the forum owners.

 

[tsmith1315]

i think the idea of not discussing info on how to build motors is self defeating because the info is freely available on the net and it is NOT all safe

First, congratulations on achieving retirement!

This subject has been discussed ad nauseam here. Search around for it, and you'll see all sorts of opinions and reasonings. Bottom line is that this is a private site, not a public site, and the owners have every right to make rules as they see fit. I don't blame them for having some qualifications in place for liability.

I've made composite motors, was a Level 2 flyer in the past and I can't join the discussion, either, until I'm level 2 certified again. No big deal, I'll just make do until that time comes and can join the fun. I'm happy just to have a place to hang out with other rocket flyers that doesn't involve facebook and such.

There are a lot of folks here that build their own motors, from 18mm-sized to ones big enough to literally take your rocket to the edge of space. Most of those motor-making rocket flyers also fly commercial motors, especially in the low-power range where black powder motors are available.

If your primary goal is simply to fly rockets again, but you want to go this route to save some money, you'll be set up for disappointment. By the time you get your first dependable working motor in the air and look back at what you've spent to get there, it would probably have been much cheaper and would certainly have been far quicker to get that first flight up with an Estes motor. Heck, even a couple gallons of gas to get you to town for supplies would eat up a pack of C-motors today. Truly, it's not the way to go when you just want to fly rockets like you used to.

If your primary goal is making motors and long-term learning, then proceed with caution and safety as priorities and enjoy. If I were to decide to make candy motors, I'd start by digesting Nakka's site linked above in post #6.

BTW, you're not terribly far from Argonia, KS, a mecca for rocket folks who travel from all over the country to fly large and small rockets, commercial and experimental motors. If you go there, it will change everything you think about rocketry ... https://kloudbusters.org/launch.aspx

Good luck, and post rocket pics!

 

[obrienmartin72]

t

These are a couple of the good sugar sites. Sugar and black powder are fun and safe to make.

https://www.nakka-rocketry.net/
https://www.jacobsrocketry.com/aer/propellant.htm
Have fun.

thanks

 

[Hobie1dog]

Glad to hear you're retired. Start building a bunch of rockets now.

 

[boomtube-mk2]

Time, money and room/space are the three things you need for most hobbies, certainly for the two I was involved in Model trains and rockets.

I think that for most people, all three of those things are in diminishing supply.

I suppose you could add health to the above but if you've lost that to any great degree, hobbies might be the least of your concerns.

 

[ThirstyBarbarian]

Not anymore . . . They are only 33% off on Estes engines ( and most kits, with a few exceptions ), and have been for a while . . .

8.70 / 12.99 = .6697 ( So , they are 33% off, not 40% )

Dave F.

View attachment 523188

I haven’t bought anything from them since 2019, so I guess they’ve changed it since then.

 

[Oldschool77]

There is also Tulsa Rocketry that flys off a sod farm in Leonard, should you be close enough. With an annual Regional High Power launch in Pawhuska. Kloudbusters is closer for me, living in N. Central OK.
And Peidmont area rocketry (NW of OKC)is a low power option. If they're still active.

 

[obrienmartin72]

I believe it's a legal liability issue for the forum owners.

i had not thought of that. some people will attempt to sue for anything.

 

[Ez2cDave]

I haven’t bought anything from them since 2019, so I guess they’ve changed it since then.

Yes, unfortunately, they have . . .

Dave F.

 

[prfesser]

These are a couple of the good sugar sites. Sugar and black powder are fun and safe to make.

https://www.nakka-rocketry.net/
https://www.jacobsrocketry.com/aer/propellant.htm
Have fun.

I'm going to be Captain Pedantic for a moment. Motor making can be low-hazard or high-hazard, but "safe" isn't a word that should be used to describe this chemical potential energy. Two ounces of composite propellant can lift itself and a two-ounce rocket over half a mile into the air. That's a lot of energy no matter how it's painted.

APCP is probably the lowest-hazard propellant to make as it's not terribly sensitive to spark, friction, or impact. Sugar propellants, especially those made with fuels approved by TRA, are fairly low-hazard. But...although BP is insensitive to impact and pressure, it's highly sensitive to flame, spark...even static sparks. Not the best choice for a beginner unless s/he understands the hazards and is somewhat anally retentive about safety.

Okay, I'll shut up now.

Best,
Terry

 

[cbwho]

I used to pay $1.00 for a 3-pack of B motors... they're $8 now at Hobby Lobby. Chock it up to 50+ years of inflation... gas was 29.9 per gallon back then, too... and the minimum wage was just over a buck an hour.

$1 in 1972 is equivalent in purchasing power to about $6.99 today. So not much difference.

 

[samb]

I think the op has got the idea that our little forum is not the place to get specific advice on propellant cooking. For myself, I spent some time studying the info on the Nakka site a few years back. I decided that future saving from using homemade motors was offset by the capital expenditure in facilities and equipment. To those who cook I say “good luck” and “stay safe”.

 

[obrienmartin72]

These are a couple of the good sugar sites. Sugar and black powder are fun and safe to make.

https://www.nakka-rocketry.net/
https://www.jacobsrocketry.com/aer/propellant.htm
Have fun.

i have just tested my first three sucrose rockets and i couldn't be more pleased. i made some d sized motors. the first 2 blew the clay plugs when the pressure got high. i changed the design a little and the plug and nozzles held up. you guys are right about the time it takes to make the motors. it takes some effort but i enjoy doing things from scratch. i can find the time. the jason smiley book is very helpful.