Estes doesn’t sell a motor that can safely fly the MDRM. Unless they have a mad scientist developing some secret sauce high power BP formula it’s highly unlikely we’ll ever see big, heavy MPR/HPR kits from Estes again - the current PSII rockets that can fly on adapted 24mm BP motors looks like their plan for bigger rockets. Besides, why should they try to compete with all the other MPR/HPR companies in an area that’s not in their DNA or skill sets? Are the folks who regularly buy LOC, Madcow, Public Missiles, Sirius, Aerotech, Wildman, AMW, Performance Hobbies, etc rockets really going to buy enough big Estes rockets to make it a sustainable product for Estes?
An entire generation of BARs and L1s bought
every Leviathan, Ventris, Argent, and 4" DRM that the could ship, as well as all the spare parts rockets that they sold direct.
The issue is that those rockets relied on rebranded SU AP motors that, in the rebranding, had some price point challenges and acted as a gateway to potentially wean the customer off of Estes direct supply chain.
At the decision point of "Renew and continue" or "Change direction", Estes changed direction in favor of only producing rockets for their BP motors.
To ask "Are the folks who regularly buy LOC, Madcow, Public Missiles, Sirius, Aerotech, Wildman, AMW, Performance Hobbies, etc rockets really going to buy enough big Estes rockets to make it a sustainable product for Estes"
The answer is, The fact that shelves are empty and that there was a HUGE purchasing binge when it became clear that the builder line of PSII kits was being discontinued in and of itself proves that the market is big enough and that folks will cross over to Estes.....if the product is there......and upon seeing the holes on the shelf where estes sure sellers used to reside, places like MadCow and Apogee stepped in and filled a market niche that Estes perfected, then abandoned.
That said, there is probably a point at which it crossed the Rubicon and Estes will have no future in that niche, unless they can come up with something iconic.....again.