"THE LAUNCH PAD" is back!!!

Onebadhawk
SilicdyneTRF
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Awesome!!!

They had some really nice kits.

I built their Folgore kit, took awhile to build due to having to cut out 6 fins and 12 fairing strips by hand but it came out really nice.

It's flight performance can be compared to an Estes Silver Comet just with a bit less altitude.
 
Very nice! Thanks for letting us know! BTW for those who can't wait, performance hobbies has a full selection of the current (past?) product in stock.
 
Glad to hear one of the best Scale companies is back. Now if they can just work on their websites speed to load, reducing the jpgs down to gifs and optimize everything, I'll be in heaven.. lol

On the other hand, I don't believe - based soley on performance (tongue in cheek) that I'd order anything from Performance Hobby given their problems with shipping etc. in the threads here at TRF.

https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7769&highlight=performance+hobby
 
To each their own. I believe in documenting experiences and letting the buyer decide. I have only had one problem in years of ordering, and that was ordering something that was out of stock. Anyways, I pickup onsite and am loving life :)
 
Cool! Now we can all start building nose cones with plastic bases and paper hats! :p

I've still got my RIM-67 Plan Pack and Standard ARM kit in a half-built status somewhere. Had to set it aside a while back because I didn't have the skill yet to finish it. Probably will get back to it this summer sometime...

WW
 
WW on the Rim-67, are you going to try the staging technique suggested in the plans, or a more commercial means?

it works but is kind of touchy
 
Looks like they will release the Vought STM as a kit...


YES!!!
 
I was wondering if all the people who sent in money and never received kits are going to get the kits now(many forum members).
The last time there was a discusson on The Launc Pad on the forum, many vented about being ripped off. Don't want to dampen everone, but its a question that needs answers. Are they going to make good or say its a new company with the same name?
Aron
 
This question would be properly posed to the new owner(s). I may depend mainly on their goodwill.
 
Originally posted by Aron Sanford
I was wondering if all the people who sent in money and never received kits are going to get the kits now(many forum members).
The last time there was a discusson on The Launc Pad on the forum, many vented about being ripped off. Don't want to dampen everone, but its a question that needs answers. Are they going to make good or say its a new company with the same name?
Aron
Click to expand...

I wasn't aware that there was ever much problem with that sort of thing with TLP. I've seen all the threads about Discount Hobbies and their dealings (and we won't go into them in this thread, there's already too many threads about them!), but the only thing I'd heard about TLP was that they were sometimes rather hard to find. The threads I found in a search indicated that they have been shipping product, but only at a trickle rate, and that their website hadn't been well-maintained. Nothing to indicate people being ripped off.

WW
 
This is a good development. I hope Chuck is doing well. I was a dealer for him from '93 to around '96 and it was a positive experience. The only bad thing to come out of this is that all of those TLP kits I have stashed away are no longer "collector's items"! :D
 
New owners? Same owner, with new management. There seems to be at least one vendor on this forum that's been waiting over a year for a $900 order. Hopefully, the new management will keep the guy producing the kits on schedule, and get that order backlog out to the appropriate people.

Al
 
The first and last time I order from it took them like 4 months to get me my order so I'm never buying any of there kits again.
 
Yea... Right! The new CEO was the manger of a Fortune 10 company? And now is head & CEO of TLP? O give me a break! I have this nice used bridge that crosses over the Hudson river for just $100.00! At least make it sound believable!
Its still the same guy BSing every one. I hope any one who orders, gets their kits. Many here have been shaffted from the "OLD" Launch Pad! O, I like their kits and all, but never received my order from 2 years agao. I sent an email, lets see if they make good first or say its a new company & can't help on what the old company did!
CEO of a fortune 10 company! Yea Right!!:rolleyes:
 
Originally posted by not a lib
Yea... Right! The new CEO was the manger of a Fortune 10 company? And now is head & CEO of TLP? O give me a break! I have this nice used bridge that crosses over the Hudson river for just $100.00! At least make it sound believable! ...
CEO of a fortune 10 company! Yea Right!!:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

That is not what the announcement said:
From The Launch Pad's web site
.. we're pleased to announce the appointment of Ms. Nan Goldberg as President and CEO of The Launch Pad, ... Ms. Goldberg previously managed operations and projects for a Fortune 10 company, and will contribute considerable experience in manufacturing and project management....
Click to expand...

Nowhere does it say that she was CEO of the Fortune 10 company. Neither does it say she was THE manager of the Fortune 10 company. It does not even say that she was A Manager, only that she "managed operations and projects".

I have worked for a Fortune 10 company. The title Manager was generally only used for the lowest levels of management, in charge of 10 to 40 people. Above that the titles are Director, Vice President (typically dozens of these in a large company), Senior VP (many more of these), then President, COO, CEO, and Chairman. I'm sure I missed some levels in there.

My point is, I don't think they are exagerating her previous accomplishments in the press release.
 
I never ordered direct from TLP, always purchased kits from a regional dealer. The kits I purchased were always first rate, high quality parts, good instructions. I'm not fond of rolling cardboard nose cones, but that's just me.

I wish Chuck the best. Hope this solves some of the problems others have experienced with him in the past.

Best Regards
 
I bought mine form a brick and motor store, and after what I have heard, would only but from a dealer who has them in stock, 'new management' or not. I don't but many kits, but am considering one of the new releases when they show up at Performance Hobbies.

I really like the kit. Perfect for E30 motors, which give it reasonable altitude. I didn't do so well on paper tip, which actually got worse over time. However, the next time I tried it on scratch built it turned out perfect. I think the paper caps are an interesting way of getting more scale-like cones using stock parts.
 
For what its worth, I contacted the company in regards to their Nike Hercules Plan Pack, and the slow loading website. The reply I recieved clarified one point:

" The Plan pack is no longer being offered, instead we will be offering a complete Nike-Hercules kit which is more scale than the previous sports plan-pack, and will allow you to use common tubing of your choosing.

We have a new web designer, and for her first attempt, its not bad, however after losing contact with the previous designer (whom has other companies trying to contact him for their websites), we feel shes off to a good start.

All comments are certainly welcome".

For myself, I will be ordering a Nike Hercules kit from them - unless someone else decides to do a full kit, and though I'm a bit hesitant after some of the problems mentioned here and other places, I'm hopeful when the time comes, they deliver the goods ( with all asides to Judas Priest )..lol.

Cheers,
 
I'm looking forward to the hercules kit ,, but I'm not sure I understand this part
The Plan pack is no longer being offered, instead we will be offering a complete Nike-Hercules kit which is more scale than the previous sports plan-pack, and will allow you to use common tubing of your choosing.
Click to expand...
 
Originally posted by stymye
I'm looking forward to the hercules kit ,, but I'm not sure I understand this part
Click to expand...

In reference to the Nike-Hercules (and any other plan-pak as well)...........

Some of the plan paks are designed in a manner that you roll your own tubes using posterboard. The bigger Bullpup plan used this method. Makes a very large, yet very lite-weight model.

The Nike-Hercules plan had the tube diameters slightly off from scale. I can't recall if the boosters were off, the sustainer was off, or it was a combination of the ratio between the two being off. Somewhere something wasn't right. Could of been bad source data that he was going off of when planning the pak, or simply trying to fit things together.

Have I mentioned the "FOURTEEN US ARMY MISSILES OF THE COLD WAR" booklet this month?????

Yeah, NARTS is out of them, but I have a few extra I purchased for gifts to leave with the various archivists/museums I've visited.
 
cTimm thanks for clearing that up ..the wording gave me the impression that it was being released as a "kit ".
 
You are correct in that the wording says a kit is supposedly forthcoming and plan-paks are no longer available.

The plan-pak does build to a sizeable and good-looking model with excellant flights. Good enough for sport-scale.

A fun build, and easy build, an impressive flyer.

You could scratchbuild it more accurately from existing data, and get Sandman to turn the custom cone and adapter, resize the funky shroud thing that goes from 4 boosters to 1 sustainer (the Apogee plan has the shroud layout, just upsize it).

Heck, Peter probably has the data drawing on his website.
 
You can also d/l a complete set of Nike Hercules plans from my website. The first set is from the Dorffler collection (translated and cleaned up visually), and the 2nd set follows Peter Alway's basic design system from ROTW. NOTE, these are not a "pla-pack", but include all the base information one would need to scale build a Nike Herc.

Follow the link below, and click on the Nike Hercules image:

https://scale-rocketry.tripod.com/id3.htm

Cheers,
 
Just wondering. Has anyone ordered anything from the "new" version of the Launch Pad? If so, did you get anything, or receive any correspondence?

John (not Jon) Arthur

www.JonRocket.com
 

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