Which Rocket shops do you use?

[rdrown]

Science and Education center in Wichita, KS. The best rocket kits and parts in the area. Also, supporting small business.

 

[AfterBurners]

This is a great idea

 

[AfterBurners]

what about the rocket place called composite rocketry??

 

[Dane Ronnow]

Parts and supplies:
Apogee - https://www.apogeerockets.com/Building_Supplies
Rocketarium - https://www.rocketarium.com/Build

Motors:
Sirius Rocketry - https://www.siriusrocketry.biz/ishop/hobby-rocket-motors-engines-hdw-36/
Discount Rocketry - https://www.discountrocketry.com/advanced_search_result.php?keywords=aerotech motors&sort=3a&page=1

Parachute:
Fabric - https://ripstopbytheroll.com/collec...ucts/1-1-oz-ripstop-nylon?variant=11187595457
Shroud line (lightweight, non-Kevlar) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FVN9V4X/
Tera 80 thread - https://www.rockywoods.com/Gutermann-TERA-80-Polyester-Thread
70/10 Microtex Needles - https://www.wawak.com/Sewing/Needle...tex-home-machine-needles-5pack/?sku=SMNS15110

Shock cord:
Elastic - https://www.hobbylobby.com/Fabric-S.../Elastic/White-Knit-Elastic---1-4"/p/80740195
Rubber - https://www.faimodelsupply.com/product-category/tan-super-sport-rubber/?product-page=3
Kevlar - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01850OT2G/

Adhesives:
White & carpenter's glue - https://www.lowes.com/search?searchTerm=elmer's+glue
Epoxy - https://www.hobbylobby.com/search/?text=epoxy
Styrene welding solvent - https://www.hobbylobby.com/Crafts-Hobbies/Model-Kits/Tools-Adhesives/Extra-Thin-Cement/p/146566

Vinyl lettering:
https://www.signs.com/

 

[Dipstick]

And Canadian:
https://www.sunwardhobbies.ca/

 

[arconhi]

Estes, eRockets, Apogee components and Hobbylinc.

 

[Cl(VII)]

Hobbyking.com for all manner of LiPo needs.

 

[ghostfather]

If you live in Europe:

Euro Space Technology https://eurospacetechnology.eu
Rockets and Things https://www.rocketsandthings.com/Sierra Fox Hobbies https://www.sierrafoxhobbies.com/en/
Black Cat Rocketry https://www.blackcatrocketry.co.uk/

Euro Space Technology is far and away the most complete, and is the European distributor of Cesaroni motors. Also has some out-of-production collectors items, if you're into that.

 

[Sparky]

This is a great list guys. Are there any more?

 

[Culprit]

Estes (motors, kits, components)
Apogee (components, RockSim)
AC Supply (kits, motors)
Jolly Logic (chute release, altimeter three)
Perfect Flite (TARC-approved Pnut altimeter)
Rocketman (parachutes, chute protectors)
Bama Recovery (parachutes)
Wildman (motors, motor cases/hardware)
Stickershock23
MadCow (kits)
Aerotech (motors, hardware)
Lowe's (adhesives, body tubes, polycarbonate sheet, paint, wood putty, sanding sealer, Rockwell Jawstand)
Prusa (3D printer, filament)
Autodesk (Fusion 360 CAD)
Hobby Lobby (kits, motors)
Michaels (kits, motors)
Emma Kites (Kevlar shock cord on Amazon)
Performance Hobbies (motors, shock cord)
Five Below (candy tubes)
Giant Grocery Store (Honey Nut Cheerios boxes for centering rings)
Walmart (adhesives, fishing swivels)
Zoro (rail)

I'm sure I'm missing a couple more.

 

[dr wogz]

curious to see what this list generates!

Curious if anyone has taking all teh suggestions and compiled them into a list; something searchable / 'pivot table' like..

Might also be interesting to see the groupings.. mainly south? mid west? LA?..

 

[Nytrunner]

I was thinking of groupings based on offerings: Kits, motors, services, electronics, etc....Including a non-rocket category since there are several shops listed above that have nothing to do with rocketry other than what we use their stuff for

 

[jqavins]

Others have covered mine several time over. But if you're interested in counting "votes" for relative popularity:

• Apogee
• Public Missiles
• Balsa Machining
• Jon Rocket
• Anywhere I can find the best price.

EDIT: One more I should have mentioned:

• Whatever vendor is on site at a launch (especially for motors).

 

[neil_w]

I was thinking of groupings based on offerings: Kits, motors, services, electronics, etc....Including a non-rocket category since there are several shops listed above that have nothing to do with rocketry other than what we use their stuff for

Most usefully, this all this goes in a sortable table (i.e. sort on any column by clicking column header):

1. Name of shop in left column.
2. Each additional column represents a category or product, with checkmarks if that shop carries that product type (or could be a word or note, if appropriate)
3. ?
4. Profit

It's more than a bit of work to populate this the first time, although if given the list of shops, and the categories, I'm sure we would collectively be able to get it all done.

 

[jqavins]

That sounds like a nice idea, but a lot more work. Each of us would have fill in our own preferences. That is, lots of places have motors, for example, or parts or kits or whatever, and yet we still each have our own preferences for which places we buy them. We'd basically each need our own sheet in a giant workbook (to use Excel nomenclature). Then someone, presumably Angie, would have to aggregate it. That's all certainly doable, but sounds to me like more trouble than it's worth.

 

[neil_w]

That sounds like a nice idea, but a lot more work. Each of us would have fill in our own preferences. That is, lots of places have motors, for example, or parts or kits or whatever, and yet we still each have our own preferences for which places we buy them. We'd basically each need our own sheet in a giant workbook (to use Excel nomenclature). Then someone, presumably Angie, would have to aggregate it. That's all certainly doable, but sounds to me like more trouble than it's worth.

I wasn't suggesting any preferences, just a breakdown of who sells what sort of thing. Just broad categories, like kits, parts, motors, electronics, other. No personal giant workbooks or anything, just a table. If I want to see who sells motors, I click on the header to the "motor" column, and I can easily see all the motor vendors grouped together. Etc.

 

[dr wogz]

I just noticed the "Rocketry Forum Sponsors" forum in the "Vendor's Showcase" sub group. Cool, a clickable list of the sponsors (vendors), very nicely done.

But I am a little confused by the stickie & the wording within: Banners / banner advertising? Is that a real thing now?

Maybe adding a little blurb about them, so we know what they do / provide / produce may help newbies navigate who does what..

 

[jqavins]

I just looked at it thanks to the above. Why no Apogee Components?

 

[dr wogz]

I just looked at it thanks to the above. Why no Apogee Components?

likely not a 'paid sponsor' this is a "TRF Sponsor list".. (and not a flat-out vendor list)

 

[Blast it Tom!]

I suppor my local hobby as much as possible, Hobby Express on Route 228 in Cranberry Twp, Pa. Don't know if that counts or not. Other than that, when I have to mail-order, the vendors are already listed.

 

[DaHabes]

@Mike Haberer, runcam has quite a few cameras, which ones do you generally use or investigate for use w/your rockets?

Not using cameras yet, just compiling sources.

 

[BABAR]

May have missed it above but for rocket gliders,

Dynasoar Rocketry

https://dynasoarrocketry.com/
Should be on the short list

 

[Zeke Johnson]

>>>----->

MCTronics - EggTimer Kit Assembly
https://mctronics.webs.com/
Bear Altimeters - Flight Computers
https://rocket.payload.free.fr/
Big Red Bee - Rocket Trackers RF / GPS / APRS
https://www.bigredbee.com/
Coaxial Antenna Cable Assemblies for Tracking / RF / GPS
https://mpddigital.us/
Arrow Antennas - Portable Tracking Antennas
https://www.arrowantennas.com/
Communication Specialists Inc - Trackers
https://www.com-spec.com/
LL Electronics - Beepers / Trackers
https://www.radiotracking.com/
Tinder Rocketry - Recovery Solutions / CO2 / Cable Cutters
https://www.tinderrocketry.com/
Prairie Twister Rocketry - Cable Cutters
https://ptrocketry.blogspot.com/
Transolve Electronics - Beepers / Spread Spectrum
https://www.transolve.com/
ZeptoBit - Magnetic Apogee Detector
https://zeptobit.com/index.php?product=1&lang=en&cur=USD
Rocketarium - Kits and Parts
https://www.rocketarium.com/

... These are already listed, but for good measure:

Altus Metrum - Flight Computers / Rocket Trackers / RF / GPS
https://altusmetrum.org/
EggTimer - Flight Computers, GPS Trackers
https://eggtimerrocketry.com/
Composite Warehouse - Fiberglass Kits and Components
https://compositewarehouse.com/
Dog House Rocketry/Binder Design - Locking Connectors
https://binderdesign.com/

Zeke

 

[caveduck]

Be aware that any list of rocketry vendors is a moving target. The vast majority of rocketry vendors are one or two person operations, so they come and go with considerable frequency. If you want to keep it up to date, recurring effort will be needed to prune dead links and add new ones.

 

[Zeke Johnson]

Be aware that any list of rocketry vendors is a moving target. The vast majority of rocketry vendors are one or two person operations, so they come and go with considerable frequency. If you want to keep it up to date, recurring effort will be needed to prune dead links and add new ones.

...

I haven't done the research, but I bet 80% of the companies listed in this thread have been in business for 5 - 10+ years. I know that I have used most of them over the years.

When the list is compiled, a "Date Added" and maybe a "Years in Business" column would be useful.

Zeke

 

[caveduck]

That's probably not a bad estimate of lifetime (I actually think the average might be even higher, maybe 10-20 years). The problem is that the math says if you have a resource list with 100 entries and a 10-year average life, if not maintained, after 2-3 years a quarter of the links will be dead and as many new ones will be missing, which greatly reduces the value of the list. I actually ran into this 3-4 years ago when I tried to digest a stale list from somewhere to make a new one.

There are old threads of resource links on this forum that were very useful at one time, but are now dead because no one except a mod can edit them anymore. It would be really great if there were an "official" sticky list that some number of people larger than just the mods had permission to edit/curate so it would stay live.

I agree that a "year founded" column would be great, although I've found (doing various bits of historical research) that sometimes it can be hard to determine without asking the principals. In the modern era the internet wayback machine does help a lot, though there are several rocketry related entities that predate the Internet.

 

[Tarantula]

Misc rocketry related stuff and other useful items:

Aerocon Systems