#21
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I lost my Explorer (scratch built, before Semroc) and might replace that.
Might pick up a Aero-Dart, Hustler, Lil' Hustler, and Scorpion as well. Not that I don't have a metric poop-ton of unbuilt kits around, but the old Mini-Max kits hold a special place in my heart. My initial clone efforts helped Carl put together the Aero-Dart and Hustler designs.
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NAR #27085 - Oregon Rocketry - SAM |
#22
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I cloned the Hustler, Aero Dart, '72 Enerjet Aero Dart, and Enerjet Athena using Semroc parts prior to the kits existing.
First Semroc kits I built were the Scorpion, Jaguar, and Explorer.
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When in doubt, WHACK the GAS and DITCH the brake !!! Yes, there is such a thing as NORMAL, if you have to ask what is "NORMAL" , you probably aren't ! Failure may not be an OPTION, but it is ALWAYS a POSSIBILITY. ALL systems are GO for MAYHEM, CHAOS, TURMOIL, FIASCOS, and HAVOC ! |
#23
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We had at least 50 kits in stock of the big sellers, and at least 5 of the slower. We never ran out of kits. Carl would call me Scottie, I'd have a melt-down when we didn't have at least 5 in stock. |
#24
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I certainly hope not Jerry. As long as Randy keeps the names going (in parts), he won't lose the rights to those names. That's one reason Carl didn't want to discontinue the kits. You could order fins for just about any discontinued kit, that was another way to keep the name. |
#25
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Out of our 330+ kits we stock about 50 of them, just in time about 150, and OOP the rest as we prepare for our expansion this year.
Jerry |
#26
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If that's so, they shouldn't use the term "discontinued" and risk leaving money on the table. That's the whole spirit of "Just-in-time" manufacturing; only producing the kit when it is ordered. If you're going to keep around special parts for rockets (embossed wraps, laser cut stock, and special tubes for the Saturn, for example), just say they aren't available for immediate shipment, but are a custom order and take a little extra time.
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Roy nar12605 |
#27
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I've seen the eRockets operation. Putting a kit together as it's ordered would take about ten minutes. Very compact and well organized.
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Bill Eichelberger NAR 79563 http://wallyum.blogspot.com/ I miss being SAM 0058 Build floor: Estes - Low Boom SST Semroc - Marauder, Shrike, SST Shuttle In paint: Canaroc - Starfighter Scorpion Centuri - Mini Dactyl Estes - F-22 Air Superiority Fighter, Multi-Roc, Solar Sailer II, Xarconian Cruiser Semroc - Cyber III Ready to fly: Estes - Solar Sailer II Semroc - Earmark |
#28
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This one's for Carl
One of the kits shown as being discontinued is the Aphelion. It's "just" a 3FNC, but it's a neat design and was (according to the info in the current - soon to be OOP - kit) the original Semroc's Alpha or Astro-1. (http://www.erockets.biz/semroc-flyi...6-discontinued/)
I have one that I managed to get Carl to autograph at NSL in 2013. I built another to fly, and it took its 13th flight today (on a B6-4) as part of my New Years' Day flying. This is a cropped screen grab from the iPhone slow-mo video of that launch. I'd pick up another one or two but I have five kits on hand (including #0016 from when Carl released it).
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Bernard Cawley NAR 89040 L1 - Life Member SAM 0061 AMA 42160 KG7AIE Last edited by BEC : 01-01-2018 at 11:41 PM. |
#29
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Quote:
Fast moving kits, if they even exist these days, could be assembled in batches and put into stock (or shipped to resellers). Exotic and slow moving kits might be done as group orders sold via the web. That is, with today's connectivity via the forums, a vendor could propose a particular kit, give a minimum quantity and time frame, and then ship products a couple weeks later, assuming the minimum is met. That's basically what Gordy did with this kits, right? The key point is, to avoid costly inventories of parts that don't move, kits using them would be sold in group order batches where the quantities are known up front and the participants are willing to wait the extra lead time for the custom bits to be fabricated and assembled. If won't be the same as using on-hand parts, but, no doubt, with all the laser, CNC and 3D-printing technology in use nowadays, custom or semi-custom small batches seem very viable, no? Doug .
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YORF member #11 |
#30
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I don't completely agree with you there. This low buck JIT model may make logical sense, but then none of the ventures that follow this model have any staying power. Customer service is where it is at. Companies like Semroc, eRockets, ASP, and Apogee raise the bar for customer service. And that's where the current successful business trend in this hobby (and others) has gone and finally brought us. eRockets and Apogee are going to be or are putting their children through college with their businesses. Others aren't really making a living dabbling around with some kit offerings, and most will even tell you that they are not out to make a lot of money. And I'm not saying that dabbling around with some kit offering is a bad thing. We enjoy some nice products from the small mfgs. It's just not a business model that has a long term viability. Sure there will always be people who generate a lot of interest in some product with some sort of "group order," for people willing to wait around forever to get their order. There's room in this world for this sort of hobbyists serving other hobbyists approach. But I'm done with the vaporware rocket companies of this world. I'd rather pay a realistic price for a real product and receive that product in a few days. In only rare cases will I agree to plunk down cash for an IOU. -W
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-Wolfram v. Kiparski NAR 28643 - TRA 15520 MTMA Section #606 President |
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