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#1
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MRC Engines
If you are a motor collector, this seller has apparently a pretty good supply of the latter 80s MRC Tracker motors as well as the FX engines (which don't come up often).
Link: https://www.ebay.com/sch/Rocketry/2...&_ssn=miche-gol Not my listing nor do I know the seller. Earl
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Earl L. Cagle, Jr. NAR# 29523 TRA# 962 SAM# 73 Owner/Producer Point 39 Productions Rocket-Brained Since 1970 |
#2
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I don't understand the point of them ever making motors.
They were all "me too" offerings already being filled by Estes at a lower price. Same with Quest BP engines that used to be sold. If you can't fill a niche that Estes doesn't, why bother ?
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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 ! |
#3
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What I don’t know is whether MRC actually manufactured their own motors of if they were made overseas. I have a pack of these motors but can’t lay hands on them quickly to check if they are US manufactured or not.
But basically I agree: it doesn’t make a great deal of sense to put in the capital on motor machines (if in in fact they did) to try to compete against Estes, unless you are REALLY trying to work a different angle, or unique product attributes, etc. I don’t think this version of the MRC product line did that. The Concept II stuff (which we discussed here some recently) had some decent products and I have just about all of them. Got one of them in the build que now. Earl
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Earl L. Cagle, Jr. NAR# 29523 TRA# 962 SAM# 73 Owner/Producer Point 39 Productions Rocket-Brained Since 1970 |
#4
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They were made in Germany by Sachen Feurwerks. I don't know who originally had the idea to contract with them, but later when Bill Stine was a consultant for them for the Concept II line, he had them re-label the motors with the Tracker badge. Years later, after Quest's unfortunate accident, Bill went back to Germany (Sachen was then owned by WECO) and ordered motors from them. He had some difficulty buying from them a second time (not financial; they just really didn't think it was worth their time), and after that he ordered from China (apparently he only ordered one shipping containers worth, and that lasted Quest for most of the time until he sold the company to RCS).
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Roy nar12605 |
#5
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Thanks for that Roy. That answers those questions. Yeah, I’d think one shipping container worth of motors would be a goooood handful of motors! Earl
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Earl L. Cagle, Jr. NAR# 29523 TRA# 962 SAM# 73 Owner/Producer Point 39 Productions Rocket-Brained Since 1970 |
#6
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As Roy pointed out the MRC motors were made in (West) Germany. These were they same motors as the original MRC products, just with a new label wrapped around the motors. I peeled off one of the Tracker labels from a MRC motor and it was exactly the same as the first generation MRC motors.
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Bob S.A.M. # 0014 |
#7
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Exactly why I hate the Hobby Distributor business model.
Adds NO value, Adds only cost to the customer and idiotic requirements onto the producer.
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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 ! |
#8
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Beware if you get these, according to the mid 90s testing data by NAR, the delays run a full second or more longer than the comparable Estes motor. In addition, the total impulse of the B6 and C6 tested 10% lower than the Estes counterparts. I got some in a closing hobby shop about 10 years ago and I didn’t check the testing data. I flew and zippered a rocket on an MRC C6-5 that flies fine on the Estes C6-5.
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#9
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As much as I can complain about the current/past hobby distributor model, it does have the benefit of making it easier for a hobby shop to get product. A hobby shop can have an account with a distributor to get all types of products as opposed to having to have an account with each manufacturer and having to meet minimum orders and shipping costs. It would be a real bear for each manufacturer to have to set up a larger accounts receivable department and go after those who were late paying or don't pay. AeroTech was never stiffed by a 'true' hobby distributor.
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Bob S.A.M. # 0014 |
#10
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The problem kit manufacturers have in the retail market is that retailers expect you to have an end-to-end product line. If you have kits, you should have motors for those kits. You can say "We recommend Estes engines for our XYZ Kits!!" till you're blue in the face, but retailers (and their customers) would still rather buy XYZ Kits with XYZ Engines. Quest did ok when they had similarly labelled motors they could offer for sale, but stagnated when they didn't. In the 80's MRC was able to get into places Estes couldn't because they had a limited selection of their own motors and pre-built rockets. I saw MRC rockets in discount department stores that Estes would have made buy a large display. In the early days of rockets in retail, in 1970 MPC actually was beating Estes for awhile, partly because Estes wasn't yet geared up fully for retail, but they wouldn't have been able to do that without their own line of engines.
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Roy nar12605 Last edited by Royatl : 07-05-2020 at 09:26 PM. |
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