Hi everyone,
Sorry to inundate your email, but, we wanted to share an important update about motor availability for next season. As many of you are aware, our longtime onsite vendor, Off We Go Rocketry (Gary Stroick), will be retiring after the 2025 season. This means that starting in 2026, we won’t have an onsite motor vendor. For many of us who’ve gotten used to showing up at the field and grabbing what we need, this will be a noticeable change—especially with today’s long lead times from motor manufacturers.
What This Means
Next year will require a bit more planning and some new habits as we all adjust to getting motors before launch day.
Motor Purchasing Options, With Links
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WildMan Rocketry: They hold a pre-Thanksgiving Wildman club-only sale and public after-Thanksgiving Saturday sale. To take part in the Wildman club sale, you would need to purchase the Wildman club membership prior to Wednesday. Just remember these are prepay/preorder events, and motors may take months to arrive.
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Group Orders & Other Retailers: Teaming up with friends or other club members for larger orders can help reduce shipping and hazmat costs. Several other reliable online retailers carry high-power motors, so comparing availability and lead times across multiple sources can be useful as inventories fluctuate. There's a post on The Rocketry Forum which is attempting to list many of the holiday sales going on as well.
Certification Reminder
You can only purchase motors within your current certification level. If you’re certifying, you may buy one motor in the impulse class you will be certifying in.
What the Board Is Working On
We’re exploring the possibility of organizing combined Tripoli MN orders with an online vendor to reduce shipping costs and combine HazMat shipping. That said, managing freight shipments and distributing motors to everyone could be a significant undertaking, so we’re still determining whether this is a realistic option for 2026.
In the meantime, we recommend planning ahead, taking advantage of sales when possible, and coordinating orders with fellow members.
We’d Love Your Input
If you have feedback, interest in participating in a group order, ideas for handling freight shipments or distribution, or would be willing to help receive or distribute motors, please let us know. Any help or suggestions would make a big difference as we evaluate next steps.
Thanks for adapting with us as we navigate this new phase of motor planning.
Clear skies, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Dave Snyder
secretary@TripoliMN.org
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