Hello,
I am Randy Boadway, owner and operator at eRockets. I am dedicated to providing the best selection of hobby Model Rockets Kits possible on this planet. We currently stock 714 different model rocket kits, all in-stock, right now for your shopping pleasure. If you do not see what you are looking for please let me know, if I can get it I will get it for you. My team and I are eager to make you happy.
Our new web page is up and running. We hope it will help us with some of our back office tasks and provide you a great on-line shopping experience. Items are organized in our menu to the left by manufacturer. If you wish to drill down further, model rocket kits are organized by Skill Level under Manufacturer. If you are looking for a specific kit, use the search box at the top right of each page. If you cannot find what you are looking for, drop me a note.
I have been a long time rocketeer. I got started back in 1973 when my best friend and I were looking through an Estes catalog and decided to buy a pack of rocket engines so we could launch our rocket. We ordered a pack of 1/2A3-4T motors to put in our T-80 sized Saturn V that my grandmother bought me at a hobby store in Bay City, Michigan. Well, needless to say the bird flew 15 feet in the air and ejected on the ground, I was so embarrassed. I thought it should have traveled to the moon. Regardless, I was hooked. That next year I started a club at my school in Capac, Michigan and eventually Joe Fuller came along as a teacher and the club flourished. At some point during the 1970's I joined the National Association of Rocketry (NAR), my number is 26665. The summer after my senior year of High School NARAM-22 was held in Lansing, Michigan at the Michigan State Campus in a field south of town next to a corn field. I did fly a couple of events and had a great time. After High School I was off to Adrian College where I again was able to get a small group of enthusiasts together to form a club. Like many rocketeers my age I took a few years off of rocketry to get my career going and start a family.
In January of 1994 my daughter Amanda was born, and I was spending a lot more time at home. My wife was tired of me hanging around so much, so she encouraged me to get a hobby or something. I recall my reply - I had a couple of boxes in storage that I have been moving from place to place for years. One had some old trains in it and the other a bunch of model rocket stuff. Of course I picked the rocket box. I took some time to build myself a nice work area in the basement with pegboards on the wall, a workbench with some drawers below and I was ready to go. Oh, yes, I also threw a big old piece of carpet on the floor so Amanda would have a place to play. Carol also put a big old rocking chair in the room so she could sit and read while I did my thing. This all worked out pretty well.
I had a chance to find out a little bit about online auctions and realized that some of the old kits I had in that box were too valuable for me to build, so I got on Rocketry On-line and used their auction site to sell off my old kits and buy a whole lot of new kits.
As time went on, I joined HUVARS in the Detroit area and commuted more than an hour from Lansing to participate in the club’s activities. When I started competing with them I also started taking Amanda along for the ride, she loved to play with the other kids. That did not last much longer and she was building, launching, and competing along side of me. Thank God she was in a different age division so I did not have to compete directly against her. Later, I moved to Grand Rapids, Michigan and joined SMASH of which I became President for 4 years in the mid 2000's. I also chose to pay forward and be the Contest Director for NARAM-49 in 2007 in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In addition, I helped Pam Gilmore out at NARAM-54 in Muskegon, Michigan and coordinated all of the activities at the hotel.
In 2009 I fell on hard times as my job with Meijer came to a sudden end. I was there 27 years prior to a right-sizing of the company. I also saw this as an opportunity to start a new business and eRockets was born. I gathered up all of my un-built kits and put them up for auction and started contacting suppliers to help supply the new business. Things were tough getting started and sales were very poor but I stuck to my guns and business plan and made it work. After 18 months of being under-employed I landed a great job with Avery Dennison near Dayton, Ohio so off I moved to work there. But there was no way I could manage eRockets and work at Avery Dennison too. This is when I recruited Bill Geresy, long time rocketeer and SMASH member, about doing the shipping and receiving at eRockets. We loaded up a big truck and moved it all to Bill's for re-shipping around the world.
This worked out very well as we averaged 100% increases in sales for a year and the company started to turn a profit. Now, I am personally starting to feel the pain as I was downsized out of Avery Dennison in April 2013. My focus now is on expanding eRockets even further and providing our customers with even more choices, while providing more items in an attempt to create a one stop shopping locating at eRockets.
Bill Geresy had decided that he wanted to retire with that I tried to turn into an opportunity. I was extremely fortunate to find an old empty building that could house eRockets in a small commercially zoned area right across the street from a large sports complex. eRockets now has a home that would allow us to expand for the next phase of our growth. Even with the move we still produced a 75% increase for the year. 2014 our growth will be fueled by expansion into the mid power rocketry kits.
Another opportunity our new location will provide us is a build room for clubs and patrons. The front offices came along with the warehouse and I intent to take full advantage of it.
Over the years I have had a great opportunity to absorb a couple of great organizations. In 2010 I was able to arrange to transfer all of the Totally Tubular inventory from Jim Fackert to eRockets. It has taken us years to sort out, clean and sell this inventory, there have been surprises all along the way. Any boy oh boy do we have tubes available. the other acquisition was A2Z Hobbies out of the Chicago area. We purchased the remaining rocketry and pine car derby products and their customer list. I hope this will improve our school and scout purchases around the country.
My philosophy with the items I buy for the site is to provide the best possible solutions at the best possible prices on the internet. I actually had a hard time bringing in the E2X and RTF lines from Estes because they did not support the important learning part of the hobby that you get from building the models. Later, I realized that there are times where you have to get someone interested in flight prior to their interest in building. I am very much a supporter of the safety, education and fun that the hobby of model rocketry provides. I have been involved in the American Rocketry Challenge(ARC) since the first year and am always amazed by our youngsters’ need for knowledge to meet the challenge.
Don't miss out on one of the best model rocketry resources in the USA - The National Association of Rocketry. It’s an excellent organization with some great model rocketry resources. Check out their web page for free safety information, club resources, launch calendar, rocket plans and much more. Become a member and get more benefits like liability insurance, rocketry resources and the best model rocketry magazine in the world, Sport Rocketry.
If you have any questions about rocketry that I may be able to help with please feel free to contact me by e-mail at erockets@rocketmail.com.
Respectfully,
Randy Boadway,
eRockets