Need your help with new product suggestions

tru168 wrote:Hi,

I don't know how much die cast muffler will cost if it still within the price range, ( make 2 half and clamp it on the cylinder type )maybe you can make a small groove at inner part that will grip a normal throttle ring in it, then this can be a muffler by its own, or add in a throttle ring and become a throttle muffler. And later on, maybe it can be fixed in a basic large tank engine and become Dragonfly 2. :-) but this only possible if the tooling cost is low enough.

It costs about $6,000 to make a propeller mould (in China) and I would think that one for a muffler will not be less than that. Right from the start, therefore, a DC muffler is likely not viable. Again, the economies of scale for small runs of 1,000.

RknRusty wrote:

Cox International wrote:On the list, thanks. What are the 2-56 screws for?

That's the size for mounting engines to beam mount planes with machine screws and nuts. Tee Dees require 2-56 screws. Also for mounting engines to the aluminum test stand. #2 washers and lock washers are needed too, as well as the locking nuts with plastic grips in them(I forget what they are called).

3/4" or 1" screws for 1/2A beam mounts and 1/2" screws for the test stand are the most needed sizes.

Got it!
Thanks

I guess you posted while I was posting!

Replies in bold.
On your site I always check in to the models hoping someone re-kitted voodoo or Satan or similar 1/2a combat ships with built up or foam wings.

Perhaps be an outlet for Core-House Lil Hacker or similar....several eastern European sources require us to buy minimum of 10 aircraft...I only want one to experiment with
We will only list kits that can be individually drop-shipped, due to the high costs of shipping to us and then back out of Canada (96% of our sales are to outside of Canada)

Seriously consider the Tee Dee / Medallion manufacturing
As mentioned, we are currently looking into making a TD 049 but don’t hold your breath. Judging by some of the parts quotes received, it’s a non-project so far.

I need .051 pistons and cylinders....over the last year here on CEF it seems I am not the only one that desires to USE my modest collection of Cox engines
If we ever make any pistons it will only be the 049 size ones due to interchangeability with a large selection of Cox engines. .051 is a specialty size.

Carry the nelson plugs and adapters please
I approached Galbraith for clamp rings years ago and he refused to sell me in bulk, hence we went to Merlin.

Your own brand (like Xenalube) of spider wire or Kevlar flying lines and adjustable handles
Too expensive for tooling but will look into buying from Brodak – On the list!

I vote for mufflers too...please... flying sites for open exhaust C/L are nearly non existent

I think Xena Brand aluminum spinners competing with Valentine is a good move. Many of us love Valentine stuff, but are very frustrated with the sporadic availability of any of the cool parts

You already poo pooed metal back plates as not economically feasible...I think you should relook the economics of this....I personally think your aluminum anodized stunt tanks are pricey but I still buy the buggers as they are good quality and I distrust the plastic tanks
I did get a preliminary quote for the zinc backplate from China. Over $25,000. Then, one still has to make the parts, including spraybars and press them in. Another non-starter, especially in view of plastic ones being available (we have access to the mould for free). We sell less than 1,000 backplates/year, including those that we use to make engines, so it becomes obvious that zinc backplates are a no-go. Cox budgeted for total production runs in the 6-digits, not 1,000 like us. The market is not the same as it was 20 years ago and rapidly shrinking.

License Paul Gibeault's blueprint formula or have him do a limited number of mouse racer engines a year for you to sell to us
Certainly an idea but we have already made two specialty engines.

Use YOUR buying power and Ken Cook’s contact (if Ken is willing to share) and get Ukrainian (grish tornado style) "glass" propellers into your inventory
We already have a good selection of props and can manufacture more at reasonable cost. If anything, a 7” prop would be good as well as a RH 3-blade 5” version. However, I will look into your suggestion.

Kim wrote:Didn't see this listed in the previous posts, please excuse me if I missed it. The guys are often talking about adding castor to their fuels in different ratios, with different types (drug store and racing types).

Might it be a good move to offer it in small, measured amounts (to suit a quart of fuel or such) and of the type that's best for these little engines?

I know most of the heavy-duty engine guys have their own preferences, but maybe beginners and those "out-in-the-sticks" types might like an easy source for acceptable castor. Figure there wouldn't be any issues with shipping / flammability, and it might become a "side item" guys would want included in their parts orders.

Just a thought.

I think that's a good idea and will look into it.

cribbs74 wrote:Bernie,

I assume Brodak 1/2A kits are out of the question then? Like I said Blackhawk has some nice looking models, but for the most part they are of slab wing design.

Built up wing 1/2A's fly very well and might appeal to more folks.

Would you consider selling fuel?

Also 5.5x3 props would be great!!!

Unless Brodak has changed their mind re. drop-shipping same/next day, then, yes, it's out of question. We buy tanks and other parts from them but the difference is we get them shipped here and hence control shipping time.

Fuel is 100% out of question. As hazardous material you are looking at $40 to $60 for a pint to ship out of here. Canada Post and the couriers have different guidelines here than in the USA.

We already have 5x3 and 6x3 props. Adding one in between may have some market but, at a $6,000 mould cost, not something in the works.

At this stage I should point out that we are looking for suggestions for items (non-Cox accessories) that:

Cost sub $20 (preferably sub $10)
Max shipping weight 250gr
Do not involve making tooling/moulds

We only have so much money and would rather spend $5,000 on 10 inexpensive products with good markup than same on one item with perhaps mediocre markup.

Cox International wrote:...I presume you mean the self-locking nuts with the sharp tines?

These in size 2-56 for beam type engine mounting is what I was referring to.
They have a rounded top with a nylon self locking ring inside. I can sometimes find them at the LHS but sometimes not.

Thanks Rusty. Self-locking nuts and the ones with the spikes are on the wish-list.

Bernie, I really appreciate your responses. Especially since several of us did not comply with your initial call for cost and size limitation.

Maybe for BHM you can set up a "special order" page, with price list noting the extended lead time. Sort of a reserve, invoice, pay setup.
Phil

Hi Bernie,


Copper drive plate for cox car/buggy 049 engines.

That will convert any car 049 engines to fix propeller.
Cox buggy / car engines came with strong crank, should be good for diesel I think.

If this is possible, then the price of buggy / car cox engines will goes very high on the bay . javascript:emoticonp('')

Hi Bernie,


Copper drive plate for cox car/buggy 049 engines.

That will convert any car 049 engines to fix propeller.
Cox buggy / car engines came with strong crank, should be good for diesel I think.

If this is possible, then the price of buggy / car cox engines will goes very high on the bay . ('')

pkrankow wrote:Maybe for BHM you can set up a "special order" page, with price list noting the extended lead time. Sort of a reserve, invoice, pay setup.
Phil

Phil, that is a dangerous game. Most buyers that buy a kit also buy an engine and other parts. Our experience has shown us that buyers often don't read details but simply "add to cart".

When their engine/parts arrive but no kit, it becomes a problem. If we then also have to tell them their kit is backordered for a month, or not available at all, we may lose their goodwill forever.

Personally, I never buy a "backordered" item on-line and I suspect most buyears are averse to paying for something they have no clue as to whether they will receive it and, if so, when that will be.

Our whole business model is built around "If you can add it to cart it will be shipped same/next business day". We would rather not have the potential extra kit business than have a few extra sales but potential angry customers.

What we can do, however, is set up a product SKU that explains we can get other BHM kits, have a link to BHM for them to choose, after which the potential buyer can ask us for availability and shipping cost. With our answer, the buyer will know details up front and can decide wether to make a purchase or not. I just want to prevent someone adding a non-deliverable kit to cart.

Furthermore, we offer flat-fee shipping that is capped. Some of the kits do not fall under this shipping rate and we would need to set individual shipping rates, for different countries, for each kit. By going "on demand" we minimize the work required.

Again, this is something that is very expensive and not a prudent use of our scant resources. In runs of 1,000 I estimate the production cost of an 010 cylinder/piston to be in the $15 range, making for a $30 retail. To sell a cylinder/piston at $30 will be difficult. To sell 1,000 in our lifetime will likely be impossible.

We also sell some 010 parts. The sales ratio (even for the most popular part, the glow head) is at least 40 to 1, if not 50 to 1. We sell less than 1,000 replacement cylinder per year for 049. So, doing the math, it may take 40 years to sell 1,000 units of 010 cylinders and over 20 years to recoup just our basic capital outlay; that is if someone if even prepared to pay $30 for the set.

We did manufacture some 010 parts because buyers asked for them. 2-3 years later we are still sitting on over 90% of the stock - basically a loss for us.

We had about 30 of the 010 crankcases in 2008. We finally sold the last ones this Spring @ $9.95. Thirty in 4 years = 8 per year. We would have to make at least 500 to get a cost of $7 or so ($15 retail). If we can only sell 8 per year at $9.95, how many will we sell at $15?

The 020 size is a somewhat better seller, perhaps at a ratio of 20 to 1 compared to 049. Here again, sales volume does not justify making anything but inexpensive parts that we can get in small quantities.

If we have $15,000 to spend, we would rather invest this in making 049 Tee Dee engines as we anticipate they will sell reasonable well and we can recoup our capital investment within a couple of years and book subsequent years as profit.

Many Cox modellers severly overestimate the Cox market and often base their sales projections on the fact they need a part but can't find it. The reality is often different. We have at least a dozen parts here that we made because buyers clamoured for them, only to still have 90-95% sitting here years later.

balogh wrote:Hi Bernie,

what I miss is crankshaft, piston, cylinder and crankcase for Tee Dee 010 and 020 engines. These are highly sought after items that I am sure many COX users would happily buy.

010 tanks are available at Mecoa but the purchase process is rather problmatic.
Thanks, András.

I believe that Matt was looking into this at some point. However, it is not something that is on our list as it would be very rare for someone to want to convert a car engine to an airplane engine, It is usually the other way around where modellers, due to the scarcity of car engines and parts, approach us on how to convert an airplane engine into a car engine.

Yes, the cranks would be good for diesel but, since we already sell diesel cranks, there is little need for someone to sacrifice a rare car engine for airplane use.

You may want to check with Matt on this project (and I may be mistaken here).

tru168 wrote:Hi Bernie,


Copper drive plate for cox car/buggy 049 engines.

That will convert any car 049 engines to fix propeller.
Cox buggy / car engines came with strong crank, should be good for diesel I think.

If this is possible, then the price of buggy / car cox engines will goes very high on the bay . ('')

OK, we now have all BHM kits for sale, see post in "For Sale" section:

https://www.coxengineforum.com/t3843-all-black-hawk-model-kits-now-available#52280

Plastic reproductions of "Wally's Wings"

If this is remotely possible, I can lend my pair to you Bernie to see about a mold.

https://www.coxengineforum.com/t3116-wally-s-wings#52439

Thanks

microflitedude wrote:Plastic reproductions of "Wally's Wings"

If this is remotely possible, I can lend my pair to you Bernie to see about a mold.

https://www.coxengineforum.com/t3116-wally-s-wings#52439

Thanks

Brilliant Idea. I'd love to have my wings. I've got a fair idea of the answer but one can only hope.

tru168 wrote:Hi Bernie,


Copper drive plate for cox car/buggy 049 engines.

That will convert any car 049 engines to fix propeller.
Cox buggy / car engines came with strong crank, should be good for diesel I think.

If this is possible, then the price of buggy / car cox engines will goes very high on the bay . ('')

Yes, Bernie is correct that we had these produced in a limited number. We made them from aluminum and have had mixed results in regards to the amount of wear. Right now I am in the process of fitting them and testing the wear. If they do not prove to be consistent enough I will likely shelve the project and revisit it at a later time.

Matt

microflitedude wrote:Plastic reproductions of "Wally's Wings"

If this is remotely possible, I can lend my pair to you Bernie to see about a mold.

https://www.coxengineforum.com/t3116-wally-s-wings#52439

Thanks

Thanks Micro but anything involving a mould is out of the question. I estimate that a commercial mould (from China) for that part to cost at least $3,000. Reproduction trinkets like that may retail at $2.95. We would have to make at least 4,000 to amortize the mould and cannot see that many selling in a decade. Heck, we don't have anything that we sell 4,000 in a year of.

Bottom taps for case bolts

High quality screwdrivers in the proper sizes with substantial handles. I snapped off a new screwdriver recently trying to loosen the case screws on a bee...

Phil