Estes cold power motors (freon)

[Gillard]

Does anyone know anything about these motors?
i have a chance to buy one, bit i don't know anything about them.

[troj]

Does anyone know anything about these motors?
i have a chance to buy one, bit i don't know anything about them.

They use freon as the propellant, and use a pin valve as the firing mechanism.

I'm betting they're illegal to fly in Europe; I know they are in the US.

That said, as a collectible, it's a nice addition.

-Kevin

[billspad]

Does anyone know anything about these motors?
i have a chance to buy one, bit i don't know anything about them.

Try this site (http://www.mindspring.com/%7Evashon/index.html).

[sandman]

They are not illegal in Europe nor are they illegal to fly there.

The freon R-12 that they originally flew on, now THAT is illegal to use.

You could fly it on a safe alternate fuel.

[Daedalus]

There are some photos on Leo's (http://www.leo.nutz.de/Rockets.php) website and a couple of pages for flying them today Vashon story (http://home.att.net/~cruller1/Vashon.story11.24.00.HTM) and thrustcurve (http://home.att.net/~cruller1/Matthew.html).

The very first rocket I had was a coldpower Marauder and have recently bought a Yankee 5 set (but only to collect) and would love to get a Marauder set if one came up at a sensible price, purely because it was my first rocket.

The equivalent power of these motors is about a B, thought the motor is a lot heavier than a BP B motor. From my flights in the dim and distant past they are not very efficient and can be tempramental, and also you launch from about 3 feet away so don't really get to see that much of the flight. That said they are a very different style of flying from BP motors and could make a nice change from standard flying.

I'm guessing that you are looking at the motor on e-bay. Looking at the post it is used and incomplete. The missing parts are the ejection piston (part BT-50 coupler and part plastic moulding and a spring) and the filling hose and valve. Nothing insurmountable there but certainly not a case of slip it into a model and it is ready to go. Given these motors are about 30 years old I would wonder what condition the rubber seals and grippers are in, nor how they could be replaced. Conversely, these come up very rarely in the UK so could be worth a look if the price is low enough and you are prepared to do some research on these motors and work on it.

Happy bidding and flying

[jj94]

Dr. Zooch had a thread on this on the old TRF. He flew his on a modified Zooch kit with success, using compressed air from a can.

[Gillard]

thanks for the help guys.

[Dr.Zooch]

There's a thread on Rocketry Planet in the low power area. I'd start a new one here, but I've just not had the time. I fly two types of these engines in adapted Dr. Zooch Mark II airframes. In fact I'll be demo.ing the Vashon engine at Red Glare this month.