Just bought an Aerotech Gforce and Strong Arm

Havent been very active in the hobby for a while, thought Id jump back in with 2 rockets from my favorite company, Aerotech. The Gforce because its big, and the Strong Arm because I love scale rockets. Ive got a 29mm casing to use along with Aerotechs pad and controller.

As soon as I get a few successful flights I am getting the Apogee SATURN V. Ill take my time building that one. Been eyeing it for the longest time on my hiatus. Should be by midsummer.

One question though for you guys. Is anyone adding black powder to their ejection charges on the Aerotech reloads? Ive read a few times of the ejection charge not being strong enough. Should I go and get some black powder and top off the red cap for a strong charge? Is there such a thing as too much black powder?

I never had to add any

I have the Mustang and the Initiator. I have not had any problems with the ejection charges, they seem adequate, but others may have had problems. I'll let them chip in on their problems.

Nerver add BP to a 29 mm Aerotech with a G-Force. The chute compartment is not that big.

Here's a Thread that may be of interest to you before you start building your G-force.
https://www.rocketryforum.com/showthread.php?121525-AEROTECH-G-FORCE-LAUNCH-PIC-and-CRASH

Just some folks discussing general opinions on the kit, with some good points made about the design characteristics of the kit.

The G-Force is a great kit. That is one of my current favorite rockets. I do not think you need to add any BP to the ejection charge. And YES, there is definitely such a thing as too much! BOOM!

I'd suggest these few changes to the kit. Leave out the motor block, motor clip, and the cooling mesh. Add on a different motor retainer, like the Estes screw-on 29mm retainer. Those modification will mean you can use longer motors if you decide to go bigger than single-use Aerotech G's. The G motors are good, but it easily can take bigger too. I flew mine on an H135 last month, and it was great! You'll probably want a nomex chute protector too, if you don't use the cooling mesh.

Good luck, and let us know how it goes.

I've never built a Strong Arm, but it looks like a cool kit.

Dang, they wont be here till Tuesday!!!!:cry:

Thirsty Barbarian has pretty much summed up the mods to make the G-Force a much more versatile rocket. The only thing I would add is to use rail buttons instead of launch lugs if you are flying with a club. The G-force is a great first large rocket. Working with a 4" rocket for the first time is a fun experience, you can actually put your hand in the tube. Just also be careful with the fit of the upper half to the lower half when prepping the rocket, I found mine would be awfully tight some times.

I have never had a strong Arm, but if it is like other Aerotech kits, the same suggestions apply.

Add rail buttons even if you are not flying with a club. Get you a rail if you don't have one already.

KurtH said:

Thirsty Barbarian has pretty much summed up the mods to make the G-Force a much more versatile rocket. The only thing I would add is to use rail buttons instead of launch lugs if you are flying with a club. The G-force is a great first large rocket. Working with a 4" rocket for the first time is a fun experience, you can actually put your hand in the tube. Just also be careful with the fit of the upper half to the lower half when prepping the rocket, I found mine would be awfully tight some times.

I have never had a strong Arm, but if it is like other Aerotech kits, the same suggestions apply.

Click to expand...

Yes! I totally agree on the rail buttons. I used the stock lugs on one side and also added ACME Conformal Rail Guides to one of the other sides so I could have the choice, but I've chosen to fly it off rails ever time.

And I also agree about the fit of the coupler when prepping the rocket for flight. It seems like you have to check it every single flight. I'm not sure if it is temperature related or something else, but sometimes it is very loose and other times tight. Sometimes i have to add a ring of tape around the coupler to tighten it up, and other times I remove the tape and even have had to sand the lower section of the recovery bay to get the coupler to slide in.

I soaked a little bit of thin CA into the rim of the coupler and into the rim of the lower BT to strengthen both rims. Then I sanded a small bevel into both rims. It makes it much easier to get one started into the other, because the edges are not frayed or fuzzy. I also used a foam brush to wipe thin CA around the inner surface of the lower section of the recovery bay BT. Then once it was hard, I sanded that surface smooth. I think the smooth hard surface makes it easier for the coupler to slide in and out.

One other optional modification is to not glue the nosecone into place in the upper section. If you use screws or some other method, you can remove the NC and have access to a really big payload bay.

Thanks for the replies.

Ive had large rockets before in my teens when I lived and breathed rockets. North Coast Patriot(my favorite), SA 14 Archer, and more I just cant thinks of. Ill bet at one point I had about 15 rockets, Aerotech 29mm casing. I was a spoiled kid. Grandma bought me whatever I wanted, lol.

My G-Forces eject the nose. We have the upper AF pinned to the coupler with removable rivets. I added a smidge of 4F to a 24mm load we flew in it, once--never added any on the 29mm loads.


Later!

--Coop

ThirstyBarbarian said:

And I also agree about the fit of the coupler when prepping the rocket for flight. It seems like you have to check it every single flight. I'm not sure if it is temperature related or something else, but sometimes it is very loose and other times tight. Sometimes i have to add a ring of tape around the coupler to tighten it up, and other times I remove the tape and even have had to sand the lower section of the recovery bay to get the coupler to slide in.

I soaked a little bit of thin CA into the rim of the coupler and into the rim of the lower BT to strengthen both rims. Then I sanded a small bevel into both rims. It makes it much easier to get one started into the other, because the edges are not frayed or fuzzy. I also used a foam brush to wipe thin CA around the inner surface of the lower section of the recovery bay BT. Then once it was hard, I sanded that surface smooth. I think the smooth hard surface makes it easier for the coupler to slide in and out.

Click to expand...

I use CA to "harden" paper tubes, even on high power builds, but what you describe about the fit is something that will change with temperature and humidity, even with CA soaking. Going back to my childhood rocketry to keep plastic chutes from sticking together, I remembered I used baby powder to keep the chutes opening. I do the same thing with couplers in my builds before flight or during after-flight cleanup today.

Black powder burn residue is greasy, gritty, and just generally filthy, and some of it will find it's way into the seams created when a coupler is inserted into a tube that's subjected to black powder explosions to force separation. It will also find its way to the mating surfaces where the tube meets a coupler. So, I clean the coupler and tube after EVERY flight with a paper towel or cloth with a bit of cleaner (can be 409, baby wipes, lacquer thinner, or something similar). I then give the pieces a wipe with a dry cloth and let them dry if needed. I don't use much cleaner or soak the parts, just wipe them enough to get the residue removed, then powder them up with baby powder, blowing the excess off. I almost always (99%+) get back to the original fit and friction I built to.

The one time I didn't do the cleaning, I had a main fail to deploy in a dual-deployment configuration for a rocket with over 20 successful flights. I won't fly a rocket without making sure the mating surfaces of a coupler/tube are clean and have a little baby powder on them these days.

One other thing: I've had two AT kit Strong-Arms, and they eject perfectly with no additional BP in the charge caps. NEVER used extra BP: I think AT 24 and 29mm reloads come with 1g of BP, which is about .75g more than is really needed for this kit. Check the reload data to be sure.

Suggestion: throw the motor retainer away before you start construction, and buy an AeroPack 29mm motor retainer - you'll be glad you did!

Last: the Strong-Arm kit LOVES, LOVES, LOVES the AT G-64 reload Buy plenty...

I build 3 G-Force

Someone said a H135 in a Gforce



Recovering my Lev 1 with a H90




and the first one ( don't even think to launch one on this pad )

Love the snow in the background!

My favorite method to reinforce and smooth couplers and the ends of body tubes is to paint them with thinned epoxy. I mix up some hobby store epoxy, usually what ever is handy, 15 or 30 minute in a mixing cup, and once it is mixed, I thin it with denatured alcohol. It can then be painted on with a disposable brush, once it is fully cured, it can be sanded, producing a smooth finish which does not seem to be affected by changes in temperature and humidity.

When you use CA, are you using thin CA in a similar manner?

I use CA in a similar manner, THIN CA...