I've never flown a D motor.

This is a stupid thread, so be warned!

I've never flown a D motor. 1/10 A, A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K. I own an L I want to fly this winter. But I have never bought, owned, or flown a D.

Isn't that weird?

I told you this was a dumb thread. :grin:

Until recently, I was like you except it was an E not a D.

Biggest to date is a D13-11

So go fly one, sheesh, do I have to tell you everything?

Bat-mite said:

...Isn't that weird?

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Yes. Weird. Very, very weird.

I remember flying Estes D motors when they first started making them, around 1970.

At first I skipped I and K motors.

Funny enough, I think they are both my favorites to fly these days.

I've never run anything greater than a B yet...

So, the question is; are you going to change that?

Shame, SHAME, SHAME !!! Level "x" shmevel, you ain't no kinda rocketeer until you've flown "the mighty D" ! :wink: :grin:

I'm a little weird too. 1/2A, A, B, C, D, E, F, H and I, but never a G.

It kinda sounds like I should be in Confession; forgive me Father for I have sinned, I've never flown a G motor.

On the other hand, I flew 4 Ms before I flew an L.

Being a L2 person I sill find low power motors fun. One day at a launch I had flown high power most of the day. When I walked up past the RSO to rack a low power rocket he gave me a funny look.

There's a 14-step program for that... if you count 1/4A through L. Make it 15 if you add the Mini-Maxx 1/8A.

Bat-mite said:

This is a stupid thread, so be warned!


I told you this was a dumb thread. :grin:

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Agreed...

I think you're missing out on a meaty segment of rockets. I flew 5 D flights at my last local park launch and would've flown more, but ran out (I thought park was too small for the other E's and F's I brought along). D rockets are for the bigger Estes kits before you go Pro Series, the SU motor for Launch Pad Rockets (as long as you don't build too heavy), the ones to use for my Dynastar rockets, etc. Also they seem to be more reliable than the Estes BP E's.

I find them enjoyable flights that are fairly cheap compared to moving on up to E/F/G flights...heck, I think I got the motors at under $4 a piece! I'd fly them all day if I had the time. :grin:

Scratch built cup rocket on a D12:

I think I jumped from 18mm mounts to 24mm. The 24mm rockets come with the adapter ring for D motors, but I always flew E motors. Never used the adapter.

Big Daddy, Hi Flier XL, Super Neon XL, D-Region Tomahawk, Mean Machine.... Flew them all on E9s.

Then I discovered MPR and HPR. And subsequently lost or destroyed all my 24mm MMT rockets.

Maybe I should put D12 on my bucket list. :smile:

I've maybe flown 2-3 D motors in 25 years of flying rockets. When I was a kid, I lost the only rocket I built that used Ds on its first flight, never built anything else that used 'em until last year. Put one in a scratch-build and may have gotten 200' out of it (really should have put a 29mm mount in it!), and another in my Vagabond last month.

But I've flown 1/4A-H, but still no G motors.

I think that D motors are great for low power rockets. I've only used Estes so far but probably more D flights than B's and C's. It has a good range to fly slightly heavier rockets without going beyond 1200 feet and losing the rocket on the wind. At least in tree lined launch areas. For test flights at lower altitude I can substitute a 24mm C motor very easily.
The only failure I've had on a D was when I tried a 2 stage rocket (minimum diameter) using a a D12-0 and a D12-5. Great flight through an opening in the clouds. The failure occurred at over 2000 ft. That was the last I saw of it.
I'm looking forward to flying my scratch built 3 x D motor cluster when I have the chance.
In the UK the easiest jump is from D to G. Unfortunately E's and F's aren't readily available in the UK. Re-loadable D's are available but I decided to go for 29mm instead.

I was going to mention the 18mm Klima D motor which I'd like to fly when I get round to it. I went to Thrustcurve to check their thrust figures but they are not on there. I'm sure they were at one time. I know they were on OR's list. I wonder if they still are? I'll check later.

SO.

Hmmm, maybe I will try a 3-D cluster in the future. Inexpensive, and I haven't delved into clustering just yet....

Bat-mite said:

Hmmm, maybe I will try a 3-D cluster in the future. Inexpensive, and I haven't delved into clustering just yet....

Click to expand...

Go for either two or four and a LOC Viper4

Bat-mite said:

This is a stupid thread, so be warned!

I've never flown a D motor. 1/10 A, A, B, C, E, F, G, H, I, J, K. I own an L I want to fly this winter. But I have never bought, owned, or flown a D.

Isn't that weird?

I told you this was a dumb thread. :grin:

Click to expand...

how about 1/4A and 1/2A?

That has got to be the weirdest thing I've ever heard of.

rstaff3 said:

That has got to be the weirdest thing I've ever heard of.

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Coming from you, that is downright amazing.

Over a 30 year period, I flew everything from Mini Maxx's to K - except for I's! I finally managed to fly a couple of I's last month though so I can check that one off the list! I do have an L flight planned so I'm working my way up the ladder.

pyrobob said:

Over a 30 year period, I flew everything from Mini Maxx's to K - except for I's! I finally managed to fly a couple of I's last month though so I can check that one off the list! I do have an L flight planned so I'm working my way up the ladder.

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Aw, come on! You have to fly at least one of everything in your inventory, just for customer service purposes. :wink:

(gasps in absolute horror) NO, SAY IT AIN'T SO!!!!!!!!!!!!! No worries, I haven't either mainly due to a lack of space. Confined to a sizable football, soccer, and baseball field at my old elementary school. I have a pack of 3 D's, but largest I've shot have only been the good old C6's

You can get a laser lance for 3.79 and a pack of motors for around 8 bucks. $12 to "fix the glitch", no excuses now.

Why not celebrate your first D in style? :grin:


(7 rocket cluster...6@18mm and 1@24mm)


Just sounds nuts to fly a 10' rocket on a D. lol

You have not paid your dues until you have flown, and cato'd a D motor. I have cato'd more than I can count.

Worsaer said:

You have not paid your dues until you have flown, and cato'd a D motor. I have cato'd more than I can count.

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Wow! Really? I've launched about 30 D12s this year so far and haven't had any CATOs. Only one or two issues where the ejection seemed weak and even those I wasn't really sure of. The motors were purchased over a 1-2 year span from different sources (online and in stores) and were D12-0/3/5s.

Guess I'll weigh in on this one. I rarely fly anything under a D when I'm at the club field. I HAVE SPACE TO FLY D's THERE!!! All that said, I built an upscale Astron Cobra made for a cluster of 3-D 12-3 motors. It was my first cluster project in quite a few years, and thanks to the Q2G2 starters, I got all three to fire this time. Sorry about the shoddy video for this. My Sony CamCorder is way outdated.

https://s343.photobucket.com/user/glbyrum/media/CobraFlight2013_zps2298cc31.mp4.html?o=7