I successfully flew a G160SS-5 on my PML Ariel on the opening day of Hellfire-22 to about 700 feet. This was an old 38 mm black powder motor with iron filings dated 1994. I got the following information from Greg at Rocketflite:
"In 1991 we switched to an aluminum casing and started adding an elastomer to our propellant so it could be pressed under tremendous pressure. The reliability factor increased to 99%. Unfortunately on the very last production run in 1995 I was forced to rush the production of motors and they left my facility in a wet state. The person who was transporting them in the dead of winter did not bring them into a warm environment so they froze in his car and severely micro-cracked. Infact to make more room in his small car all of the packing bubbles were removed so when his small car hit a bump the shock was transmitted to the motors since his suspension was bottomed out from the weight. Well the rest is history as they were suffering a failure rate that reached 50%. Rocketflite took a humiliating hit from this on what was to be its last motor production before shutting down and moving the production facility to Petersburg New York. The customers who had unfortunately purchased the doomed 1995 motor lot started putting the igniters near the nozzle and discovered that this reduced the frequency of failures by a small margin. That is why there is a conflict out there to this day about where to place the igniter."
I used an Aerotech igniter and put it far forward. On the outside the motor has a cardboard case, but on the inside there is actually an aluminum case. I notice that after firing the motor was hot for the longest time and there was some black scorching on the aft end of the Ariel. Afterwards I found a crack in one of the fin fillets of the Ariel. So, I decided against firing the second G160 that I have, but I am planning to try it next year. The G160's came to me courtesy of the Frank Hunt estate.
"In 1991 we switched to an aluminum casing and started adding an elastomer to our propellant so it could be pressed under tremendous pressure. The reliability factor increased to 99%. Unfortunately on the very last production run in 1995 I was forced to rush the production of motors and they left my facility in a wet state. The person who was transporting them in the dead of winter did not bring them into a warm environment so they froze in his car and severely micro-cracked. Infact to make more room in his small car all of the packing bubbles were removed so when his small car hit a bump the shock was transmitted to the motors since his suspension was bottomed out from the weight. Well the rest is history as they were suffering a failure rate that reached 50%. Rocketflite took a humiliating hit from this on what was to be its last motor production before shutting down and moving the production facility to Petersburg New York. The customers who had unfortunately purchased the doomed 1995 motor lot started putting the igniters near the nozzle and discovered that this reduced the frequency of failures by a small margin. That is why there is a conflict out there to this day about where to place the igniter."
I used an Aerotech igniter and put it far forward. On the outside the motor has a cardboard case, but on the inside there is actually an aluminum case. I notice that after firing the motor was hot for the longest time and there was some black scorching on the aft end of the Ariel. Afterwards I found a crack in one of the fin fillets of the Ariel. So, I decided against firing the second G160 that I have, but I am planning to try it next year. The G160's came to me courtesy of the Frank Hunt estate.
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