Flyaway Rail Guide Durability

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cerving

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I launched my GLR Firestorm 54 over the weekend on its first flight on an AT K940, great flight to 10K+ but after I got back to the pad I was dismayed to find that the moderately expensive 54mm Mayhem flyaway rail guide I was using had shattered into several pieces. I was careful to make sure that it was butted up against the top of the Acme fin can, so I don't think it's because the rocket "flew into" the rail guide and split it apart. I have a 29mm and a 38mm rail gude and have never had a problem with them, anyone else seen this with the 54mm version?
 
Yes... return the damaged unit to vendor & it will get replaced, no questions asked. If there is an issue contact Bill direct at Mayhem & he will make good. There have been problems when unit hits ground "spread eagled" and force splits clam halves into pieces. I flew on tilled dirt and same happened to me. Made good no problem as mentioned.
I had 5-6 flights when mine let go

Don't know which unit you have [how old] there was a re-design & change of material used. Actually vendor he gets plastic from sent different material than he ordered [but looks same] there were issues, but since discovery have been fixed with correct and much more durable plastic. In other words the material vendor pulled a fast one on Bill send material improperly labeled.

Could you post pic of unit sections...looking for close up of hinge area. Is the small notch "V" shaped or square?

There was a fairly recent thread about this where I put pics and explanations...I try & find.
 
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Mine (54mm) broke on the first use. After a lot of prodding (including contacting the dealer for assistance) I was sent a replacement. Haven't used them since; not sure if I ever will.
 
Yup, it broke along the "webbing" in several places. I know it would take more material and add a little more weight, but I think if the guide was solid instead of having that webbing it would be a lot more durable. I bought it unused from somebody on the Yard Sale, so I'm guessing the manufacturer's warranty isn't gonna apply.
 
Well we all seem to be on the same page as to which brand needs tweeking, anyone have any feedback on Wildmans brand?
 
Mine (54mm) broke on the first use. After a lot of prodding (including contacting the dealer for assistance) I was sent a replacement. Haven't used them since; not sure if I ever will.

Yesterday I used the rail guide Mayhem sent to replace the one that broke. It broke.
 
Guys, send me your info. I have been working on some changes for some time, and will be implementing them soon. The initial design erred on the side of not taking your fins off, and honestly in several hundred thousand Newton-seconds if testing on our part the rate of failure has been low, but it is apparent that something else is afoot so I am going to toughen them up a bit.

In response to the manufacturer who, having stolen all of my work and skipped over all the investment, the development, and the hundreds of thousands of Newton-seconds of testing to prove the concept, now has taken all my hard work, made a few small changes, and put something on the market, I suppose I'll be ripping off anything of value that he might have. I can't say I am too impressed with him, especially considering that I personally witnessed him yelling at someone a few years ago for producing sleds similar to his. I hope he likes what's coming. There are also some things about his design which betray a lack of understanding of failure modes, and it'll be interesting to see how he responds when their use becomes more widespread.

I consider him little more than an intellectual thief. The hinge, the rods, the four-button configuration, the very idea that this can work for high-power cost me a lot of time and money to develop and prove. It is no different than if he were producing guillotine fin jigs, which on this forum usually yields a negative community response.

I am sorry that your experience has been poor. Things are in the works, and I'll do my best to make good on the products you've purchased from me.

Bill _/)_
 
I'll just take the opportunity to be a positive note in the crowd, I flew my 54mm fly-away guide the first time this past Saturday, and while I was a bit apprehensive given the comments I'd seen here, it flew just fine for me, still in the right number of pieces to fly again. =)

I did have two hang-ups, one was with sizing (it's quite a bit larger than the yellow Madcow 54mm tubing I was using it on, so it took several layers of tape plus some twisted rubber bands to build-up enough thickness for it to properly hold the rocket and slide with it on the rail, but I know there's a lot of variability in these tubes, I've seen the different color Madcow tubes come out to very different OD's), and it seems like the rubber bands that came with my guide are too small (maybe meant for the 38mm guide?), they barely stretched over the hooks, and a single close-open cycle worked, but as soon as I tried closing the guide a second time the band snapped, twice). I wound up using the broken bands for the build-up, and instead looped two bands together to use for the guide opening and there was still plenty of stretch in the bands to open the guide. But it allowed for the first flight on my 54mm MD rocket to within 100' of my sim'ed altitude.

Thanks for a great product, Bill! I fly my 38mm guide a lot, and looking forward to more flights on this 54mm guide as well.
 
Guys, send me your info. I have been working on some changes for some time, and will be implementing them soon. The initial design erred on the side of not taking your fins off, and honestly in several hundred thousand Newton-seconds if testing on our part the rate of failure has been low, but it is apparent that something else is afoot so I am going to toughen them up a bit.

Bill _/)_

Hi Bill, this is my first post! I am building a 54mm Tomach to get my Level 2 with this spring. Don't want rail guides on this beauty. Just went to AMW website and it said "call" for availability of your flyaways so I assume that you are working on things. Keep us posted on your changes and I'll try one out this spring.

Bryan Kabe
 
Posting again here for visibility.

Once again I need to reach Mayhem Rocketry / Bill Cook about a broken rail guide, but I noticed he's not visited the Forum since June 14. Does anyone know if he's closed up shop?
 
As I recall, he initially sold them through AMWprox. I don’t see them on their website.
 
Does anyone know if Bill Cook threw in the towel on the flyaway rail guides? I see he's still coming to the Forum (as recently as today), but he's not responded to any of my messages.
 
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