Compare: H550ST VS I500ST

The Rocketry Forum

Help Support The Rocketry Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Which motor would you pick?

  • Aero-Tech (DMS) H550ST

  • Aero-Tech (DMS) I500ST


Results are only viewable after voting.

rockets

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2014
Messages
1,274
Reaction score
56
Location
Denver, CO
OK, I've been wondering about this for a long time..

Which is better, the DMS H550ST, or the DMS I500ST?
Which is louder?
Which would you personally pick??

I'm setting up a poll to see what people think about these two motors..



Thanks,
 
The Aero-Tech H550ST has:
Average Thrust: 552.0N
Maximum Thrust: 640.0N
Total impulse: 312.0Ns
Burn Time: 0.6s
______________________
The Aero-Tech I500ST has:
Average Thrust: 500.0N
Maximum Thrust: 138.0N
Total impulse: 620.0Ns
Burn Time: 1.2s
______________________
I saw a I550 go up the other week, and that was LOUD! :jaw:

Thanks,
 
Never launched the I500. One flight on the H550. Nice flame but it’s out before you know it. Don’t blink!


Sent from my iPhone using Rocketry Forum
 
The one with the higher peak thrust, all else being equal, will be much louder.

You'll find the I has twice the total impulse and burn time, so they will each perform very differently in a rocket designed to take both.

On the other hand, one may overfly their waiver / recovery area.
 
The I500T is "just" Blue Thunder, not Super Thunder.

They're both nice motors. I've flown them both as the first stage of two-stage rockets. H550 on the left, I500 on the right.
h550_i500.jpg
 
The I500 is a T, not an "ST". And you seem to have an issue with your stats, the maximum thrust shouldn't be less than the average thrust. :) Roughly speaking, it looks like the I500T is just twice the motor, 2x the total impulse, 2x the burn time. The H550ST rolls-off a bit more towards the end, so it peaks a bit higher at the beginning.

I've flown both (H550ST DMS once, I500T 3x), personally I prefer the I500T, it's pretty close to a max-I (620Ns, ~97%) so it's one of the 'biggest' L1 motors. Of course the H550ST is pretty close to a max-H (97.5%). The I500T was one of my first flights with on-board video, and I was rather amused by the sound it made while coming up to pressure.
 
I500T. I shredded up my first design multistage SEDS rocket on a i1299N-P last year. RSO L-3 dude called it sledgehammer. It was only three I500T peak thrust. You don't maximize thrust on lightest weight min diameter rocket. I pick milder motors now. Second rocket went with mild H's. This year's team let me pick motors for their project rocket. They picked CTI Vmax and prof laugh with had 0-M1.5 in 0.3s shredded flashbacks and said no then assigned Me to pick motors. Higher sim alts. Less G's. You don't need a bunch of thrust always. Sometimes you want a consistent push.

One flight on the I300T-14A single stage kit. Nice flame, very gentle on airframe. Nice build to peak then dropping off smoothly. It's not just a massive spike of activity and no smoothness. It's like a blue flame of CTI Classic, very predictable. Mild and bland but doesn't eat rockets like WarP9 might. The I 1299NP RMS was the loudest I motor I ever heard. I chose an H219T-14A for cert this spring. For now I avoid the freaking IMAX, Vmax, WarP9, and ST loads.
 
Back
Top