Aerotech Cooling Mesh Question.

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cletusjones

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I'm building my first Aerotech rocket, the Astrobee D with the the aluminum retainer. I'll start by saying that I'm tempted not to use the cooling mesh it at all and use nomex instead. The issue is that I've already glued the plastic baffle to the end of the motor tube and I'm now having visions of the plastic melting and doing naughty things to the rocket. The directions say to stretch out the mesh to 6 inches yet when I do that, it slides quite freely in the motor tube. Is it supposed to do that? By the way, I absolutely love this rocket and may never work up the nerve to risk it in flight, so the point here may be moot!
 
Many have built the AT rockets as instructed and been fine, with many flights. Use or dont use it its up to you.
 
Yes, your choice. I'm one of those who have had years of success with an AT Barracuda built stock with the mesh in place. Mine doesn't slide freely so I may not have stretched mine quite as much. I think I would compress it against that end cap so it doesn't slide quite so much. As far as your last sentence - NO SHELF QUEENS PLEASE ! :)
 
I use the the plastic retainer but no cooling mesh. I use mainly reloads in my rockets and my 29/120 case always gets the ejection charge cap all caught up in the mesh so I removed it. I always used a nomex blanket anyways just as added protection for my chute release.
 
As rharshberger said, use it or not, it is up to you.

Don't be afraid to cut the end of the tube off to remove the plastic baffle. However if you do then obviously you will need to come up with an alternative attachment point for your recovery harness. I have built about 4 Aerotech kits, 3 used baffles and 1 doesn't. The 1 that doesn't does not use motor eject so my attachment point is just one of the thicker Aerotech paper bulkheads behind a short coupler with a small eye bolt, works great and the coupler is removable using plastic rivets for service. Main point is I didn't need the baffle and also didn't want to restrict the size of the 29mm motor so I didn't use it.

However the baffle can also work great. Having said that I and others would give you the following advice. The mesh should be inspected after each flight and you should remove any debris. Commonly the red plastic BP cap from the reload, if you use Aerotech reloadable motors. The mesh should also be replaced when it starts to rust and you can simply use a kitchen scrubber, it is cheap and is just as effective.

As far as the mesh being lose in the MMT, it should not be lose but it does need to stay in place. You can use a 1" dowel to compact it. Just insert the dowel all the way in and mark the full depth, then mark the dowel at 1 inch increments, starting at say 3", 4", 5" and 6", insert the mesh and then compact it down to 6". If the mesh is still too lose then compact down to 5". Eventually it will stick well enough so it does not fall out and it will also relax a bit on the compactness. I would not however try to glue the mesh in, it should be serviceable.

The perfect tool for servicing the mesh is one of those 3 pronged grabbers like the one in the following link, https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01LM2L50I/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20. I have one of these and a 1" length of dowel and a flashlight in my field box and use them for a variety of things in including this.

Good luck
 
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As other have stated, you can go either way. A lot of people have success with it installed. I initially had it in for my Strong-arm, but the mesh became clogged over time and on one of the flights, it barely popped the nosecone and no chute came out. It came in flat and broke a fin. I repaired it and removed the mesh. Worked fine for another 10 flights until I forgot to attach the chute to the rocket! I broke two more fins and finally retired it.
 
Yes, your choice. I'm one of those who have had years of success with an AT Barracuda built stock with the mesh in place. Mine doesn't slide freely so I may not have stretched mine quite as much. I think I would compress it against that end cap so it doesn't slide quite so much. As far as your last sentence - NO SHELF QUEENS PLEASE ! :)
I agree about about "Shelf Queens"! Having said that though, I do have 4 that I will never fly nor even let them out of their display case! I went to a yard sale 3 years ago that had the following 4 rockets built with professional , flawless paint jobs; The Estes Saturn V, Saturn 1B, Little Joe ( all 1/100th) and the Mercury Atlas. In addition was a Range box filled with an unbuilt and complete Maxi Brute Honest John; that one I will fly however! As for the mesh, I will at least try it out. Thanks for the perspective on "controlled compression"!
 
I'm building my first Aerotech rocket, the Astrobee D with the the aluminum retainer. I'll start by saying that I'm tempted not to use the cooling mesh it at all and use nomex instead. The issue is that I've already glued the plastic baffle to the end of the motor tube and I'm now having visions of the plastic melting and doing naughty things to the rocket. The directions say to stretch out the mesh to 6 inches yet when I do that, it slides quite freely in the motor tube.

You're correct if you fluff it out to the specified 6" it wants to just slide out of the MMT in the newer kits that don't contain the motor hook and thrust ring.

I recently built a Cheetah with the newer configuration and felt the same way you did. I found that you can compact the mesh a bit to where it is under 6" probably 4" and still get the nose cone to come off via a puff test (blowing into the back of the MMT).

Replacing the mesh in an older Initiator with the hook/thrust ring was a little more challenging and involved cutting the new scrubber into a couple pieces to jam them back in with a chopstick.

The mesh is just a Chore Boy Stainless Scrubber. I bought some to replace the Initiator and put the extras into my kit because I envision that thing sliding out of the Cheetah MMT and getting lost someday.

https://www.choreboyscrubbers.com/chore-boy-products/stainless-steel-scrubbers
 
You're correct if you fluff it out to the specified 6" it wants to just slide out of the MMT in the newer kits that don't contain the motor hook and thrust ring.

I recently built a Cheetah with the newer configuration and felt the same way you did. I found that you can compact the mesh a bit to where it is under 6" probably 4" and still get the nose cone to come off via a puff test (blowing into the back of the MMT).

Replacing the mesh in an older Initiator with the hook/thrust ring was a little more challenging and involved cutting the new scrubber into a couple pieces to jam them back in with a chopstick.

The mesh is just a Chore Boy Stainless Scrubber. I bought some to replace the Initiator and put the extras into my kit because I envision that thing sliding out of the Cheetah MMT and getting lost someday.

https://www.choreboyscrubbers.com/chore-boy-products/stainless-steel-scrubbers
Thanks for the Chore Boy heads up; they look exactly like the stuff! For some reason, I was thinking of steel wool. I had not considered the old thrust ring and motor hook either which explains this perfectly. So therefore, Aerotech did not intend the mesh to slide around!
 
Yup, as previously mentioned, debris will accumulate over a few flights. Your rocket may sound like maracas when shaken. One forum user made a removable baffle using Estes motor retainers. Just unscrew the retainer, remove the mesh and clean and replace it. Also allows for easy inspection. Only works on rockets with a large enough diameter for you to reach in with your hand. Very ingenious.
 
I’ve used the mesh on a number of AT kits, and it works fine, though does need to be cleaned out and/or replaced periodically.

If you use HPR Aerotech RMS, don’t use the plastic BP cap! It will prevent ejection! Just use masking tape. :eek:
 
I'm going to use single use motors at first but I do have the RMS 29mm 40/120 casing plus one F reload. I just don't want to risk the casing until I've flown my first F/ G rockets!
 
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