What does a healthy WL reload look like?

I have two Aerotech F40 white lightning reloads I plan to fly on Saturday. I haven't taken either out of the package, but I was looking at the grains and noticed that 3 of the 4 end of the propellant grains were greenish with white speckles, but that one end of one of the reloads was a lot more green than white, and that some of the green had "smudged" up onto the liner. Is this oxidization? Is it okay to fly? :eyepop:

It should be fine. If you're worried about oxidation, sand the grain slot a bit before loading it, but I wouldn't worry about it.

Fresh WL is green, the white parts come from oxidation (not otherwise as one might think, given the name of the propellant). If you have grains in different states, put the "greenest" into the forward end of the motor, where the igniter will be. This grain ignites easily and is powerful enough to start the other grains despite the oxidation. A copperhead on the other hand will have trouble igniting oxidized WL grains.
If your grains are severely oxidized, you need to sand away the oxidation in the core as Chris pointed out. You can leave a small amount of the resulting green dust in the slot, this will help igniting the motor.

Reinhard

Every WL reload I have ever had had some white oxidation on it. I wouldn't know what to do with one that didn't have some on it.

Sanding the C slot with an emery board is the way to go.

Andrew

eggplant said:

I have two Aerotech F40 white lightning reloads I plan to fly on Saturday. I haven't taken either out of the package, but I was looking at the grains and noticed that 3 of the 4 end of the propellant grains were greenish with white speckles, but that one end of one of the reloads was a lot more green than white, and that some of the green had "smudged" up onto the liner. Is this oxidization? Is it okay to fly? :eyepop:

Click to expand...

What did Aerotech customer support have to say about it?

Customer Support...You funny Joe regular Bob Hope.

Aero-Tech has Customer Support?

All joking aside. I think this is normal to some extent. And it also has to do with the way they are stored.

Down here in Texas, I have never seen any reloads that don't have it. And I have seen one where it was so bad I never thought it would light, but it had been stored in a flight box out in the garage. That was a 29mm reload.

Andrew