10-4: understood... no worries
On to much more enjoyable topics.
On to much more enjoyable topics.
Quest Plastic Bricks
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foose4string
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I know safety should always be a concern for everyone when dealing with rocket propellants (and this isn't meant to downplay that very important fact), but honestly, is a MMX cato really that catostrophic? I imagine the model may take a beating, but I can't imagine it being a huge "safety" issue if someone is following standard launch procedures. Of course, there is the inherent danger of playing with fire, so there is that I suppose.
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Thought we were moving on to more pleasent subjects? Well if someone wants to still the pot.
In one of the two MMX-II motor catos I've personally been near,
I was surprised by the violent destruction of a Quest Space Freighter LBP by a single MMX-II Toothpick related cato. There was litterly NOTHING to be found of the model. All that was found of the motor casing was an outside single wrap fragment. Our Range has 50 foot leads and one of the kids (Spectator not flying) watching the launch from outside the perimeter was hit by a piece of flying plastic or maybe nozzle. Did it injure or hurt....I'd have to say maybe just slightly as the kid was in shorts but the potential for eye or other injury was certainly there. Further it was enough to cause the parent to pack up the kids and leave. NOT a good thing for the hobby.
Had someone been using a standard 15-20 foot lead electron beam or Quest pistol grip controller during this event there might have been a much more serious result. Standard construction paper and wood models may not have been as serious but in this particular case, This MMX Cato had the potential to become catostrophic.
Lets not underestimate by prejudges.
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foose4string
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Not trying to stir the pot. Simply trying to get a better idea for the potential these motors have since I don't have much personal experience them- other than watching others play with them. Obviously caution and safety measures are needed when flying ANY type of rocket, but 1/8A just don't strike me as containing all that much energy. But then, I'm probably a little jaded having seen so many K through O motors roar skywards on a semi-regular basis.
shreadvector
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BTW, John? A question for you....
Why are you flying Christmas tree ornaments????
Years ago (before Quest offered them as such), I bought a Saturn V and Shuttle, and convinced my wife (begrudgingly) to let me put them on the tree that year. Since then, she and the kids have insisted they be put on -- they like 'em!
So, around Christmas, you are hereby banned from my house, lest you raid my tree for rockets! :gavel:
-Kevin
Why are you flying Christmas tree ornaments????
Years ago (before Quest offered them as such), I bought a Saturn V and Shuttle, and convinced my wife (begrudgingly) to let me put them on the tree that year. Since then, she and the kids have insisted they be put on -- they like 'em!
So, around Christmas, you are hereby banned from my house, lest you raid my tree for rockets! :gavel:
-Kevin
rstaff3
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I noticed a lot of igniter discussion and thought I'd relay my latest experience. I used a mix of the Q2 and pyrogen-less Q2's that are now shipping with the motors. Since these are largely the same thing, I used the same procedure.
I bent the igniter at 90deg just below the bead. I then taped it to small triangle of cardboard. I did this originally to keep the leads from shorting against the blast plate (an old Estes one that I just found) but this also seemed to make it more stable. I slid the models onto the igniter, spread the leads and hooked it up. I used a Pratt GO Box and had 100% success. The new long lead igniters are great as it is easy to accommodate models with varying spacing from the rod.
On my monocopters, I let the models stabilize on the short rod with their weight and the breeze. I then hooked the igniter to the clips and slid it in. I found the igniter stayed in place quite well with the leads draped around a nail in the corner of my pad's wooden base. The orientation of the monos kept just a tad of back pressure against the igniter.
I bent the igniter at 90deg just below the bead. I then taped it to small triangle of cardboard. I did this originally to keep the leads from shorting against the blast plate (an old Estes one that I just found) but this also seemed to make it more stable. I slid the models onto the igniter, spread the leads and hooked it up. I used a Pratt GO Box and had 100% success. The new long lead igniters are great as it is easy to accommodate models with varying spacing from the rod.
On my monocopters, I let the models stabilize on the short rod with their weight and the breeze. I then hooked the igniter to the clips and slid it in. I found the igniter stayed in place quite well with the leads draped around a nail in the corner of my pad's wooden base. The orientation of the monos kept just a tad of back pressure against the igniter.
Now Wait Kevin!
Generally I don't fly most of the LBP's .. well OK: I do like the Saturn-V, UFO and Tomahawk. but generally I don't fly them all that much. I too have a set we use as Christmas decorations... but Man when it comes to flying Christmas Orniments, I sure don't limit myself to these!!!
Christmas Orniment Odd-rocs, Yeah we got Orniments in lots of motor classes LOL!!!!! I promise I won't touch your tree:roll:
sandman
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After getting two of the big Quest micro Maxx sets I had to figure out what to do with all of those "plastic bricks".
This was my solution.
Everything is Micro Maxx except the Astron Mark tree topper and the Mean Machine in the back.
This was my solution.
Everything is Micro Maxx except the Astron Mark tree topper and the Mean Machine in the back.
rokitflite
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Craig... You owe me one new keyboard, a mouthful of coffee and some tissues.
foose4string
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Sorry Scott.
I'll concede that 1/8A may have the have potential to do minor bodily harm, and even more likely, have the potential to cause a brush fire, but the risk has got to be very low compared to other rocket motors. Not denying these micro motors are fun and have thier niche, but I think a small cluster of gnat farts might actually have more power.
I'll concede that 1/8A may have the have potential to do minor bodily harm, and even more likely, have the potential to cause a brush fire, but the risk has got to be very low compared to other rocket motors. Not denying these micro motors are fun and have thier niche, but I think a small cluster of gnat farts might actually have more power.
MarkII
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No, you are wrong! A "ghost" of cheese-cutting Cecidomyiidae wouldn't produce a larger, but rather would produce a MUCH larger total impulse!... Not denying these micro motors are fun and have thier niche, but I think a small cluster of gnat farts might actually have more power.
Seriously, Micromeister and I do agree on this issue (and the overwhelming majority of other rocketry-related topics, too). Knowing how much power is actually packed into these pip-squeak propellant modules, I would not want to be nearby when one of them burst due to over-pressurization!
Micromaxx motors are the Henry Pyms of the sport rocketry world!
MarkII
No, you are wrong! A "ghost" of cheese-cutting Cecidomyiidae wouldn't produce a larger, but rather would produce a MUCH larger total impulse!
Seriously, Micromeister and I do agree on this issue (and the overwhelming majority of other rocketry-related topics, too). Knowing how much power is actually packed into these pip-squeak propellant modules, I would not want to be nearby when one of them burst due to over-pressurization!
Micromaxx motors are the Henry Pyms of the sport rocketry world!
MarkII
Could not agree more Mark; Well said.
MarkII
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Part of the reason that they were so heavy was that some designs, like the Space Fighter and the Space Shuttle, needed a considerable amount of nose weight to get the CG far enough forward for a (somewhat) stable flight. And the Saturn V was just really large for a molded plastic MMX model. The UFO was fairly lightweight, but it was so draggy that the flight was sort of "conceptual." Saucers that size can boost better than the plastic RTF UFO if they are made out of cardstock. A cardstock UFO that has been sprayed with a couple of light coats of clear coat will be more durable than one made from thin vac-formed plastic. I still have every one of the Art Applewhite-designed Micro Qubits. Micro Delta Saucers and Micro Original Saucers that I built when I resumed rocketry in 2004, and they are all in great shape.
Another problem with the LPBs was that the models that used piston ejection often didn't deploy the streamer correctly, and if the entire piston came out (which also reportedly happened often), there was no good way to get it back in. If your model completely ejected the piston on its first flight, that would be its only flight. (The piston ejection systems in my Saturn Vs have always worked well for me, though, as has the one in my Critical Mass.) In the Little Joe II, the cord was too short and was additionally made out of cotton, so it burned through after just one or two flights. And there was no easy way to replace it, because most of the internal volume of the LJ II is taken up by a (mostly ineffective) baffle. The cord on my first Space Fighter survived the ejection charge, but the model lost its plastic tail cone/motor retainer when it landed in the street after its first flight, so that was it for that one, too. My Space Shuttle's shock cord has also survived, too. (That rocket is very nearly indestructible.
)All in all, the Quest MicroMaxx RTFs were far from being godawful things; they just weren't as good as one would have hoped. I still enjoy launching mine, though, and I may even replace a couple that have been damaged.
MarkII
No, you are wrong! A "ghost" of cheese-cutting Cecidomyiidae wouldn't produce a larger, but rather would produce a MUCH larger total impulse!
Seriously, Micromeister and I do agree on this issue (and the overwhelming majority of other rocketry-related topics, too). Knowing how much power is actually packed into these pip-squeak propellant modules, I would not want to be nearby when one of them burst due to over-pressurization!
Micromaxx motors are the Henry Pyms of the sport rocketry world!
MarkII
How about the new Rocket Racerz, they use MMX motors, and they move pretty well! Page 26-27 of the new Quest catalog.
MarkII
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ScrapDaddy
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OH FYI the Q2 igniters are still being produced
Shrox:
We (I) we hoping Bill was going to include a new (Build type) Micro Kit in the new releases
I'm pleased to see Quest is at least offering a small line of micro building parts anyway. We hope more will come of the micro line the the Rocket Racerz. MMX #1 fan
I was referring to the Pyrogen tipped Q2's not the bare Nichrome Q2s that are currently being shipped with all MMX motors ScrapDaddy.
