MagnaFrame vs. Blue Tube 2.0

Has anyone used both and which one do you feel is better? I have used blue tube and have had trouble with it warping but never with it zippering or breaking. On the other hand, I have never used MagnaFrame but I feel like it is close to blue tube. Any opinions on MagnaFrame or blue tube? Thank you.

Both are about the same. I have never had either zipper with Kevlar, but I usually use a foam gold bak at the point of impact.

I prefer Mangaframe airframes and Blue Tube coupler (there are no mangaframe couplers).

I built a booster section out of 3" Magna Frame when it was a brand new product. My idea was to be able to switch the upper half of my Blue Tube Kraken to either booster and have two different rockets. A couple of things I had problems with is the Magna Frame ID and the Blue Tube av bay OD were to tight and there is no way to get them to work. the other problem I had is the outer layer of the Magna Frame started peeling off. I have never had this happen to Blue Tube and the peeling layer was easy to fix with some ca glue and sanding. The size difference is the bigger issue and Im not sure if the Blue Tube is larger than sec or the Magna Frame is smaller. They just don't fit together on the tubes I have.

AHansom said:

I built a booster section out of 3" Magna Frame when it was a brand new product. My idea was to be able to switch the upper half of my Blue Tube Kraken to either booster and have two different rockets. A couple of things I had problems with is the Magna Frame ID and the Blue Tube av bay OD were to tight and there is no way to get them to work. the other problem I had is the outer layer of the Magna Frame started peeling off. I have never had this happen to Blue Tube and the peeling layer was easy to fix with some ca glue and sanding. The size difference is the bigger issue and Im not sure if the Blue Tube is larger than sec or the Magna Frame is smaller. They just don't fit together on the tubes I have.

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The coupler I had did not have that problem. Maybe they were nominally different.

I think I'll just stick with blue tube then since its what I know and what I have used in the past. Thank you everyone.

I would. I love magna frame, but the lack for magna frame couples is minus for them.

AHansom said:

I built a booster section out of 3" Magna Frame when it was a brand new product. My idea was to be able to switch the upper half of my Blue Tube Kraken to either booster and have two different rockets. A couple of things I had problems with is the Magna Frame ID and the Blue Tube av bay OD were to tight and there is no way to get them to work. the other problem I had is the outer layer of the Magna Frame started peeling off. I have never had this happen to Blue Tube and the peeling layer was easy to fix with some ca glue and sanding. The size difference is the bigger issue and Im not sure if the Blue Tube is larger than sec or the Magna Frame is smaller. They just don't fit together on the tubes I have.

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Hi, this is Kent from GLR and the original batch of Magnaframe that came from the manufacturer was several thousands smaill on the OD causing me much angst. Obviously in subsequent batches, that problem has been fixed.

Magnaframe should not have the humidity curl problems because of the design, phenolic wraps for strength and stability, grey vulcanized wraps for resilency and everything is encapsulated inside and out with a coating to seal out humidity. As for the coupler issue, we have not made Magnaframe couplers because the price would be crazy high. That said, there may be an answer for that coming down the pike as well.

Kent/GLR

Kent,

Thanks for the update.

Blue Tube warping issue.

I have decided to make current builds with BlueTube 2.0. I ordered two 4"-48" and two 3"-48" airframes from ARR in April along with enough couplers for 4 AV Bays. Two builds ensued in April: a 3" Bull Pup and a 4" Patriot. Both were built and coated in a layer of primer, sanded, and primed again, then painted last month. The 3" Pup is perfectly straight; the 4" Patriot has a "bend" to it that I KNOW was not there in April - both rockets are stored in the house on stands in an upright position, even before final finish coats have been applied... The other two builds were to be a 3" Patriot and a 4" Bull Pup (yes, I like these two rockets/designs), but when I went to get my BlueTube out of the box in the garage this week, I found it warped beyond usable.

What the heck?! These tubes were stored, like I said, in a garage since April, in the delivery box, and fully upright as there were 54 and 38mm motor mount tubes in the box with them. What went wrong? Dave E. at ARR has been more than gracious and willing to replace the warped airframes, but I'm wondering what others have experienced with BlueTube warping (before and after builds). I say before and after because my 4" Patriot has a visibly noticeable bend to the airframe, possibly making it NOT airworthy. Further testing and checking will determine that...

What experiences have you folks had with BlueTube? What do you do to correct airframes that have bowed / warped, or are they recycling material at that point? What do you do to keep BlueTube stock straight for future builds?

Thank you much!

I’ve got 2 blue tube 2.0 rockets and neither show any sign of warping. One is several years old and is stored in a leaning position. Other has been in my garage for about a year with high humidity. One thing I did immediately was coat all tubes with sanding sealer which is also recommended by Dave at ARR.

That's easy to do on the outside; did you coat the inside as well? I would think you'd need to coat both sides to prevent warping in storage, but your experience makes me wonder...

SammyD said:

That's easy to do on the outside; did you coat the inside as well? I would think you'd need to coat both sides to prevent warping in storage, but your experience makes me wonder...

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Yea, both sides. Soaked a rag in sanding sealer and shoved it through with a dowel.
Has yours seen any moisture?

They've seen only ambient moisture that is common in garages when the doors are opened and closed, but no direct moisture... I find it interesting that you have to sanding seal BOTH sides. That sounds like it should be a manufacturing process!

I have some 4" Blue Tube 2.0 rockets. One did a core sample on impact. I left the dirt inside it for a few days (lazy / careless). The tube deformed and was not usable where the dirt was. I cut off the top, fixed with a coupler and new piece of tubing. Otherwise, no issues. I never tried Magnaframe. I do like the Blue Tube though.

SammyD said:

They've seen only ambient moisture that is common in garages when the doors are opened and closed, but no direct moisture... I find it interesting that you have to sanding seal BOTH sides. That sounds like it should be a manufacturing process!

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Not only did giant leap rocketry added the coating (both inside and out, but included phenolic paper layers as well to keep it stable.

How was your humidity? The humidity can cause blue tubes to warp. I have seen the effects only slightly when the humidity levels were half way (40-60%).

Dont get me wrong, I still like blue tube.


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I have had no problems with blue tube warping, but have had issues with the diameter shrinking. No moisture involved since I live in Arizona. Coupler's and ebay's can change fit over time and can require a lot of sanding to allow assembly. I have one section of bluetube on one rocket, that I will have to replace in order to fly it again.

terryg said:

I have had no problems with blue tube warping, but have had issues with the diameter shrinking. No moisture involved since I live in Arizona. Coupler's and ebay's can change fit over time and can require a lot of sanding to allow assembly. I have one section of bluetube on one rocket, that I will have to replace in order to fly it again.

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Yeah, I've seen the fit/diameter change as well. My 4" Warthog, made from LOC 4" paper and a LOC AV bay, stayed in the garage with the payload bay separated from the booster (AV bay left in the booster) through the summer/fall/winter of 2016 and when I went to fit it together in April 2017 to fly at LDRS in Maryland, I couldn't get the sections together without serious sanding of both the inner payload section and the upper part of the AV bay.

The BlueTube purchased early this year didn't give me diameter problems however, only warping after standing upright for about 5 months, and it's substantial: 1/4"-3/8" deflection over a 48" length. I'm trying to straighten them now, but I just don't think it's going to work.

SinfulDarkLord said:

How was your humidity? The humidity can cause blue tubes to warp. I have seen the effects only slightly when the humidity levels were half way (40-60%).

Dont get me wrong, I still like blue tube.

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Humidity varies, and I'm on the coast, so it can vary widely. I suppose I should seal BlueTube upon arrival and store it inside... Like you, I like BlueTube (and don't really want to go full fiberglass builds as I like the ease of manipulating my building materials like wood, paper, and aluminum) and want to keep using it, but I've got to get this issue solved if I'm going to stay with it :-\

SammyD said:

Humidity varies, and I'm on the coast, so it can vary widely. I suppose I should seal BlueTube upon arrival and store it inside... Like you, I like BlueTube (and don't really want to go full fiberglass builds as I like the ease of manipulating my building materials like wood, paper, and aluminum) and want to keep using it, but I've got to get this issue solved if I'm going to stay with it :-\

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I've come to like composites more though. In fact, I would prefer to fiberglass the blue tubes instead of adding that moisture sealer. Fiberglassing the blue tube makes it stronger, keeps it straight and most importantly, you dont waste a tone load of money compared to buying a heavy filament wound tube.


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I have a few Blue Tube rockets, 4" and 5.5" diameter, stored in a Houston garage (90% humidity a lot of the summer), and I haven't had any issues with them warping. I do see a lot of thermal expansion/contraction however, so I see coupler/tube fits change quite a bit with temperature. I don't see a permanent fit change, most commonly seen when the rocket(s) were sitting in the sun for significant amounts of time.

David