FSI is Back

That buggy on the 'about' page for FSI..... MegaForce?

-Hans

I had a little bit of FSI stuff back in the day. I look forward to your reentry into the market.

How will the FSI motors compare to Estes BP motors?

OK I've had several questions here.

First, on a personal note, my family was out of Enid, OK, and i've got family from both sides all over the state.

Second question was about the Buggy on the about page of the website. Yes that was Mega Force. If you remember the Hercules rocket from FSI, that's a rocket used all over in that movie. FSI did all the pyro work in that movie as well.

on the Motors: ok we've got a LOT of Red Tape to go through. We're dealing with Governmental Regulations out the wazzoo. We're going to have engines in the standard sizes, 18mm, 24mm, and hopefully 29mm. you read that right 29mm. We're also going to be moving into the composite motors as well, we have TONS of casings for 29mm single use motors. We've also seen casings in our stock we bought for 38mm, I believe. One thing we can say is that we have a custom built, vacuum sealed, double counter rotating mixer for the composite grain layups. I know we also have 3 large hydrolic presses for BP motors along with all the casings and molds. but the motors are going to have to wait for the moment. We've got to get the cash flow moving before we can start that.

the ignighters are going to have to change due to the ATF enforcement of an old law. We've got some tricks up our sleeves so to speak about what we're going to do about it.

On a separate note, we're experimenting with nose cone molds using polyurethane skins and foam filler. fantastic amount of detail, GREAT WEIGHT SAVINGS, (as light or lighter than balsa), and quick set times. We'll punch out 40 nosecones a day depending on the molds and mix required.


PS, YES i was wrong on the motors sizes, it was 21 and 27mm for the old motors. remember I'm the kid of the group the other two are technologically adverse to a point LOL. (that's what's going to make these kits so great going back to REAL STANDARDS in kit quality and details)

Pretty sure everyone is super curious about the motors. Everyone gets excited at the possibility of a new manufacturer because with it typically comes product differentiation. Choices are good, and more choices are more better.

How will the motors be different than the comparable Estes, Aerotech, and CTI motors? Different burn times, different effects, different price points, etc.?

F100's F7's and 29mm G60's would be cool.
Mr. Bob
Countyline Hobbies
Grovertown, IN
574-540-1123
[email protected]
www.countylinehobbies.com

Ok i do know that we're planning on bringing back the G60 Thunderbolts. we're also looking at B-14s as composite motors. YES 18mm! The Daves both miss those motors. The F100s and F7s are going to be different because we are no longer going to use the 27mm casings. we're going to have to adjust them to the 24mm size BUT we're going to try and have them close to the same impulse. Its going to take a lot of experimentation so please be patient with us.

If 24 mm F's don't work go 29 and add sparky juice to bring back the Silver Streaks
Mr. Bob
Countyline hobbies
Grovertown, IN.
574-540-1123
[email protected]
www.countylinehobbies.com

Bgoddard said:

we're also looking at B-14s as composite motors. YES 18mm! The Daves both miss those motors.

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I fly a lot of 18mm reloads and would certainly like some variety. Will the B14s be reloads that use the AT hardware or SU? Any consideration for C 18mm composites?

I just the hope the products will be in step with the quality we come to expect now of all our choices of motors. I think we deserve that after the decades of past growth in motor engineering. I think with the costs/value of everything now, we like reliability to go hand in hand with novelty of old favorites IMO.

Can't wait to try out these motors!

Exactly when do you think he said "reloads" ???

sl98 said:

I fly a lot of 18mm reloads and would certainly like some variety. Will the B14s be reloads that use the AT hardware or SU? Any consideration for C 18mm composites?

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This is great to hear! I used to have one of the old Estes Honest John Maxi-Brutes that I flew on F100 engines in the early eighties...until I learned the hard way about places that could get very hot if the AC were left off, even in the fall...

An F100 cato at launch due to the engine being stored in too hot of an environment is VERY dramatic. Happened at college my sophomore year. If the same thing were to happen today, I have no doubt that all manner of three-letter agencies would have been on scene.

RFMan said:

This is great to hear! I used to have one of the old Estes Honest John Maxi-Brutes that I flew on F100 engines in the early eighties...until I learned the hard way about places that could get very hot if the AC were left off, even in the fall...

An F100 cato at launch due to the engine being stored in too hot of an environment is VERY dramatic. Happened at college my sophomore year. If the same thing were to happen today, I have no doubt that all manner of three-letter agencies would have been on scene.

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They have 4 letters now.

And the F100 we renamed the F80 because, even though it never had it, you could not claim to have over 80 newtons of average thrust and still be a Model Rocket Motor legally. It was an E motor in reality. The F7 was barely an F motor. I would have to dig up old NAR test data to provide the last tested values.

Interesting. It makes sense that it was actually an E. I never really thought about the 100 average NS making it high power…

A Black Powder 24mm F, even if only truly an E, would be fun in TLP Kits without the Motor Hook.

Rocketjunkie said:

I would assume so. The old igniters were Thermalite.

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That's actually a problem, now. After the lawsuit against BATFE they have really clamped down on the things that ARE regulated like Thermalite which is listed as an explosives igniter or fuse. They are hairsplitters and any amount requires a LEUP. Worth it, I guess, especially for black powder storage which you are also supposed to have a LEUP if you do not have black powder firearms.

we're working on good igniters for our engines, but we haven't even gotten to the engine manufacturing yet, so its going to be a bit.

Don't see anything on the products page. When do expect to open a sales page?

Rome wasn't built in a day. And I know about gov't regulations I looked into a motor making machine when I ran Starlight Rockets.
Mr. Bob
Countyline Hobbies
Grovertown, IN
574-540-1123
[email protected]
www.countylinehobbies.com

Brent, We're working on it. We're trying to get some good photos from folks, but for right now we're going to start using some cropped kit inserts. and then I'll get the page up and going.

Bob J. you're exactly right. The Daves and I are wanting to get it done right but we want the engines done the FSI way, a quality way. Part of the reason the products page is taking some time to create. We want it done right. All of our scale kits are going to be highly detailed, and we want the page to show those details.

Bgoddard said:

Brent, We're working on it. We're trying to get some good photos from folks, but for right now we're going to start using some cropped kit inserts. and then I'll get the page up and going.

Bob J. you're exactly right. The Daves and I are wanting to get it done right but we want the engines done the FSI way, a quality way. Part of the reason the products page is taking some time to create. We want it done right. All of our scale kits are going to be highly detailed, and we want the page to show those details.

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Will your Scale Kits be of Military Missiles? That's what I'm hoping for because Rockets for Launching People Payloads just don't inspire me.

Looking forward to new/old products.

Here's my finished FSI Sprint 'new-old stock' model I bought at NARAM-56.

The kit does not provide any detailed painting instructions so I copied the paint scheme from that 'other' Sprint rocket kit.

I think it turned out pretty good.

The F7 and F100s were my favorite motors. The F7 because it was 1 second straight up and 6 more seconds or terror. And the F100 because it jumped off the pad and got as high as a D12 but with a bit more smoke and noise.

majordude said:

The F7 and F100s were my favorite motors. The F7 because it was 1 second straight up and 6 more seconds or terror. And the F100 because it jumped off the pad and got as high as a D12 but with a bit more smoke and noise.

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And staging the two..............fantastic!

So are you looking to have everything go live at once? Or stage in products? I would guess that getting some rockets up for sale would be much lower cost and effort to get some cash flow going while you work out the motors and igniters. For that matter, now is an excellent time if you can come up with something that will start the Estes motors. Regardless of how they really work, perception is that the new "starters" are inferior. But designing that might take a lot of work.

Along the motor front, If you find a way to make the motor louder while not affecting impulse - that would get my attention.

1tree said:

So are you looking to have everything go live at once? Or stage in products? I would guess that getting some rockets up for sale would be much lower cost and effort to get some cash flow going while you work out the motors and igniters. For that matter, now is an excellent time if you can come up with something that will start the Estes motors. Regardless of how they really work, perception is that the new "starters" are inferior. But designing that might take a lot of work.

Along the motor front, If you find a way to make the motor louder while not affecting impulse - that would get my attention.

Click to expand...

I always wondered if somebody could include whatever it is in whistling bottle rockets in a rocket motor. Would be, interesting, at the very least.

HHaase said:

I always wondered if somebody could include whatever it is in whistling bottle rockets in a rocket motor. Would be, interesting, at the very least.

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No. (well, probably not). Whistle mix can be pressure sensitive, walking a thin line between burning and going bang. The whistling comes from a cyclic burning phenomenon. Whistle rockets do not use nozzles, and the frequency is, in part, due to the dia. and length of the free space in the tube.

HHaase said:

I always wondered if somebody could include whatever it is in whistling bottle rockets in a rocket motor. Would be, interesting, at the very least.

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"Motor buzz" as it's called... basically a reverberating pressure changing the burn rate in a solid rocket motor. In core burners like SRB's, it can be caused by pressure waves moving up and down the length of the motor's interior burn surface-- increased pressure increases the burn rate, leading to positive feedback to keep the wave going. Depending on the motor design and its susceptability to motor buzz, it can reverberate at 60-90 hertz (cycles a second) or more, dependent on many factors...

It's roughly analogous to the "pogo effect" in liquid rockets, in terms of effects on the vehicle... Pogo is caused by rapid variations in the pressure of the propellant causing rapid changes in thrust from the engine(s). The rocket "surges" due to rapidly increasing and decreasing pressure surges in the propellant line changing the thrust of the engine due to more or less propellant being injected into the combustion chamber due to the changes in pressure at the injector(s). This leads to a positive feedback loop that gets increasingly severe and can lead to engine or vehicle destruction.

Not a good thing...

Later! OL JR