Is my RMS case still useable?

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Steve Mahoney

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I purchaced an Aerotec Initiator starter kit many years ago but never used the reloadable materials. Someone told me that Aerotec re-engineered their cases and I'd have to replace the one I have to be compatible with the reloads being produced now. Does this guy know what he's talking about or have I been given a bum steer?

STEVE MAHONEY-CMASS
 
having an extra motor or two isn't nessessarily a bad thing, I've had thoughts about picking up some extras :).
 
AT did redesign their DELAY GRAINS.. and how they go in SOME cases. (Now called RMS+) bu tthe cases have not changed.. Good luck...
 
Steve Mahoney said:
I purchaced an Aerotec Initiator starter kit many years ago but never used the reloadable materials. Someone told me that Aerotec re-engineered their cases and I'd have to replace the one I have to be compatible with the reloads being produced now. Does this guy know what he's talking about or have I been given a bum steer?

STEVE MAHONEY-CMASS
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What case do you have?

If you're going to the May 22 CMASS launch, bring it along with you if you want someone to look at to be certain that it's ok.

I'm sure the case is just fine and the only problem with it is that it's unused.
 
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I have doubles of cases from the 18mm through the 29-240. In the 24 mm size I have an old and new case after kicking a 24 mm out one time. The replacement is nearly identical with the new aft ring being a bit lighter from not the same thickness on the engine block ring itself. The part that you grip to remove isn't as wide as it was, it's a little thinner.
 
I had the same question. The photos I've seen posted on this site recently don't look anything like my old cases. I've been out of the hobby for about 10 years and I'm not sure if there is even anyone left in my area that sells reloads, so it might not matter if my cases work or not.
 
bjphoenix said:
I had the same question. The photos I've seen posted on this site recently don't look anything like my old cases. I've been out of the hobby for about 10 years and I'm not sure if there is even anyone left in my area that sells reloads, so it might not matter if my cases work or not.
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Your cases should be fine. I assume you have the Dr. Rocket or AT (black with sticker) hardware?
 
cjl said:
Your cases should be fine. I assume you have the Dr. Rocket or AT (black with sticker) hardware?
Click to expand...

Mine are black Aerotech. They don't look like the new cases that I see photos of here. You can see the tail end of the 29mm case in this photo.

IMG_2100a.jpg




Hobbylinc has the lowest prices for reloads I've found.
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I might be a little behind the times since I've been out of things for about 10 years. What I remember from back then was that shipping and storing of motors was not possible for the ordinary person without some form of license. I always bought motors from a vendor that came to our launches and didn't take them home with me. The vendor had a special license and a special trailer that he stored his merchandise in. Maybe the ATF rules have changed since then.
 
Yeah, your casing is fine. It will work perfectly well with the new reloads.

As for shipping and storing motors? The rules have definitely changed - the average person can now purchase and store high power motors with no problems at all. Shipping is still a bit of a pain - there is a hazmat shipping charge when ordering most larger motors, and you can't individually ship rocket motors (pretty much ever) - only vendors who are on a list of approved shippers. Still, the situation is a lot better than it was, and you can definitely purchase and store any motors you are certified to fly without worrying about the ATF.
 
bjphoenix said:
Mine are black Aerotech. They don't look like the new cases that I see photos of here. You can see the tail end of the 29mm case in this photo.
Click to expand...

You never mentioned what case you have.

In 29mm, there are two types of Aerotech cases. There is the Hobbyline case, 29/40-120 which is what is in that picture. There is also the High Power line of cases. These come in various sizes, 29/60, 29/120, 29/180, 29/240, & 29/360. All the high power cases use the same forward and aft closures, but do NOT use the same closures as the Hobbyline cases. The high powered closures have knurled faces so you can hand tighten them.

Both types of cases are useable and probably have more reloads available now then they did 10 years ago.
 
bjphoenix said:
Mine are black Aerotech. They don't look like the new cases that I see photos of here. You can see the tail end of the 29mm case in this photo.
Click to expand...

Looks like a 29/40-120 to me. And there are still plenty of reloads out there that work with it!

You are good to go.
 
Handeman said:
He also said his case did NOT look like
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Hold on guys, I think you are confusing what I said with what Steve said (Steve the OP), but it isn't important to the thread.

My case is black with gold closure (and gold lettering on the side). Now that I've been reading a little more I remember that it is the 29/40-120 "hobby" case. I also have an Aerotech 24mm and a couple of different Aerotech 38mm cases. Coming back into the hobby and looking around after 10 years and I'm seeing the small casings that are gold with black closures. That's why I asked the question.
 
Your 38mm cases from 10 years ago are fine. Mine are... hell I had cases I bought from another guy in my club and those were 5 or 6 years older still, so about 1995 vintage, and those are still fine and AT makes the reloads for them. The 24mm hobby case (called the 24/40) is also still in use and there are still many reloads for it. I am not sure what else to say.
 
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bjphoenix said:
Hold on guys, I think you are confusing what I said with what Steve said (Steve the OP), but it isn't important to the thread.

My case is black with gold closure (and gold lettering on the side). Now that I've been reading a little more I remember that it is the 29/40-120 "hobby" case. I also have an Aerotech 24mm and a couple of different Aerotech 38mm cases. Coming back into the hobby and looking around after 10 years and I'm seeing the small casings that are gold with black closures. That's why I asked the question.
Click to expand...
You may also see blue anodized cases with silver closures that appear to have exactly the same design as the black and gold AeroTech cases. These are Rouse-Tech Monster Motor cases. Rouse-Tech is a licensee of AeroTech (same as Dr. Rocket once was, if you remember him) and R-T motors are identical to AT motors in terms of dimensions and specs. They are designed to use AeroTech reloads. You may also occasionally run into gold anodized motors with black (in the hobbyline) or silver (in the HP RMS line) AeroTech-style closures. These are early production Rouse-Tech motors (I have one), made before they changed their color scheme.

I don't know if anyone has ever done so, but I don't see any technical reason why one couldn't assemble a Frankenmotor using, say, an AeroTech aft closure, a Rouse-Tech case and a Dr. Rocket forward closure, and have it be perfectly suitable for use with RMS reloads.

You can easily distinguish hobbyline motors from high power RMS motors by looking at the end closures. The hobbyline closures look very different from the RMS versions. All of the hobbyline aft closures have cut-outs for motor clips. All aft closures for RMS motors have knurled grip areas around the outside and no cut-outs. All hobbyline forward closures are anodized with the same color as the case (black for AeroTech, blue or gold for Rouse-Tech and red for Dr. Rocket). All RMS closures are silver or natural metal colored and have knurled grip areas around the outside.
 
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I have the 2g, 3g, and 4g Aerotech 54mm hardware. I got two standard closures (one of them is AT, the other could be Rouse-Tech or AT), and a DR Rocket Extended Closure. I got one AT Aft Closure and two Rouse-Tech Aft Closures. They work fine mix and match :)
 
n3tjm said:
I have the 2g, 3g, and 4g Aerotech 54mm hardware. I got two standard closures (one of them is AT, the other could be Rouse-Tech or AT), and a DR Rocket Extended Closure. I got one AT Aft Closure and two Rouse-Tech Aft Closures. They work fine mix and match :)
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I think that such Frankenmotor combinations would be an interesting sight. Pictures?
 

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