Mrc C6-3

[n3tjm]

I just aquired a trio of C6-3 motors from MRC, which were produced in the early 90's. They are made in Germany (at the time, W. Germany) These motors look familar... they look like Quest motors... Is there any chance the German made Quest motors use the same tooling that MRC used?

Also, MRC motors avertised features include dense tracking smoke. I hear from a lot of people that they like the quest motors because they have good tracking smoke? Do you guys think they use the same formula?

 

[DPatell]

I believe that Quest is the present day MRC. I have noticed that the Quest Tomahawk fin can (don't know how I ended up with one) is similar to one of MRC's old kits. I imagine that it is just the same products with a new name.

 

[n3tjm]

I think Quest is the current day MPC, not MRC. If I remember correctly, MPC was located in Phoenix, Arizonia, while MRC (Which is still around) is located in New Jersey. MRC makes electronics for model trains. The original Quest Nike Smoke is the same thing as the MPC Mike Smoke...

 

[astronboy]

Yes, QUEST is a decendant of MPC. G Harry Stine designed rockets for MPC, and Bill now owns QUEST... there is still some of the same tooling being used. A few QUEST Rockets are EXACTLY the same as early 1970's MPC kits.

Back to the motors, yes, they do look like the QUEST Motors that are/were made in Germany under contract. QUEST used to have their own machines, but I guess they were very finicky, Rumor is that these were the old MRI/MPC/AVI motor machines that are still floating around and may still be in existance in the US southeast owned by a pyrotechnics company. You can tell the MPC machine made motors by the ash white clay, very 'rounded' nozzle.

The German ones are all silver like your pic, and the nozzles are very angular.

Do a search on ROL using MPC motors and yu will get several interesting threads, stories, and rants.

My guess is that these MRC motors were made by the same company in Saxony that produces the motors for QUEST.

 

[Oliver]

Hi @ all,

as a former MRC and Estes rocketry products importeur for Germany, I hope I can give you a few answers: In the early 90´s, MRC approached Moog-Nico, at this time a leading German pyrotechnics manufacturer, to produce an engine line for them. Moog-Nico closed down pyrotechnics production in the mid-90´s when also MRC stopped their rocketry line.

Then Quest stepped into the marked and asked Sachsen Feuerwerk (SF) from Saxony, a former East-German manufacturer, to produce engines. The SF line is very similiar to Moog-Nico, I even heared that they were some relationships between both companies.

Quest used some other manufacturers in the past, e.g. they produced Micromaxx engines Mexico. But at present, all of the Quest engines incl. Micromaxx are made at Saxony. They are marked under the Quest label in the US while they show the SF packaging here in Germany and Europa.

Oliver

 

[astronboy]

Thanks Oliver,

I have followed the QUEST motor threads on the net for some time. I knew that the new motors were made in Germany, but your detailed info really fleshes out the story.

So does SF produce any engines that QUEST does not offer?

 

[Oliver]

No, it´s vice-versa: Most of the engines SF produce are not available in Europe. Currently, they offer only A8-3, B4-4, C6-5 and Micromaxx. But they promised to enlarge their program next year to some types they already produce for Quest.

But SF produce 2 types in licence for a German company called Held. One (called Held 5000) is very similiar to the Estes E9, the other (Held 1000) is a long-burning C with 2N average thrust and a buring time of 5,5 sec.

Oliver

 

[tbzep]

MRC had two motor lines. A standard line like the ones pictured, and the "Tracker" line with two motors to a pack.

The standard line's delay train had a yellowish color smoke. The B6-4's I had were weaker than the Estes B6-4, so if you use them take that into consideration.

The Tracker line was advertised to have a dense white smoke but I never flew any of them so I don't know how good they were. I seem to remember somebody saying the only difference was that you got two motors for the price of three.

 

[Oliver]

MRC only sold one type of engines. The Tracker engines were identical with the standard ones except of an additional label, an expensive blister pack and a plug-in plastic molded nozzle to hold the igniter. And, yes, a higher price

Take a look:

https://www.ninfinger.org/~sven/rockets/nostalgia/mrc04.html

In the US, MRC sold also this FX smoke producing engines. They were not manufactured in Germany!

Oliver

 

[tbzep]

Originally posted by Oliver
MRC only sold one type of engines. The Tracker engines were identical with the standard ones except of an additional label, an expensive blister pack and a plug-in plastic molded nozzle to hold the igniter. And, yes, a higher price

Oliver

That's exactly what I have heard about them, but I've never seen any in person much less flown them to know for sure.

Mislabeling them was a pretty sorry thing for them to do, IMHO.

I guess you can still say they had two motor lines...like GM has GMC and Chevy trucks. Basically the same once you get past the label.

 

[Oliver]

Originally posted by tbzep
I guess you can still say they had two motor lines...like GM has GMC and Chevy trucks. Basically the same once you get past the label.

From that point of view, they had 2 motor lines, yes

The "secret" about the labeling was that the original Moog-Nico engines were slightly smaller than the 18mm standard Estes ones (only about 17 mm). So they really didn´t fit in the engine mounts. Thats why MRC decided to re-label them which gaves them also a "cooler" look.

Oliver