Alan Whitmore
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Aug 27, 2013
- Messages
- 184
- Reaction score
- 519
TMT has recently tested and certified 2 new Quest single-use motors, the C18W and D20W. These are 18mm diameter composite propellant motors with 4,6, and 8 second preset delay times. The propellant is FW (Fast White), which is not exactly the same as White Lightning or Super White from Aerotech. They both have a bright yellow flame with abundant white smoke. In our hands, the C18W has 9.8 N.s total impulse, and the D20W has 13.8 N.s.
A brief note about performance figures. Some people have called my attention to the fact that the published TMT performance figures do not match the manufacturers catalog figures exactly. In almost all cases, the manufacturers run their tests at altitudes, ambient temperatures, and relative humidities VERY different from those at my location here in the American Southland. In all likelihood, neither set of numbers is exactly what you will experience at your favorite launch site. This is to be expected: Your results may vary. All that the manufacturers and TMT (and NAR S&T) can do is to tell you exactly how the motors performed in our hands. To expect a match down to the 3rd significant figure is unrealistic.
Alan Whitmore
Chair, TMT
A brief note about performance figures. Some people have called my attention to the fact that the published TMT performance figures do not match the manufacturers catalog figures exactly. In almost all cases, the manufacturers run their tests at altitudes, ambient temperatures, and relative humidities VERY different from those at my location here in the American Southland. In all likelihood, neither set of numbers is exactly what you will experience at your favorite launch site. This is to be expected: Your results may vary. All that the manufacturers and TMT (and NAR S&T) can do is to tell you exactly how the motors performed in our hands. To expect a match down to the 3rd significant figure is unrealistic.
Alan Whitmore
Chair, TMT
