AeroTech Open Thread

[jmuck78]

HI Charlie-

I recently flew an M1350W DMS - Followed the directions religiously...The Motor spit out the forward closure when it came up to pressure (still on the rail), Needless to say the rest if the "event" was not pretty, My L3 was pretty much toast - literally. I have a second motor on order and am now a bit gun shy to use it in the coming rebuild. Is there a known cause for this? I used the enclosed epoxy, etc ---to the directions. It seemed very secure right up to the point that it was...not.

ideas?

Steve

I know this question wasn't directed at me, but I had the same experience last year on my L3 flight, as a matter of fact. I also followed the directions carefully, but I believe there was an ambiguity in the instructions at the time where the instructions don't indicate how much the forward closure needs to be recessed into the motor case. It turns out, there needs to be at least a 1 inch thick ring of epoxy. Mine ended up being much less than that even though it felt like the forward closure was in as far as it would go.

What rocket were you using the motor in? I was flying a wildman extreme and used three centering rings. The forward closure failure failed with enough forced that it essentially deployed the ebay and everything "north" of it out of the way. The damage ended up being confined to the booster section forward of the forward-most centering ring, resulting in a fairly straightforward repair. Good luck!

 

[spence]

I was flying a madcow 5.5 inch AGM. The payload section was blasted clear. The bottom half was incinerated. Same tremendous force . I had triple bulk head. Which got cracked but did not get penetrated. The steel U bolt was flattened and one .25 inch rod inside the Avbay snapped. I had the closure in as far ( as I thought it would go) without hitting it with a mallet .


I feel your pain

 

[spence]

The force of the failure , if not fully contained in a strong rocket could be quite dangerous .

 

[jmuck78]

View attachment 389193View attachment 389194

The force of the failure , if not fully contained in a strong rocket could be quite dangerous .

What is the first picture? Is that the aft end with the holes drilled for a motor retainer?

 

[spence]

What is the first picture? Is that the aft end with the holes drilled for a motor retainer?

Yes. The thrust plate got blown off

 

[jmuck78]

Yes. The thrust plate got blown off

Uh-hum, that will buff out.

 

[spence]

Uh-hum, that will buff out.

Yes. Will buff out with a credit card....

 

[Motocrossman24]

Yes. Will buff out with a credit card....

Saw this last weekend. Sorry for the issue, was really looking forward to seeing the flight, as I’m sure you were. Hopefully Aerotech takes care of you with a new motor for atleast some consolation.

 

[ATGM]

View attachment 389193View attachment 389194

The force of the failure , if not fully contained in a strong rocket could be quite dangerous .

File a MESS report and send your info to [email protected]

 

[rharshberger]

Charlie, got my fingers crossed you guys are A) shipping some M1550R's soon (before Labor Day SodBlaster Event) and B) getting close on shipping my warranty replacements. [emoji3]

 

[Wayco]

Charlie, got my fingers crossed you guys are A) shipping some M1550R's soon (before Labor Day SodBlaster Event) and B) getting close on shipping my warranty replacements. [emoji3]

Just picked up an M1550 from Wildman, and he still shows them in stock. Chris' Rocket supply has one too. Who is your vendor?
This is one of my favorite motors, and I've never had a problem getting one.

 

[rharshberger]

It was ordered with the expectation it would be 60 days out (or so), as to who the vendor is he's a small local vendor. Not really to worried about it, my first choice of motor was the M1955DM which so far seems to have failed to certify.

Just picked up an M1550 from Wildman, and he still shows them in stock. Chris' Rocket supply has one too. Who is your vendor?
This is one of my favorite motors, and I've never had a problem getting one.

 

[slothead]

I was flying a madcow 5.5 inch AGM. The payload section was blasted clear. The bottom half was incinerated. Same tremendous force . I had triple bulk head. Which got cracked but did not get penetrated. The steel U bolt was flattened and one .25 inch rod inside the Avbay snapped. I had the closure in as far ( as I thought it would go) without hitting it with a mallet .


I feel your pain

"The steel U bolt was flattened", wow that's some serious force (and obviously pressure).

 

[jmuck78]

"The steel U bolt was flattened", wow that's some serious force (and obviously pressure).

yeah, that suggests a lot more pressure in the motor when it failed than when my M1350 failed on the pad. Higher Pressure implies that the fwd closure was epoxied much more securely. Did you recover the fwd closure and the rest of the motor? When did you purchase the motor?

 

[jahall4]

I realize this question may have been asked previously, but since business policies can change I will ask at this time…. It has always been my understanding that AeroTech will replace a reload and its case, as necessary, if a reload fails (e.g. CATO) under warranty at no charge. Does this apply to “AeroTech by Dr Rocket” cases as well? Specifically Dr. Rocket cases imprinted the RMS Trademark?

 

[jd2cylman]

I realize this question may have been asked previously, but since business policies can change I will ask at this time…. It has always been my understanding that AeroTech will replace a reload and its case, as necessary, if a reload fails (e.g. CATO) under warranty at no charge. Does this apply to “AeroTech by Dr Rocket” cases as well? Specifically Dr. Rocket cases imprinted the RMS Trademark?

While not a agent of AT, my gut feeling is Yup. As long as the motor was built according to the directions.

 

[jahall4]

While not a agent of AT, my gut feeling is Yup. As long as the motor was built according to the directions.

Well sure, can't expect AT to warranty my mistake.

 

[jahall4]

I realize this question may have been asked previously, but since business policies can change I will ask at this time…. It has always been my understanding that AeroTech will replace a reload and its case, as necessary, if a reload fails (e.g. CATO) under warranty at no charge. Does this apply to “AeroTech by Dr Rocket” cases as well? Specifically Dr. Rocket cases imprinted the RMS Trademark?

So I guess AeroTech has stopped monitoring their thread?

 

[rharshberger]

Charlie aka "ATGM" was last on this thread on 7/24/2019, right now they are attending Hellfire in UT. They don't spend all their time here like some of us.

 

[jahall4]

Charlie aka "ATGM" was last on this thread on 7/24/2019, right now they are attending Hellfire in UT. They don't spend all their time here like some of us.

Sorry I overlooked that one. Last I saw was maybe from May. Is Charlie the only one person from AT that monitors this thread?

 

[jd2cylman]

Sorry I overlooked that one. Last I saw was maybe from May. Is Charlie the only one person from AT that monitors this thread?

Yup

 

[Nytrunner]

He drew the short straw for dealing with us yahoos

 

[cwbullet]

He drew the short straw for dealing with us yahoos

He drew the short straw for dealing with us yahoos

You can say that again.

 

[Nytrunner]

I dont have to, you quoted it for me

 

[mikec]

Does this apply to “AeroTech by Dr Rocket” cases as well? Specifically Dr. Rocket cases imprinted the RMS Trademark?

I've never had any issue having non-AT hardware replaced with a legitimate warranty claim; both Dr Rocket and Rousetech. You might have problems with an unauthorized clone case, that would only be reasonable.

AT warranty has always worked really well in my experience.

 

[jahall4]

I've never had any issue having non-AT hardware replaced with a legitimate warranty claim; both Dr Rocket and Rousetech. You might have problems with an unauthorized clone case, that would only be reasonable.

AT warranty has always worked really well in my experience.

thx, Good to know, but I'd like to hear it from them too. Obviously a consideration for my first L3 motor for a cert flight and beyond.

 

[Steve Shannon]

thx, Good to know, but I'd like to hear it from them too. Obviously a consideration for my first L3 motor for a cert flight and beyond.

Have you tried emailing their customer support? That would be more appropriate than hoping to catch their attention on a public forum.
And for the record I do know of instances where they have replaced licensed third party cases with Aerotech hardware as part of a warranty claim.

 

[mikec]

thx, Good to know, but I'd like to hear it from them too.

Sigh. Maybe you should contact them directly if you feel you need the confirmation.

 

[jahall4]

Sigh. Maybe you should contact them directly if you feel you need the confirmation.

Sigh, Sounds like you have a larger budget than I do.

 

[jahall4]

Have you tried emailing their customer support? That would be more appropriate than hoping to catch their attention on a public forum.
And for the record I do know of instances where they have replaced licensed third party cases with Aerotech hardware as part of a warranty claim.

Not yet Steve, not in a big hurry, just figured the question has been asked before and someone could direct me to something that was concrete, not anecdotal. But, it is nice to hear a few folks saying it has not been a problem for them. Thanks everyone.