AeroTech Open Thread

[0011001100]

38mm plastic casting tube
54mm plastic casting tube

What is the difference with the plastic castings tubes? Are they higher temp or thinner or lighter ect?

 

[tsmith1315]

Sorry..so it is 9.8 Kgs...wow..did not know high power motors could contain 22 lbs of fuel. Again sorry, I am only familiar with A-D's Estes BP motors.

Now that we have your attention, look at the peak thrust !!! You want this...

View attachment 420025

 

[gldknght]

New box labels for the Mantis pad. All the AeroTech and Quest kits are getting a makeover as well.View attachment 420022
View attachment 420023

It's really too bad AT didn't update the pad, instead of the packaging. I probably only launched 5 or 6 low and midpower flights total off my Mantis pad before the pad broke and became completely useless. The plastic "clips" that attach the rod holder to the launch angle control wheel became very brittle and broke off. The plastic parts that hold the legs also broke, so the legs wouldn't stay in. Even the launch controller quit working (yes, I kept all the contact clips clean!).

 

[beeblebrox]

What is the difference with the plastic castings tubes? Are they higher temp or thinner or lighter ect?

Plastic casting tube prevents faster burning of the propellant along the spiral that exists in a regular paper casting tube. this can cause a problem especially with end-burners as a spiraling cone-ish shaped surface starts to happen, thus increasing burn surface area above what is expected resulting in a possible kaboom-jet

 

[neil_w]

To update our progress on the White Lightning Q-Jet project, we tested the delays for the C and D versions today and they were all within spec, with no failures or anomalies. The next step is to build the motors for certification and submit to the testing organization.

Looking forward to these, especially the D.

Will these have progressive burn similar to existing Q-Jets?

 

[AeroTech]

The plastic casting tubes work well for time delays and end burners because the propellant doesn’t edge burn at a different rate and there are no seams or gaps for the flame front to exploit. The bonding is adequate for the application.

What is the difference with the plastic castings tubes? Are they higher temp or thinner or lighter ect?

 

[AeroTech]

Beeblebrox nailed it.

Plastic casting tube prevents faster burning of the propellant along the spiral that exists in a regular paper casting tube. this can cause a problem especially with end-burners as a spiraling cone-ish shaped surface starts to happen, thus increasing burn surface area above what is expected resulting in a possible kaboom-jet

 

[AeroTech]

Yes.

Looking forward to these, especially the D.

Will these have progressive burn similar to existing Q-Jets?

 

[AeroTech]

The pad works fine for the vast majority of customers who don’t use it for overweight rockets or ‘H‘ or larger motors. We have had very few field issues with the controller as well. If you have an issue with the pad or controller, please contact Karl at [email protected] and he will get you fixed up.

It's really too bad AT didn't update the pad, instead of the packaging. I probably only launched 5 or 6 low and midpower flights total off my Mantis pad before the pad broke and became completely useless. The plastic "clips" that attach the rod holder to the launch angle control wheel became very brittle and broke off. The plastic parts that hold the legs also broke, so the legs wouldn't stay in. Even the launch controller quit working (yes, I kept all the contact clips clean!).

 

[gldknght]

The pad works fine for the vast majority of customers who don’t use it for overweight rockets or ‘H‘ or larger motors. We have had very few field issues with the controller as well. If you have an issue with the pad or controller, please contact Karl at [email protected] and he will get you fixed up.

No thanks. When I had my Mantis, I was NOT high power certified, so I never flew anything bigger than G motors and the biggest rocket I flew off my Mantis was a stock AT G-Force. Now I have a home made pad and controller that handles any rocket I want to fly.

 

[Walter Longburn]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this but is RCS ever going to have the propellant data sheet for the Super Thunder propellant? It's said coming soon for a long time already.

 

[0011001100]

Plastic casting tube prevents faster burning of the propellant along the spiral that exists in a regular paper casting tube. this can cause a problem especially with end-burners as a spiraling cone-ish shaped surface starts to happen, thus increasing burn surface area above what is expected resulting in a possible kaboom-jet

Ahh that makes sense. I manly roll my own castings tubes so I never have spirals anyways but it is good to know.

 

[AeroTech]

We hope so.

I'm not sure if this is the right place to ask this but is RCS ever going to have the propellant data sheet for the Super Thunder propellant? It's said coming soon for a long time already.

 

[AeroTech]

OK, so it really wouldn’t matter to you if the Mantis was updated, right (even though it was actually updated some time ago with a stronger plastic)?

No thanks. When I had my Mantis, I was NOT high power certified, so I never flew anything bigger than G motors and the biggest rocket I flew off my Mantis was a stock AT G-Force. Now I have a home made pad and controller that handles any rocket I want to fly.

 

[AeroTech]

Even gaps within convolute tubes could be exploited by hot gas but good to know things are working well for you.

Ahh that makes sense. I manly roll my own castings tubes so I never have spirals anyways but it is good to know.

 

[gldknght]

OK, so it really wouldn’t matter to you if the Mantis was updated, right (even though it was actually updated some time ago with a stronger plastic)?

I guess you are right, new wrapping, updated pad, doesn't really matter to me. But then again, nothing Aerotech does these days matters much to me...

 

[John Kemker]

I guess you are right, new wrapping, updated pad, doesn't really matter to me. But then again, nothing Aerotech does these days matters much to me...

Then, why are you posting on an Aerotech thread?

 

[gldknght]

Then, why are you posting on an Aerotech thread?

Because I can!

 

[John Kemker]

okay...

 

[AeroTech]

 

[Initiator001]

I like the new AeroTech, er, Enerjet packaging.

 

[beeblebrox]

Ahh that makes sense. I manly roll my own castings tubes so I never have spirals anyways but it is good to know.

Are they Big Bambu? LOL

 

[John Kemker]

Are they Big Bambu? LOL

"My dog ate my stash, man!"

 

[AeroTech]

After receiving numerous customer requests, AeroTech is introducing a new 29mm high-power RMS plugged and threaded forward closure. The closure is tapped 1/4-20 for a threaded eyebolt for recovery system attachment. They will be available soon for $28 from your favorite AeroTech retailer.

 

[ChicagoDave]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to submit this feedback but it's the first place I thought of

I'm in the middle of assembling my first AT J570W. It's reminiscent of the first time I assembled an i200

Any way the included generic 38/480-1320 instructions are, uhm, ok. They *do* have the O-Ring guide down at the bottom which I found extremely useful for the first time using the larger 38mm reloads. I slightly greased each O-Ring and put them on top of their respective diagrams to avoid confusion. Very helpful.

Fortunately I searched for and found the assembly instructions on the Aerotech web sight because they have the step-by-step guide which is exactly what I was looking for (38_1080_sw_in_20062.pdf).

My feedback is this -- all meant to be taken as good, constructive feedback:

1) Is there a way to include a link to the step-by-step guidance for each motor? Some of them are more generic than others but there is aften a step-by-step guide to follow on the web site, now that I found the location. It would be great to have the right one somehow called out on the reload E.g. a redirector like www.aerotech-rocketry.com/J270WDMS --> pulls up the latest J250W DMS instructions.

2) Is it possible to combine the good parts of the "generic" assembly drawings (The O-ring guide) and the step-by-step instructions into one? That would put all the information I need (doing this for the first time) in one place.

Other than that, I look forward to flying the J570 this weekend! Fingers crossed the weather is agreeable!!

~Dave~

 

[crossfire]

Q-Jet motors. I purchased good number of Q-Jet motors and the A & Bs won't fit Estes MMT with out taking the label off. The C & Ds fit perfect. How long were the motors made that didn't fit? It's not a big deal unless you got 15 screaming kids who want to fly their rocket and the motors dont fit.

 

[afadeev]

I thought this was insightful - Gary Rosenfield's (of Aerotech) talk at Narcon 2020 about RMS history, assembly hints, and typical failure modes:

 

[BEC]

Q-Jet motors. I purchased good number of Q-Jet motors and the A & Bs won't fit Estes MMT with out taking the label off. The C & Ds fit perfect. How long were the motors made that didn't fit? It's not a big deal unless you got 15 screaming kids who want to fly their rocket and the motors dont fit.

Anything with a production date past September of 2018 should fit properly. They will also have more reasonable ejection charges than the early As and Bs did.

 

[rcktnut]

I'm not sure if this is the best place to submit this feedback but it's the first place I thought of

I'm in the middle of assembling my first AT J570W. It's reminiscent of the first time I assembled an i200

Any way the included generic 38/480-1320 instructions are, uhm, ok. They *do* have the O-Ring guide down at the bottom which I found extremely useful for the first time using the larger 38mm reloads. I slightly greased each O-Ring and put them on top of their respective diagrams to avoid confusion. Very helpful.

Fortunately I searched for and found the assembly instructions on the Aerotech web sight because they have the step-by-step guide which is exactly what I was looking for (38_1080_sw_in_20062.pdf).

My feedback is this -- all meant to be taken as good, constructive feedback:

1) Is there a way to include a link to the step-by-step guidance for each motor? Some of them are more generic than others but there is aften a step-by-step guide to follow on the web site, now that I found the location. It would be great to have the right one somehow called out on the reload E.g. a redirector like www.aerotech-rocketry.com/J270WDMS --> pulls up the latest J250W DMS instructions.

2) Is it possible to combine the good parts of the "generic" assembly drawings (The O-ring guide) and the step-by-step instructions into one? That would put all the information I need (doing this for the first time) in one place.

Other than that, I look forward to flying the J570 this weekend! Fingers crossed the weather is agreeable!!

~Dave~

The included instructions with the reload should result in the proper assembly of the reload, right?? I printed this out which really helps as far as getting the right O-ring where it belongs.
https://www.aerotech-rocketry.com/u...6-c43695b64781_hp_rms_o-ring_spacer_guide.pdf

 

[ChicagoDave]

The included instructions with the reload should result in the proper assembly of the reload, right?? I printed this out which really helps as far as getting the right O-ring where it belongs.
https://www.aerotech-rocketry.com/u...6-c43695b64781_hp_rms_o-ring_spacer_guide.pdf

Here are the instructions I was talking about in my post.

Here's the step-by-step instructions (Assembly and Operations Instructions) : J570
Here is the instructions included with the reload (Assembly Drawing and Notes): RMS-EZ 38/480-1320 Instructions

As you can see from the two sets of instructions, for the first time doing reload the step-by-step is of much value. The spacer guide is great too! I keep that as a reference. In fact I think I saw someone had it laminated.